Oh, you haven't read it? Or maybe it was in the 70's? Well The Lorax is the Silent Spring for the grade school set. The original Woodsy Owl spokesperson for conservation. It's simply an anti-consumer/anti-capitalist warning against rampant greed and consumerism which destroyed the forest of Truffula Trees and the Brown Bar-ba-loots,
Swomee-Swans, and Humming-Fish that depended on them. The whole damn ecosystem is gone to make a Pillow Pet, or a sweater or some-such-thing. Here's the ironic bit about it... the whole thing is being co-opted by corporate greed. I mean, above and beyond the bastardization of the story now that Seuss's corpse is fairly cold now.
As The Lorax arrives in theaters— there's dozens of corporate tie-ins riding the coat tails. While the story teaches children to conserve the earth’s finite resources, these heavily advertised partnerships compel them to consume, consume, consume. Hah!
- The new Mazda CX-5 SUV—the only car with the “Truffula Seal of Approval.”
- Seventh Generation household products and diapers festooned with the Lorax.
- IHOP’s kids’ menu items like Rooty Tooty Bar-Ba-Looty Blueberry Cone Cakes and Truffula Chip Pancakes.
- In-store promotions featuring the Lorax at Whole Foods, Pottery Barn Kids, and Target.
- Online Lorax games and sweepstakes for YoKids Yogurt, Comcast Xfinity TV, Target, IHOP, and HP.
- HP’s “Every Inkling Makes a Difference” in-school curriculum produced and distributed by Scholastic.
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not."
—The Lorax
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The humor, of using a beloved children’s story with a prescient environmental message to sell kids on everything from SUVs to pancakes isn't lost here.
If you care about this - or want to show your children to be more like the Lorax. Sign a pledge to shun The Lorax’s corporate cross-promotions.
Anti-Consumption hypocrisy may be in contention of Hypocrite of the Year Award. Hell, we may have to retire the award after this one, folks.
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