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It’s all about the money

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By Avi Frier - FJN Publisher

Before Game Two of the World Series began at Detroit’s Comerica Park this week, Anita Baker sang (as one might expect to hear at the start of a baseball game) "The Star Spangled Banner." But before Baker even set foot on the field, John Mellencamp kicked off the festivities with the singing of his new single, "Our Country."


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Wait a minute—what just happened there? Where was I when we got ourselves a second national anthem?

It didn’t take long for the motivation behind this musical addition to become apparent: "Our Country" is not just John Mellencamp’s new hit single. It also provides the soundtrack for Chevrolet’s latest Silverado commercial, which was shown numerous times throughout the evening.

Wow. When they say everything is for sale, they mean everything, don’t they? From a new truck to the national anthem, if the price you name is high enough you’ll have little trouble finding it printed on a tag.

Chevrolet has succeeded in capturing the formula for the ultimate in national manipulation:

1. Shoot a commercial that intersperses scenes of Chevy trucks with some of the most emotional images of recent American history: 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Vietnam, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Richard Nixon, and Woodstock.

2. Take an All-American song like "Our Country," sung by an All-American boy like John Mellencamp, and feature it in your new commercial.

3. Tie it all together with a slogan like "Our country… Our truck."

4. At one of the most watched baseball games of the year, see to it that our national anthem, which always precedes our nation’s pastime, is preceded by your All-American boy singing his new All-American song.

5. Show your new commercial at the first available break.

6. Repeat Step 5 ad-nauseam.

It’s that simple! Tie emotional symbols of Americana to a product effectively enough, and that product takes on a perceived level of quality and personal attachment that would make it seem downright un-American to buy any other brand.

But when it comes down to it, it’s not about symbols, 9/11, Rosa Parks, baseball, apple pie, or Chevrolet.

It’s all about the money.

Time out. Hold everything. I’m having one of those deja-vu feelings. I need to take a moment here and re-read what I just wrote.

Let’s see now: National manipulation, yada yada yada, tying symbols to a product so people will buy it, even if the two are completely unrelated, yada yada yada, it’s all about the money…

Of course, now I remember.

I’ve just described the Kashrut industry.

Funny thing, y’know? They don’t call it the Jewish Education industry. Or the Circumcision industry. Or the Cantorial industry. But Kashrut? That’s an industry!

Don’t get me wrong—I’ve got no problem with people getting paid for services rendered. And if they can negotiate an above-average salary in the process, more power to ‘em!

But the Kashrut agencies themselves describe their sector as a multi-billion dollar a year industry. And unfortunately, with all of those billions of dollar signs in their eyes, many of these agencies seem to be focusing less and less on the Kashrut, and more and more on the industry.

It’s simple! Tie kosher symbols to a product effectively enough, and that product takes on a perceived level of quality and personal attachment that would make it seem downright un-Jewish to buy any other brand.

Why else would bottled water, beer, disposable candle holders, and chlorine bleach require Hashgacha?

And while all those efforts and resources are being invested in catering to the likes of Zephyrhills and Coors, who’s monitoring the chickens in Monsey?

As the dust began to settle on the Monsey chicken scandal last month, Kashrut agencies began reporting that we would soon see Big Changes in the way they operate. And the implication was clear: Big Changes would cost consumers Big Money.

As if my kosher meat wasn’t expensive enough to begin with, now I have to pay for the mistakes these agencies have been making all along?

Two weeks ago, Kosher Today reported that many supposed full-time Kashrut supervisors were spending most of their days studying the Talmud or reading the newspaper. These Mashgichim have grown accustomed to cushy jobs in which they get paid full-time salaries for performing part-time labor.

I dunno, I’m no expert or anything. But it seems to me that if these guys would start doing what they’ve been getting paid for—the job we’ve been paying them to do with every pound of hamburger we toss into our shopping carts—the Kashrut agencies could make their Big Changes without costing us Big Money.

It’s a great system we have going in this country: Do your job or you’ll be fired.

Whether you’re a loafing Mashgiach or an irresponsible Kashrut agency, the same rules apply. Do your job or hit the road.

We buy the food. We call the shots. We’re not at anyone’s mercy. Our Kashrut agencies need to know that.



Posted by Avi Frier - FJN Publisher on 10/27 at 02:00 AM • Hits: 281



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