I saw a commercial the other morning that really made me laugh. It’s a Titan Tire commercial, which if you you would like to have a hearty chuckle, you can view here. Just click on the “kimono” link.

It was funny to me because of the recent state America’s relationship to all things foreign. Funnier still was seeing rugged cowboy types accessorizing a lasso with a beret and pairing a pitchfork with a silky kimono.

I thought it expertly and humorously isolated what’s different about American manufactured products.

But it wasn’t particularly funny to an editor at Indiana State University’s student newspaper, The Statesman. Her reaction to the commerical was markedly different than mine. Read her editorial here.

This editorial offended a member of the the Terre Haute community, so much so that he responded with a letter to the editor defending the family that was attacked in the Opinions column and highlighting the lack of journalistic integrity on the part of the editor.

My point is two-fold. Firstly, what’s funny to some people may not be funny to other people; so un-funny that, as in this case, it is received as offensive and malignant. The lesson? Be cautious in your advertising, but don’t be afraid to push the envelope. If you’re too cautious, people may not have a negative reaction to your efforts, but they may not react at all.

Secondly, I came across this information only because I was searching the Internet high and low for a way to share this commercial with you. In the course of my search, I came across the editorial. Then I came across the response to it. Only then did I locate the commercial. The lesson? You can find almost anything on the Internet. Be smart about what you put out there, and about how you handle criticisms about what you put out there.