"...More Money for Drugs" ad vs. PFM Mailbag

[Paul]

Since there's no direct link to individual letters, here's the full thing.

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In which Pitchfork's biggest issue is its ads.


From: Myers, Brendan
Subject: Advertising

Ryan,
I'm appalled you would run the Matador records ad saying, "Cheaper music means more money for drugs". It is basically promoting drug use, and by its appearance on your website you are promoting it.

Integrity n 1: adherence to a code of values

Is this your code of values? Let's promote drug use on our website? A global issue that costs our country billions, a problem that kills children on our city streets caught in the crossfire, people are homeless because they spend their last dime to buy their next fix, and here is this little advertisement. Perhaps written in jest, but so much can be implied about your integrity and that of Matador records. 'We've lowered our prices so you can buy drugs. Maybe you'll develop an addiction and instead of putting bread on the table for your family you can stick this weeks paycheck in your vein and your family can get their own job. Satisfy your own selfish self destructive habits, and we'll help you do it'. Good job.

Brendan Myers

A response from Ryan Schreiber:

Yeah but we had to run it to pay our dealer. Dude's a total asshole when you owe him.

Ryan

[earl grey]

spectacular.

[johansen smith]

wow, that letter couldn't have been more clueless if it was written by Breckin Meyer.

[Gerard]

that guy wrote to Matador as well.

I'm appalled by the Matador records advertisement saying, "Cheaper music means more money for drugs". I saw this today, March 2, 2004 on www.pitchforkmedia.com. I'm a fan of music, I'm a fan of Matador artists past and present including Belle and Sebastian, Interpol, and Spoon, but I'm not a fan of advocating drug use. This statement basically promotes drug use no matter how you look at it. This problem destroys families, kills people directly and indirectly, costs our country billions each year, and here you are saying 'Hey we lowered our prices. Buy our music and use what is left over to buy your next fix'. Good job... Your advertising succeeded in disgusting me._

Here's my reply :

You are correct when saying that drugs destroy families, kill people, cost our/your country billions. But what about the positive things that drugs can do? Just because some people choose to abuse drugs, what about the good people who provide us with helpful substances such as penicillin, polio vaccine, aspirin, insulin, cialis, Malarex, Maalox, etc. , should their efforts be tarred with same brush?

And don't forget how effective drugs can be when trying to get someone into bed.


best wishes

Gerard Cosloy
Matador Records

He followed that with :

Humor is great isn't it... _How about this twist on your advertising slogan, 'We've lowered our prices so you can buy drugs. Maybe you'll develop an addiction and instead of putting bread on the table for your family you can stick this weeks paycheck in your vein and your family can get their own job. Satisfy your own selfish self destructive habits, and we'll help you do it'._

my response:

I'm sorry, Brendan, that's just not funny at all. There are so many parts that don't make sense. What sort of a paycheck can be stuck into a vein? What sort of job can employ an entire family, unless you're talking about some kind of carnival work? Wouldn't "bringing home the bacon" sound better than "bread on the table"? Isn't "selfish self destructive habits" kind of overstating things -- wouldn't "self-destructive habits" or "selfish habits" suffice?

And this really is far too much text for a snappy slogan.

I appreciate the constructive criticism, really I do. But perhaps we should both stick to what we're good at? I'll concentrate on the brilliant advertising copy, and you keep plugging away with the righteous outrage.

thanks!

GC

[Squall91]

Oh boy, you're just gonna get those panties even knottier.

[TheSadDebaser]

Whoa, Gerard's awesome.

[c. leo]

I can't wait for the "Cheaper Music Means We Are Going Out Of Business Because We Were Boycotted Due To Our 'Cheaper Music Means More Money For Drugs' Ad Campaign Ad Campaign."

Naw seriously, I love the campaign. Only in the indie music scene can a company get away with such ads. I'd like to see H&R Block pull off a "Larger Tax Refunds Means More Money For Drugs" campaign. How long would that run?

I must admit, however, I was expecting Matador to take more heat. People need to chill, man. I think we need to invite Brendan to one of our special listening parties. I think he'll understand...

[yardleyone]

along these lines i've always thought that cheaper drugs would mean more money for drugs.

[jarv]

Originally posted by TheSadDebaser
Whoa, Gerard's awesome.

why bother with music when you could gently whisper gerard's pearls of wisdom to your dozing infant! who knows, sam could grow up to run a record label or, even better, star in an internationally aclaimed sitcom.

::sigh::

so what have i missed here in the last year or so tino? listening piles stacked full of the strokes? the strokes stacked full of the piles?

[Ladt]

Gerard, your post made me laugh out loud. Thankyou for cheering me up.

[disconap]

What is wrong with our country when nobody can take a joke anymore? The only people who are going to view this ad as an acceptance of drug addiction are whiney, upper middle class white liberals. Actual drug users couldn't give a rat's ass what Matador or anyone else thinks of their habits. This guy Brendan needs to learn to take life a little less seriously; while people like him are out suing McDonalds for making them fat or rallying more money for the fake drug war, their kids are neglected and driven to addictive tendencies (if you have a dictionary handy, see: irony).

Anyway, nice job on the ad guys, my hat's off to you. Only wish I'd thought of it first...

[winterwooskie]

upper middle class white liberals.

you have a nice way of generalizing about people that you do not know at all and then to write them off as a group of people that you do not know at all and you probably got that from watching too much foxnews. i would think conservatives are more likely to have this idiotic view about someone's ad campaign.

[Fall Semester]

Originally posted by disconap
What is wrong with our country when nobody can take a joke anymore? The only people who are going to view this ad as an acceptance of drug addiction are whiney, upper middle class white liberals. Actual drug users couldn't give a rat's ass what Matador or anyone else thinks of their habits. This guy Brendan needs to learn to take life a little less seriously; while people like him are out suing McDonalds for making them fat or rallying more money for the fake drug war, their kids are neglected and driven to addictive tendencies (if you have a dictionary handy, see: irony).

Anyway, nice job on the ad guys, my hat's off to you. Only wish I'd thought of it first...

I totally argee. People need to stop taking things so seriously. I think we really seeing the death of people with a sense of humor.

[yardleyone]

the thing about it is; if you're gonna come down so hard on drugs, then why even listen to "rock 'n roll"? sure you can use drugs and not be into "rock 'n "rock", and i suppose that occasionally the opposite is true as well. but honestly, isn't there some other genre of music especially created for "you people"? honestly has nothing been released since 'We Are the World'? can't you get off our nuts and let 'em sweat a little bit?