Does Santa Not 'Do' Poor Countries?
In a controversial new ad, UNICEF encourages individual charitable donations by implying that Santa doesn’t “Do Poor countries.”
In the 45 second television advertisement aired in Sweden, Santa Claus is seen rummaging through a box of packaged gifts for an unidentified country. As he pulls out each gift he realizes they are mostly medical supplies: a needle, medications, and a vaccine bottle. He then begins a rant on why he cannot send the package and does not serve poor countries.
"This ain't no Christmas gift,” he says “So, you buy this products for your friend, and all this stuff goes to poor kids? Like in Africa?" Santa asks.
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The satirical ad becomes serious when Santa declares, “I don’t do poor countries,” by the end of the ad.
The commercial ends with the message "We go where Santa doesn't -- Buy your Christmas gifts at unicef.se."
According NewYorkDailyNews.com, the Stockholm-based firm Forsman & Bodenfors produced the advertisement in English with Santa speaking in an American accent, but the UNICEF Web site refers to the commercial as being written exclusively in Swedish.
Gift purchases from UNICEF include malaria tablets, rehydration bags and polio vaccines.
Right wing news site TheBlaze.com, says the advertisement has the vibe of ‘Occupy Wall Street propaganda’ and poses the question: “Could the United Nations Children’s Fund be the latest participant in the War on Christmas?”
The "War on Christmas" publicized by news stations including Fox News who site lack of businesses to say 'Merry Christmas' as opposed to 'Happy Holidays'; Atheist billboards outright denying the existence of God; Christians being denied ability to pray publicly and the removing of Christmas holiday symbols from state locations including transportation terminals.
Just this month, a group of Christmas carolers were removed from a Silver Spring, Maryland Post Office after the post office manager told them that they were not allowed to sing Christmas carols on government property. Also, Mayor Bloomberg defended the city’s call to no longer allow Christmas decorations to be displayed in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. According to the New York Daily News, Bloomberg told WOR Radio:
"Nobody's more in favor of holiday spirit and holiday decorations," he said, "In this case, the Department of Transportation got sued one time too many... Last year a Nativity scene was placed in one of the terminals without a permit."
