Am I just old?

[DawnM]

I just got an email advertisement for Champion sportswear that was titled "WTF?  It's a sale!" or something like that.

So, major companies are now using the F word to sell things?

Is it so old fashioned to think that this is inappropriate?

Signed your old fogie friend,

 

Dawn

[Martha in GA]

I'm right there with you!

 

[Eos]

Not a fogie but a fan of gentle words.

[TechWife]

That’s awful! I haven’t seen that yet. There’s another one I have seen that takes Gods name in vain that is offensive to me, though. 

[marbel]

Yeah, it disgusts me too. So do all the books with the F bomb in the title, usually with an * replacing one letter as if that makes any difference. But I am definitely old. It's had for me to see the language conventions being discarded. 

[Faith-manor]

I must be old too. That kind of advertising would not win me over. It feels so aggressive!

[Ditto]

I guess I am the odd one out because it doesn't bother me at all.   

[Scarlett]

23 minutes ago, DawnM said:

I just got an email advertisement for Champion sportswear that was titled "WTF?  It's a sale!" or something like that.

So, major companies are now using the F word to sell things?

Is it so old fashioned to think that this is inappropriate?

Signed your old fogie friend,

 

Dawn

Right there with you.  We buy from a supplier that has the word Big*ss in its name.  Ugh.  Like when I write them a check I have to spell that out!  So ugh.

[Katy]

It’s tacky at best.

[vonfirmath]

6 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Right there with you.  We buy from a supplier that has the word Big*ss in its name.  Ugh.  Like when I write them a check I have to spell that out!  So ugh.

Fans?

 

I do O&Ms and stuff. At least I don't have to write the check. But everyone is discussing it at meetings, etc.

Edited January 25, 2022 by vonfirmath

[Drama Llama]

When I was a kid, I remember my dad telling me that I should never say "Gosh", because God would know what I was thinking, and it was still taking the Lord's name in vain. 

I walked around for a week, worried about God knowing what I was thinking, before I worked up the courage to ask my mom who explained to me that Gosh was what you said when you wanted to say "God" but you were in semi-polite company, and that my Dad since you were still thinking "God" in your head where God could hear, it wasn't OK, but that she disagreed.

Except, I wasn't thinking "God".  In my head there was no connection between those two words.  I was thinking "Gosh".  It was like if someone told me when ever I said "time to go to sleep" I was thinking "time to go to slip".  

I had a conversation with my kids about how while I don't believe God is offended, I would prefer they didn't say OMG, because some people think of it as disrespectful.  I got the same blank look.  My kids aren't thinking "Oh My God", they are literally thinking "Oh Em Gee".  In their mind "Oh Em Gee" which is a word with a specific meaning to them.  It hadn't really crossed their minds that the letters stood for something.  

Similarly, I'm not sure that in their mind writing WTF is the same as the original saying.  So, in their mind it's not swearing.  

Now, having said that, I hope that Champion has someone working there who is older than my kids.  

[Scarlett]

7 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Fans?

 

I do O&Ms and stuff. At least I don't have to write the check. But everyone is discussing it at meetings, etc.

LOL yep.  They make a great product btw.

[vonfirmath]

5 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

LOL yep.  They make a great product btw.

I know! That's why they keep getting used. Despite the name

[DawnM]

19 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Fans?

 

I do O&Ms and stuff. At least I don't have to write the check. But everyone is discussing it at meetings, etc.

what product is this?

[fairfarmhand]

If this makes you a fogie then I am right there with you.

[vonfirmath]

6 minutes ago, DawnM said:

what product is this?

https://bigassfans.com/

 

They are the kind of fans you often find in inside swimming pools

Edited January 25, 2022 by vonfirmath

[Murphy101]

I have been known to drop an f bomb occasionally over the years and I don’t like either. 

[DawnM]

14 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:

I have been known to drop an f bomb occasionally over the years and I don’t like either. 

I find it acceptable more in casual personal conversation.   But I don't like it used in professional conversation at all.

[JustEm]

47 minutes ago, Ditto said:

I guess I am the odd one out because it doesn't bother me at all.   

You're not alone, it doesn't bother me at all. I imagine the company is reaching for a specific demographic there that just doesn't think there is anything wrong with cursing. For me, if it isn't directed at a person cursing simply doesn't even register as out of the ordinary. 

The most honest reaction I have to the advertisement is 'still behind the times' since I don't think most people use wtf regularly anymore.

[DawnM]

17 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

https://bigassfans.com/

 

They are the kind of fans you often find in inside swimming pools

Oh, so are you ordering them for a business?   

[Spryte]

I’m going with it’s tacky. If it really bothered me (using the actual words would be the line, for me), I’d shop elsewhere.

For most people, it probably doesn’t carry the same meaning, like baseballandhockey said. If they used the actual words, I’d find it a lot worse, and even more offensive. 

Spinning off that a bit, I have found it beyond horrifying that curse words, name-calling and cruel, tacky little sound bite nicknames became a regular part of our political discourse. Grossly tacky.

[vonfirmath]

12 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Oh, so are you ordering them for a business?   

Yes. Commercial. I work for a Plumbing and HVAC company

[HS Mom in NC]

Not a fan. I agree it's unprofessional.  In general I'm a big believer in reserving profanity for rare occasions to preserve its impact. People using profanity regularly ruin its impact for everyone and I genuinely resent it.  Knock it off, people.

I had a text exchange with a family member (49 years old) recently over nothing at all political who threw in a Let's go, Brandon! and I replied, "I don't engage in adolescent 'F*** you' insults because I'm an adult and a Christian." That shut them up. When they resumed texting me they kept it civil. I'm not saying I like any particular politician, I take serious issue with every one of them out there, but I don't do stupid,crass banter.

[Moonhawk]

50 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

When I was a kid, I remember my dad telling me that I should never say "Gosh", because God would know what I was thinking, and it was still taking the Lord's name in vain. 

I walked around for a week, worried about God knowing what I was thinking, before I worked up the courage to ask my mom who explained to me that Gosh was what you said when you wanted to say "God" but you were in semi-polite company, and that my Dad since you were still thinking "God" in your head where God could hear, it wasn't OK, but that she disagreed.

Except, I wasn't thinking "God".  In my head there was no connection between those two words.  I was thinking "Gosh".  It was like if someone told me when ever I said "time to go to sleep" I was thinking "time to go to slip".  

I had a conversation with my kids about how while I don't believe God is offended, I would prefer they didn't say OMG, because some people think of it as disrespectful.  I got the same blank look.  My kids aren't thinking "Oh My God", they are literally thinking "Oh Em Gee".  In their mind "Oh Em Gee" which is a word with a specific meaning to them.  It hadn't really crossed their minds that the letters stood for something.  

Similarly, I'm not sure that in their mind writing WTF is the same as the original saying.  So, in their mind it's not swearing.  

Now, having said that, I hope that Champion has someone working there who is older than my kids.  

Similar story: I was at a friend's house, they were a religious household but were allowed much cooler computer games than I was, lol. One of them was Doom. And for us little kids I guess they would put it on the easiest mode to play because otherwise we'd just die all the time. Easiest mode was called G-O-D mode. So we would be talking about how "this is so easy on G-O-D mode" and "you would have died if you weren't on G-O-D mode" and maybe after 9 or 10 months of playing this game with them I finally asked what G-O-D stood for, because it had kept me up for hours. Great On Defense? Going Off Death? Going Over Death? I couldn't figure it out.

They hemmed and hawed and finally someone exasperatedly asked if I knew how to spell anything and I said of course I do, and they asked and what does G-O-D spell? And I shut up and went home shortly, lol, I was so embarrassed I didn't figure it out.

My dad gave me the same talk you got except about about Jesus and "jeeze." I still say "jeeze" (and "gosh") and they have no relation to taking the Lord's name in my brain. 

For marketing, it's an instant signal to me they are aiming this product to a younger generation, or for a completely different set of people. not because it doesn't mean the actual words "W t f" to those people, but because to them it's on trend to say that type of thing without regard, or to get a reaction, or to show how on trend they are. So, idk if it bothers me so much as makes me roll my eyes. 

[J-rap]

It bothers me too.  I even see it on products now at high-end gift shop.

To be honest, that saying doesn't make me cringe much anymore like it used to.  It's become pretty casual now, more like a mild swear word.  But it's just the fact that people are so easily sucked into dumb fads like that that is disappointing.  

[Kanin]

Me too. It also dilutes the power of the F word when you really need it!

[Bootsie]

I don't like it either. Several years ago I was teaching an executive MBA class--so these are students who are in higher-level corporate positions who are paying a small fortune (or often their company is) and interacting with other professionals in the classroom.  I had projects where they had to break up in teams (with a team name) and I was having trouble with some of the team names being, in my opinion, in appropriate for a professional setting, but I knew saying something would just intensify the behavior.  So, I said that team names needed to be two words--an animal preceded by an adjective that started with the same letter (smart scorpions, brilliant bears, creative cats, etc.)  I had a group name themselves the WTF Walruses--these were top executives from companies most people he would be familiar with if I told you the name of them.  At that point I realized I am indeed an old fogie.

[Indigo Blue]

@Scarlettthat  Big A$$ thing is ringing a bell for me. Does it rhyme with big a$$ cans? If so, I think my ds interviewed with them for a job there as an engineer when he was newly out of college. 

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, Indigo Blue said:

@Scarlettthat  Big A$$ thing is ringing a bell for me. Does it rhyme with big a$$ cans? If so, I think my ds interviewed with them for a job there as an engineer when he was newly out of college. 

Yep!  Thats the one.

[Elizabeth86]

Call me old too. I’m not above dropping the F bomb, but it does not appeal to me to see it done in advertising and what not. I also hate OMG, hate it! It’s everywhere.

Edited January 25, 2022 by Elizabeth86

[Indigo Blue]

I think the advertisement is weird. In general, I’m not a fan of the word. It’s especially annoying when an otherwise great movie has to be peppered with the f bomb almost every sentence. It detracts from the movie. I tolerate it if used occasionally, well placed, here and there. It’s waaayyy overused in every day life. I find it annoying. In certain settings, unprofessional. 

[Sneezyone]

I tend to avoid it in professional conversation but in casual discussion I am unbothered. The saltiest, potty-mouthed people I know are senior execs and politicos. I was conditioned to substitute words for G in OMG! so it doesn't read the same to me as it might others.

Edited January 25, 2022 by Sneezyone

[DawnM]

Just now, Indigo Blue said:

I think the advertisement is weird. In general, I’m not a fan of the word. It’s especially annoying when an otherwise great movie has to be peppered with the f bomb almost every sentence. It detracts from the movie. I tolerate it if used occasionally, well placed, here and there. It’s waaayyy overused in every day life. I find it annoying. In certain settings, unprofessional. 

I think when you use it that much, it loses its power completely.   What is the point of a swear word if it isn't used properly! 😏

[Indigo Blue]

7 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Yep!  Thats the one.

We talked about what would happen if he got the job. What would he say when the sweet old ladies at church asked, “Where do you work?” It made us giggle. 

[Scarlett]

4 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

We talked about what would happen if he got the job. What would he say when the sweet old ladies at church asked, “Where do you work?” It made us giggle. 

The first time I saw a box arrive with that name on it I was just like, 'whaaaaat?????'

[Indigo Blue]

2 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

The first time I saw a box arrive with that name on it I was just like, 'whaaaaat?????'

Well, you know that place. It’s right over there next to Cheap A$$ Furniture. 

[SHP]

2 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Fans?

 

I do O&Ms and stuff. At least I don't have to write the check. But everyone is discussing it at meetings, etc.

It might be the writing the check part which qualifies you as "old". Or so my wonderful young adult child tells me.

[SHP]

2 hours ago, Ditto said:

I guess I am the odd one out because it doesn't bother me at all.   

This is where I am, plus I just assume that that targeted ad is not aimed at me and is aimed at a younger audience.

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, SHP said:

It might be the writing the check part which qualifies you as "old". Or so my wonderful young adult child tells me.

How do other businesses pay their invoices?

[SounderChick]

I don't think it would bother me or even register if I saw the email.  If I stop and think a minute I would think it was low brow.

[saraha]

34 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I don't like it either. Several years ago I was teaching an executive MBA class--so these are students who are in higher-level corporate positions who are paying a small fortune (or often their company is) and interacting with other professionals in the classroom.  I had projects where they had to break up in teams (with a team name) and I was having trouble with some of the team names being, in my opinion, in appropriate for a professional setting, but I knew saying something would just intensify the behavior.  So, I said that team names needed to be two words--an animal preceded by an adjective that started with the same letter (smart scorpions, brilliant bears, creative cats, etc.)  I had a group name themselves the WTF Walruses--these were top executives from companies most people he would be familiar with if I told you the name of them.  At that point I realized I am indeed an old fogie.

I don’t think in this case it’s because you are an old fogie, I think some people, no matter how much money they make, just have a crass sense of humor. 

[SHP]

5 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

How do other businesses pay their invoices?

Digitally. 

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, SHP said:

Digitally. 

All bills paid digitally?  Hmmm.

[TravelingChris]

13 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

I tend to avoid it in professional conversation but in casual discussion I am unbothered. The saltiest, potty-mouthed people I know are senior execs and politicos. I was conditioned to substitute words for G in OMG! so it doesn't read the same to me as it might others.

This is my view exactly. 

And I think that using gosh, jeez, OMG, WTF, Let's Go Brandon is absolutely fine in regular, casual conversation.  Some of these words were meant to make them unoffensive to people or God, and some to protect minors.  I didn't post a whole list of these.  But yes, I have a points posted or texted things like OMG or WTF.  I don't hear swear words in shows and movies= I mean they just pass over me.  My dh is from a family that was blue collar northern NJ- and that means his casual language with us including words like s, and f - though he did try to limit it during the kids younger years. 

[vonfirmath]

15 minutes ago, SHP said:

It might be the writing the check part which qualifies you as "old". Or so my wonderful young adult child tells me.

Nope. It qualifies you as "Owner" -- Except I guess our owner just signs the check. Technically they are written by our Accounts Payable department.

[SHP]

11 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

All bills paid digitally?  Hmmm.

For some companies, yes, especially when they are dealing with invoices in the tens of thousands of dollars on up. Some companies don't issue a pay check to employees, they insist on direct deposit only. My young adult encountered this scenario, HR refused to hire until there was a checking account to direct deposit to. 

 

Then there are individuals who pay all bills online, however, I doubt many routinely have bills due that are tens of thousands of dollars though.

[SHP]

17 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Nope. It qualifies you as "Owner" -- Except I guess our owner just signs the check. Technically they are written by our Accounts Payable department.

Smaller company?

[Sneezyone]

1 minute ago, SHP said:

For some companies, yes, especially when they are dealing with invoices in the tens of thousands of dollars on up. Some companies don't issue a pay check to employees, they insist on direct deposit only. My young adult encountered this scenario, HR refused to hire until there was a checking account to direct deposit to. 

 

Then there are individuals who pay all bills online, however, I doubt many routinely have bills due that are tens of thousands of dollars though.

Direct deposit was absolutely the expectation both for DDs summer job as a lifeguard and her current one as a grocery cashier. She learned how to write a check but has never actually used one. 

[Scarlett]

20 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Nope. It qualifies you as "Owner" -- Except I guess our owner just signs the check. Technically they are written by our Accounts Payable department.

I sign the checks for our owner.  I sign more for him than I do myself! I write very few checks personally.

[vonfirmath]

3 minutes ago, SHP said:

Smaller company?

I think we are technically a medium size company. Employees above 100. But in the office we have about 10.