Dell: Two (More) Steps Toward Stupidity

Dell has some videos on YouTube that have created a reaction in me. I don't like them.

How about we get some things out of the way; I am a fan and user of Apple's Mac OS X. I have an iMac. Using Windows is not something I like to do very much. Yet, the fact that Dell sells Windows-running computers (and Linux too) does not matter in this instance. I could use a laptop (particularly a tablet, which is what they are destroying) for my English school in so many ways. And I am not the only one who could use a computer (I have one, and am very grateful for that!).
What strikes me about these commercials is two fold:

1. Waste of a perfectly good computer.
2. The health risks of these stunts.

After living in Brazil for two years maybe I see the world differently, or maybe I see the First World differently. The minimum wage here is about seven (7) US Dollars per day. There is no way one could afford the cheapest computer on the market on that income. These professionally shot and edited viral advertisements destroy laptops that are certainly over US $1000 apiece, and probably a good bit more.

Another way to look at that: it would take 143 working days (assuming one does not have to purchase food, or pay bills) to come up with the $1000. We as consumers should not encourage, but feel insulted by this wastefulness.

The other problem I have is pollution. While this does not directly affect me, I wonder how well thought out this was on the health front. Computers require large amounts of substances that are not healthy to inhale to manufacture. Of the many, lead stands out as a main ingredient of solder. What precautions were taken for the safety of these employees? Especially the one where a guy cuts a computer in half with a chop saw.

Dell is not the first to have such an ill-concieved viral marketing campaign. There is also one from a blender company that asks the question, “Will it blend?” I find it equally repulsive and wasteful.

Viral marketing is a great way to market. My problem is with wastefulness and thoughtlessness. Another way of making the point would have been to send the laptops to someone who really needed them instead of destroying them. While not as dramatic, it is far less wasteful.

[composed and posted with ecto]

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