Threatening messages aimed to prevent digital piracy have the opposite effect if you're a man, a new study from the University of Portsmouth has found. According to the research, women tend to respond positively to this kind of messaging, but men typically increase their piracy behaviors by 18%.
The “you wouldn’t download a car” joke is one thing. What I don’t understand is how people genuinely use a satirical joke as a supporting argument for piracy, or a critique of anti-piracy.
The advertising never said downloading a car. It was stealing a car, which is very clearly a crime.
You are free to claim auto theft is not comparable to digital piracy. You are free to suggest that somehow in the future you’d be able to home manufacturer a vehicle (although a bit far fetched IMO). But criticizing an ad campaign for something they’ve never said is just silly.
If I stole someone’s car, and an exact copy of the car was left there for them, I’d probably be okay with stealing a car. Copying a file isn’t the same as stealing a physical album. That’s the criticism of that ad campaign, they aren’t equal comparisons. Besides, if buying isn’t owning, then copying isn’t stealing.
Like I said, you’re welcome to talk about it being an invalid comparison, but the advert did not state you wouldn’t download a car.
We’re aware of that. People didn’t steal albums either.