[Geysers] Television ads

[Gordon Bower]

I apologize if this is deemed off-topic, but it seems closely related to
an issue we discussed at considerable length this past year.

Remember the Metamucil ads portraying throwing things into a geyser?

There is a Honda ad being aired now. A grizzly bear is standing in
the middle of the road blocking traffic. Guys in their pickup scratch
their heads wondering how to get past the snarling bear. Driver gets out
of the cab, goes around to a cooler in the cargo bay, takes out a fish,
makes sure he has the bear's attention, throws the fish past the bear to
the side of the road. Drooling bear runs after the fish like a dog playing
fetch. Driver gets back in car and continues down the road.

The ad didn't seem to represent any one location. But whether in
Yellowstone, Montana, Alaska, or elsewhere, it does show someone doing
three or four of the worst things you can do if you're in your pickup and
see a bear on the road. A tourist copycatting this ad is a darn sight more
likely to get hurt than one who tries throwing Metamucil into a geyser is.

Anyone else seen it and felt like telling Honda that we'd prefer them not
to teach fishermen how to feed themselves to a bear? Is it something an
NPS official might want to write a letter about even though there is no
national park signage shown in the ad?

GRB