This could have been taken the wrong way...?

Question

An old advertisement for Ariston washing machines in the 80s stated "5 million Germans can't be wrong".

Does anyone else think that was somewhat untrue, looking back over 20th century history??

Thank you wildamber for stating the obvious, thank you!

This is going to be a very very long two hours before I can choose a best Answer. WHY is anyone taking me this seriously? Jesus.

Thank you elizabeth

kaygee, my friend: those are wise words. However, that is not what I was doing!! AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*head explodes*

Answer 1

I thought that too, good to know I am not alone!

Come on perople - I don't think Veritas was implying that the advertisement referred to the Holocaust, nobody is that stupid, I hope. I think he was simply stating that the phrase "5 million Germans can't be wrong" isn't something you often hear.

In other words - he wasn't really being serious.

Answer 2

Okay, Veritas (I like your screen name--to me it implies that you're searching for truth), I think I see what you're getting at.

First of all, the advertising business deals in catchy slogans designed to appeal to something in humans--in this case, the desire for the "superior" Ariston washing machines.

The Germans long had a reputation for skilled craftsmanship, and I think the "hook" in the slogan was that "If all these bright Germans use Ariston washers, then it must be superior." In reality, it's no different from today's ads that get celebrities to endorse their products--i.e., "If it's good enough for (insert a celebrity name here), it's GOT to be good enough for me!"

So, now to the rest of your question.

"All generalizations, including this one, are incorrect." Since the phrase "5 million Germans can't be wrong" (or 50 million Frenchmen [I believe that "50 million Frenchmen can't be wrong" is the phrase that spawned a lot of similar ones over the years], or 100 million of whatever you choose) is a generalization, it, too, must be flawed, because there are always exceptions in all generalizations.

Moreover (sorry to be so long winded), there is a big gap between the workmanship of a washing machine and politics, and history has shown over time that, yes, millions of people can, indeed, be wrong.

Granted, the Nazi regime was, in reality, headed up by a relatively small group of people who had gained most of the power in the country. Almost all of the ordinary Germans were members of the Nazi party, because it was pretty much the only game in town--and it did do some good for the German people. Unfortunately, since absolute power corrupts absolutely, and those who had the power had some pretty screwy ideas, a lot more bad than good was the result.

So, in the last analysis, I suppose you could say that 5 million Germans COULD be wrong--not about a brand of washing machine, but about the people to whom they gave political power.

Answer 3

This was probably talking about the 5 million Germans that used Ariston washing machines and not anything else.

Answer 4

Yes it could have been taken the wrong way, but it would have been illogical.
It is highly tempting to apply the findings of a survey on one subject to an entirely different one and then to draw an eyecatching comparison. But it is comparable to comparing oil with water - the two do not gel.

Answer 5

In Turkey in the 1980s we had a cooker made by the German company Junkers in 1940. My wife said the oven was terrific, so maybe the guy who designed it was promoted to design one a bit bigger?

Answer 6

In the same way as 5 million flies can't be wrong about eating manure?

Answer 7

Thats like seeing flies eating rubbish and saying Eat rubbish. Ten million flies cannot be wrong !

Answer 8

Hahahah!

Answer 9

No, they're spicifically talking about Ariston washing machine. No connection or hinting was made whatsoever at the Holocaust.

That is what you're implying...right?

Answer 10

well i dont really think it was wrong because when you look at the world wars it was more hitlers and his people than it was all of germany because when you look at that you dont see it says germany killed the jews and wanted the war it says that hitler wanted it and in the first world war it was germany but you can always blame the whole country because look at america i think we are a godd country and that we should have gone to war because if we didnt we would let them walk all over us and just let them have 9/11 as a freebie then we would eventually seem weak and have more and more attacks and we would evnetually be speaking arabic but if you look at all of america then you see that there are over a billion people and there are over a million people that think we shouldnt go to war but they are being called america doesnt want to go to war instead of those million people dont want to go to war and for the people that do want to go to war they get called america too even if they dont make up the majority so im sure that in the millions of people living in germany there were probably at least five thousand people that didnt want to go to war or that were neutral feeling. so you cant really say germany you kind of have to say hitler. but i guess you could say that five million of hitlers followers were wrong too so i guess its how you look at it. but if its just a washing machine im sure its not the washing machine of death thats going to support a bunch of soon to be hitlers you know what i mean.