So, I have thought long and hard about the controversial Sainsburys ad. Having now seen it I really dont have an issue with it. In fact I think that it is thought provoking and it has certainly caused some debate. Heres what I think. I doubt whether there are many people who are not aware of the horrors of the First World War. Many people still alive today had relatives who they knew who died in terrible circumstances. However, I am certain that not many people know about the Christmas Truce of 1914. And if this advert does anything, it may remind us and educate us all about what happened. Some people reading this will say that the Christmas football match in no mans land is a well known event. But, (and I also only found this out having researched the truce prompted by the advert) this wasnt the only truce, it didnt last for a single day, and it didnt just happen at Chritsmas in 1914. There were many many other occasions when both sides fraternised, so many in fact that the high command on both sides developed tactics to avoid the troops becoming friends. And as I read the accounts of these attempts at local cease fires, the deliberate cessation of shelling during meal times and when the enemy were washing, the attempt at Easter in 1915 for an official truce I realised one thing. What all these occasions showed is that, despite the horrors of war, there existed not one, but many sparks of humanity, occasions when men were men and not cogs in a faceless killing machine. And if this advert can remind us of this, then, despite it clearly being used to sell choclate and sprouts, I say Bravo .
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 17:19:59 +0000
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