Tomorrow is Overrated

At risk of selling more hard liquor, I'm going to talk about an advertisement for Jose Cuervo called "Last Days." The tagline, complete with hashtag, reads: "A group of fearless bargoers enjoy their last moments together, as civilization crumbles around them. As the impending doom worsens outside, inside they are doubling down on the Cuervo (and the Elvis), as for these brave souls #TomorrowIsOverrated."

The purpose of this ad, like any other, is only to sell Jose Cuervo. All talent whatsoever is consumed by this one goal. It looks pretty and sounds good so that people will buy the commodity. For now I'm less interested in dissecting advertising (done wonderfully here). I'm more interested in the ad's theme - it's the end of the world but "tomorrow is overrated" - and how our current social climate is used to sell more commodities. Among its many talents, the ad industry takes the social decay of our society and packages it to sell more commodities so that the very system that screws us - capitalism - can continue.

Things are bad outside, but don't worry about it. Stay indoors. Put on some music. You'll be safe. At least for the night. But tomorrow is overrated anyways. In fact things are good in this spot, wouldn't you agree? Everyone seems very nice. The end of the world (or is it a nice Jose Cuervo?) seems to bring people together in ways they weren't before. And man did you score with that lady! Why think about solving the world's problems (don't you know it's already too late?) when you can have the one-night stand of your dreams? The end of the world wouldn't be the same without Jose Cuervo at your side.

Many people (I'd be surprised if it was only Slavoj Žižek) have said it's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. I feel that. And this ad wants you to feel it also, though its not required you understand the reason the world is ending, only that you drink a Jose Cuervo before you think any harder. 

Maybe I've misjudged the makers of this ad. Maybe they know what I know. They might even feel what I feel. But in the end, an ad about the end of the world when the world is ending might get an extra laugh, or an extra eye roll - some extra iota of your brain's attention - because it's ironic.

Still, the ad wouldn't have the same message if people felt empower - if we felt there was some way of stopping impending doom. Without an alternative, doing nothing but getting buzzed actually seems like a logical response in the face of such misery.

This is the power of mass movements and resistance. They give us a way to imagine a different future. And in the end, said Zapata, "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."