mocachapeau
Dagobah Resident
Hi everyone,
I was watching TV on one of the American networks the other day and saw a commercial I found to be a bit frightening. It was advertising a product called the "Listen In". It's a listening aid that is "smaller than a credit card".
They show a woman complaining to her husband that the volume of the television is too loud for her to carry on her conversation on the telephone. He then puts in the earphones of the "Listen In" and can hear the TV clearly while it is playing at a much lower volume - no problem so far.
Then the narrator says,"Have you ever wondered what people are talking about on the other side of the room?" The accompanying scene is of a man working out at the gym, wearing his "Listen In", smiling to himself knowingly while looking at a couple of people way over on the other side of the room.
Next we hear the narrator say,"Have you ever wondered what people are talking about on the other side of the street?" Here we see a woman working in the garden with her "Listen In", and we can hear two people walking their dog at a fair distance away saying,"Have you met the new neighbours? I met him, he's nice."
This company is not only selling a product that, hypothetically, could be used to eavesdrop on private conversations, but they are openly suggesting the idea and using it as a selling point! They are also making it quite evident that when in use, it just looks like a pair of mp3 headphones in your ears - no one will suspect a thing!
When I told my wife about it, she said she had twice seen the French version of the same commercial on a Quebec network. The first time, it was exactly the same as the American version. But the second time, the eavesdropping sections had been editted out.
It made me think of the descriptions of life during the times of the Inquisition, and in Nazi Germany, when people were denouncing everyone in sight as being guilty of heresy, subversion, etc, and turning them in to the authorities. This little electronic "gem" sure would make that activity a lot easier.
It gave me a very sick feeling inside. Am I just being paranoid, or has anyone else seen this advertisement and had a similar thought?
I was watching TV on one of the American networks the other day and saw a commercial I found to be a bit frightening. It was advertising a product called the "Listen In". It's a listening aid that is "smaller than a credit card".
They show a woman complaining to her husband that the volume of the television is too loud for her to carry on her conversation on the telephone. He then puts in the earphones of the "Listen In" and can hear the TV clearly while it is playing at a much lower volume - no problem so far.
Then the narrator says,"Have you ever wondered what people are talking about on the other side of the room?" The accompanying scene is of a man working out at the gym, wearing his "Listen In", smiling to himself knowingly while looking at a couple of people way over on the other side of the room.
Next we hear the narrator say,"Have you ever wondered what people are talking about on the other side of the street?" Here we see a woman working in the garden with her "Listen In", and we can hear two people walking their dog at a fair distance away saying,"Have you met the new neighbours? I met him, he's nice."
This company is not only selling a product that, hypothetically, could be used to eavesdrop on private conversations, but they are openly suggesting the idea and using it as a selling point! They are also making it quite evident that when in use, it just looks like a pair of mp3 headphones in your ears - no one will suspect a thing!
When I told my wife about it, she said she had twice seen the French version of the same commercial on a Quebec network. The first time, it was exactly the same as the American version. But the second time, the eavesdropping sections had been editted out.
It made me think of the descriptions of life during the times of the Inquisition, and in Nazi Germany, when people were denouncing everyone in sight as being guilty of heresy, subversion, etc, and turning them in to the authorities. This little electronic "gem" sure would make that activity a lot easier.
It gave me a very sick feeling inside. Am I just being paranoid, or has anyone else seen this advertisement and had a similar thought?
