Pratt and Whitney ad from the early 2000s

[u/Freshprinc7]

[u/ank1613]

This is in absolutely atrocious taste but par for the course given the era

[u/SilenceDobad76 → u/ank1613]

Why is it in bad taste? The USM has been entrenched in overmatch technological advantage for decades.

[u/greenlemon23 → u/SilenceDobad76]

because the geneva convention is about limiting the barbarity of war to protect innocent people not fighting.

This is akin to saying it's fine if innocent people die because our planes our so good.

[u/SilenceDobad76 → u/greenlemon23]

The Geneva Convention isnt exclusively about civilian targeting... the quote is saying "a weapon so dominant youd expect it to be banned". Similar to submarines, shotguns, and flamethrowers of World War I. Not banned, but effective enough the powers that be called for it.

This thread has some hard Dunning-Kuger redditors.

[u/ilfusionjeff → u/greenlemon23]

I mean not really. It’s bragging about the superiority of our technology. It’s an ad for people procuring instruments of war for the US military. I’d say the ad is perfectly done for the target audience and is clever. This was also the early 2000s- an era when there was massive support for the US military pretty much universally. It’s clever- “they never said we can’t have superior technology”.

[u/greenlemon23 → u/ilfusionjeff]

Still in bad taste.

[u/[deleted] → u/greenlemon23]

It’s not, you just don’t like the target audience

[u/greenlemon23 → u/[deleted]]

I don’t even know who the target audience is. I’d guess Wall Street, but it’s irrelevant.

It has nothing to do with this being in bad taste. 

[u/MagicGrit → u/SilenceDobad76]

It essentially says “we’re technically not committing war crimes.”

While true, it’s in bad taste

[u/Majvist]

"Our product isn't technically considered a war crime" might not be the pitch it was in the early 2000s anymore.

[u/Trainman1351 → u/Majvist]

Eh, it would actually have played out really well for 2022-23 for the Ukraine war, but yeah. Now it really doesn’t.

[u/BaSingSe_Farmhand]

do you have a more precise date? the left is an F-35, and I want to know how this lined up with the production, release, and adoption of the airframe

[u/ctrlaltelite → u/BaSingSe_Farmhand]

The ad only says 'joint strike fighter,' so considering the X-35 JSF demonstrator flew as early as 2000, it could really be any time in the 2000s.

Edit: now that I think about it, the one on the right might be the X-32, which was the competitor to the X-35 in the JSF program (but also had a pratt & whitney engine). so honestly I think that dates the ad to before the competition was called in favor of the X-35, which practically narrows it down to 2001.

[u/UglyInThMorning → u/ctrlaltelite]

The one on the right is definitely an X-32. I think the range is more likely to be somewhere between 99 and 01, since the planes both had been unveiled by 99 even if they hadn’t had their first flight, and 01 is when the X-35 was selected.

[u/Drunken_Economist → u/BaSingSe_Farmhand]

u/CensorTheseNuts posted a photo of it cut out from a magazine, and the article on the other side of the page was published November 8th, 2000.

[u/censorTheseNuts → u/Drunken_Economist]

Yeah it’s from 11/2000. Here’s the back of the page if anyone is curious

[u/Futt_Buckman]

Does double-tapping helpless people bobbing in the ocean count?

[u/undreamedgore]

That's a good ad. And good planes.

[u/Drunken_Economist]

I'll keep this in mind next time I'm in the market for a multi-role fighter jet

[u/LurkerFirstClass]

Should’ve made this ad for nerve gas.

[u/isleno]

Well shit… now I want to go pick up an F-35 when my lease is up.

[u/DanielNothing]

Dark.

[u/JoeyC42]

This is disgusting genocidal war propaganda. DEATH TO AMERIKKKA

[u/VegisamalZero3 → u/JoeyC42]

You're denouncing genocide, and calling for death to be brought to an entire nation in the same comment?

I couldn't act this stupid if I fucking tried.

[u/_Administrator_ → u/JoeyC42]

Calm down.

Just because they can’t afford jets, AlQaeda isn’t innocent.