This Heartbreaking Film Shows How Consumerism Has Tarnished the Meaning of Veterans Day

The intended focus of Veterans Day has always been to honor those military veterans who have served and sacrificed in the U.S. Armed Forces. Over time, however, the special day of acknowledgment has suffered the same fate as other holidays that have had their essential meanings overshadowed by consumerism. Instead of seeing a general call to reach out and show gratitude to those we should be honoring, Veterans Day has been heavily associated with the world of retail and impressive sales. The glaring issue with this is that so many of us have connections with veterans—real-life people who are still mental, physically, and spiritually impacted by their time in service. Furthermore, that very impact is often negative. While it’s easy to get swept away by great deals and buzzworthy marketing, to forget what the day is indeed about diminishes the sacrifices that these people made (repeatedly, at times). [kickout id="1"] As a much-needed reminder, the Fisher House Foundation and creative agency Gut have put together a short film highlighting the true meaning of the holiday, and it does so by centering the very people we are meant to celebrate: veterans. In “Veterans Day is Not for Sale,” real veterans read over some of the holiday-related sales that we often see in media for products like appliances and shoewear. There is an understandable air of frustration as they read them out loud. In one shot Dr. Brenda Rivera, a Vietnam vet, holds up an ad for a boots sale as she points out that she would never wear these shoes by choice. It emphasizes a crucial point: exactly how many of these sales are actually crafted with veterans in mind, or even benefit vets in any way? How is this a proper “thank you?” Both Gut and Fisher House hope that this video will help shift the focus back to the people who truly matter. "We hope that by highlighting veterans’ reactions, we will remind people that Veterans Day is not about the next shopping sale, but was created to celebrate and honor these heroes and the sacrifices they’ve made,” says Anselmo Ramos, co-founder and CCO of Gut. The campaign will run across Fisher House Foundation-owned and Gut social channels. In the interim, if people really want to show their appreciate those who have served, they’d do well to take the advice of Eugene R. Downs, a World War II, Korea, and Vietnam veteran. “Go shake his hand. Buy him a Coke, a coffee. See if he needs something for himself.” CREDITS: Gut Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer: Anselmo Ramos Co-Founder: Gaston Bigio Executive Creative Director: Matias Lafalla, Ramiro Gamallo Associate Creative Director: Jeff Hodgson, Eli Ferrer Managing Director: Ricardo Honegger Account: Kati McCain, Wonsik Cho Producer: Ricardo Honegger Business Affairs Manager: Karen Murillo Cosmostreet Editorial Editor: Lorenzo Bombicci Executive Producer: Yvette Cobarrubias Producer: Idalia Deshon Apache Digital Colour Colorist: Steve Rodriguez Producer: Caitlin Forrest Cosmostreet Online Flame Artist: Tim Miller Producer: Idalia Deshon Beacon Street Mix Mixer: Rommel Molina Producer: Kate Vanais Massive Music Creative Director: Tim Adams Executive Producer: Kiki McDaniel Composer: Patrick McArthur M ss ng P eces Production House Production Company: M ss ng P eces Director: Tucker Walsh Fisher House Foundation Senior Communications Specialist: Ashley Estill Vice President of Communications: Kerri Childress Vice President of Community Relations: Brian Gawne Director of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Gillian Gonzalez

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This Heartbreaking Film Shows How Consumerism Has Tarnished the Meaning of Veterans Day

New ad from Anselmo Ramos’ Gut agency is powerful reminder of sacrifice

Shannon Miller

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