The Wonder Oil of Escapism

An Oslo court has ruled that egg cartons depicting happy hens in a barnyard violates Norwegian marketing laws because commercially raised chickens don’t wander free: They are confined in tiny cages. Consumers, said the court, must not be misled into thinking they are buying eggs from free-range hens. This ruling, if it stands, threatens to replace idyllic fantasy with cold reality in product advertising, at least in one part of the world.

Consider that macho cowboy, riding his trusty mount on a winter’s night toward the welcoming lights of a warm cabin and the chance to relax by smoking a pack or two of his favorite cigarettes. A man of generous spirit, he may even offer his horse a few puffs. Ah, but if the Norwegian court had its way we’d have to confront the nasty reality behind the image: Ol’ Tex, his lungs shot, gasping, hacking and leaving phlegmy deposits in the snow as he wonders how anyone could ever look on smoking as glamorous.

Or think about all those improbably good-looking young men and women in their cool threads having tons of fun as they hoist a few beers in the trendiest places. Can anyone spot a beer belly among them? Or hear a slurred word, let alone a suppressed belch? They smile, smile, smile, and no one ever gets even a tiny bit out of line. This is reality? No, friends, this is escapism, and whatever its marketing goals it is what people need precisely because reality is what they have to live. So let the chickens on the egg carton roam free.