Too Afraid To Use The Word Christmas: Visa’s Selective Political Correctness
If you’re a regular visitor, you might have noticed posting has been light around these parts lately. The reason is I’ve been in Singapore all week.
The day I arrived (after a short nap) I walked out to Orchard Road (where the hotel is located) and couldn’t believe my eyes… Christmas Decorations as far as the eye can see.
It was quite an experience to be on the other side of the world in shorts and 90+ degree weather looking at all the beautiful and spectacular Christmas decorations. To be honest my archaic camera doesn’t do the scenery justice.
The decorations went on for miles, and many were quite elaborate…
I’m sure these decorations were quite expensive and some were sponsored by major corporations. One decoration in particular caught my attention. It was sponsored by Visa.
I have one question. If Visa is worried about offending non Christians with the frightening word “Christmas” in the United States, why are they sponsoring, and using the term “Christmas” on, decorations in… Singapore?
To be fair, Coke, Starbucks and other American companies with an international presence were advertising “Christmas” as well, but Visa set the standard with many large decorations.
Visa USA 'Holiday' Web Site
Think about it, they will not say “Christmas” in the United States but will sponsor Christmas decorations with the word Christmas plastered all over it in Singapore.
One thing I noticed while taking in the sights and sounds was that everyone, from all over the world (India, China, Malaysia to name a few) loved the decorations and were enjoying the atmosphere. People were laughing, posing for pictures in front of the displays. It was a sight I will never forget.
I have many more pic’s… I’ll try and post them over the next month.
Singapore isn’t very pc. They do all that caning stuff too, do they not?
Yes they do.
Another un-PC thing is on the travel documents that you fill out on the plane, in red bold letters, they tell you “drug traffickers will by put to death.” And somehow you get the feeling they mean it.
You are a little off, you are saying “Think about it, they will not say “Christmas” in the United States but will sponsor Christmas decorations with the word Christmas plastered all over it in Singapore.” But the commercial you showed is a Master Card Commercial not a visa card.
@joe: Thanks for pointing the commercial is actually a Master Card commercial. My bad.
However, I updated the post to include a link to the Visa USA ‘Tis The Season web site, where you can play their “Holiday Ad Lib’s Quiz”. Still, they don’t say the word Christmas.
Thanks again for the comment and for stopping by.