#FirstWorldProblems – What do you think of the Haitian ad?
You might have stumbled across this video recently:
It features Haitians, living in difficult third world conditions, reading out Tweets from people who use the hashtag #FirstWorldProblems. I personally think it’s a brilliant marketing campaign. Having traveled so much in third world conditions, I have a different perspective on these kinds of things. What we feel are inconveniences in the first world are luxuries in the third world. It’s kind of like hearing a rich celebrity complain that the millions of dollars they are being paid for their next movie just isn’t enough. Anybody in their right mind would say, “Come on, I’d act in that for a quarter of what you’re getting!” It just strikes us as absurd. But the same thing is true of #firstworldproblems to people in the third world. Complaining about a phone charger cord not being long enough is insulting when so many people in the world live without electricity.
Personally, I like this ad because I think it’s a good reality check for the majority of the world who don’t get to travel and see the real life billions of people are living. However, some people are upset by it because they claim the hashtag “firstworldproblems” is itself pointing out that the complaint is trivial. Regardless of the intent of the person using this hashtag on Twitter, this ad is still a good reality check. That is what it is meant to be, and it serves its purpose.
At least that’s what I think!!
