Much Ado About Nothing?
The Monster.controversy has me baffled.
Deborah Whistler
Editor
If I'm inclined to celebrate Super Bowl Sunday, it's not so much because I love the game. At some point the appeal of professional football left me. I go to a bowl party mostly to eat, drink and be merry.
But this year I had an additional incentive. I was on a mission. I decided to do my own independent research on the impact of the controversial Monster.com commercial on the general public.
Granted, my small, eclectic group of friends hardly makes for a valid study group. But people are people, and there was a pretty interesting cross-section: an engineer, an architect, a photographer, an advertising exec, a horse trainer, a teenager, a school teacher, a convenience store owner, a computer geek, a real estate investor.
The trucking industry's hue and cry about the ad had preceded its appearance on television. Press releases and a "Call To Action" were issued by the American Trucking Assns., followed in quick succession by the backup squad: Truckload Carriers Assn. and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn.
I had already seen the offending commercial. You could view it on the Internet. And I personally didn't get what all the fuss was about. It was funny.
And I still fail to see how anyone could think the ad reflected poorly on truck drivers. The truck involved didn't even have a driver. That was the point, see. If you have a truck without a driver, go to Monster.com, because they have truck drivers looking for jobs. Get it?
Apparently a lot of truckers did get it. The call to action really didn't receive much, apparently. Another not-so-scientific survey of trucker chat rooms showed that the majority of drivers didn't find the commercial offensive at all.
Bill Mack, trucker talk radio star, was the voice on the Monster.com ad. He hadn't seen the video when he recorded the voiceover. But upon viewing the finished commercial, Mack refused to apologize for participating. He too, felt it was much ado about nothing.
Now I'm not going to bash the industry associations for their reaction to the commercial. Historically, trucking interests have been slow to deal with negative media. So it's nice to see industry organizations on their PR toes. I've always felt that image issues haven't received the attention they require in this industry.
But that's obviously changing. A recent reader survey proves that truck fleet managers are becoming much more attentive to such things. Nine years ago, public image was ranked 15th on the list of topics of importance to fleet readers. In 2003, it had jumped to 7th on the list.
That's a good thing. Truckers have always had a difficult time getting their message across to the general public: Those big rigs that four-wheelers may fear or resent are the very lifeblood of our economy.
My company has always made industry image a priority. Heavy Duty Trucking was the original founder of the current Goodyear Highway Hero contest. Our editors have also been very active with the Trucker Buddy organization — three of us have served on its board. Newport founded TruckerFest, designed to recognize drivers for Truck Driver Appreciation Week. We also sponsor the Stars & Stripes truck beauty contests, which display and award the premiere trucks in the country.
Our publications consistently push readers to write, call and complain if they see anything negative about trucks in the general media.
Often, the folks responsible for the offending material aren't intentionally taking a pot shot when they create images that we feel might portray truckers as scary or dangerous. And it behooves us to let them know when they cross that line. But we also can be oversensitive. In this case, I think we overreacted.
The results of my Super Bowl straw poll: not one in the bunch felt the Monster.com ad made truckers look bad. Everyone thought it funny and not the least bit offensive to truckers.
Regardless, Monster.com CEO Jeff Taylor responded to ATA's complaints, and promises to tweak the commercial to make it positive to truckers. That was a generous gesture.
Please let me know what you thought of the original — and of the fix, when it comes out. You should tell Monster.com what you think, too.
Write Jeff Taylor, CEO, Monster.com, 5 Clock Tower Place, Suite 500, Maynard, MA 01754-2530.
Even if you didn't like the commercial, it would be nice to write and thank Taylor for being willing to change it.
