Champion Paper: Protecting You From the Tyrannical Future Government (Newsweek, 1979)

I came across a rather bizarre ad recently in the October 15, 1979 edition of Newsweek. It's for a company called Champion which now looks to be a part of the International Paper Company.

The ad is utterly perplexing.

"In the future, incredibly expensive technology could enable a few people to live for 200 years or more. Who will be chosen? And, who will choose?"

Why would a paper company take out such a bizarre ad? Because, "...we are a forest products company, and plant seeds that take up to 50 years to become mature trees, Champion International has to think a lot about the future."

Comments

[Sally]

Champion Paper Company was in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton,_North_Carolina" REL="nofollow">Canton, North Carolina, in the mountains. After an employee buy-out, it became the Blue Ridge Paper Company. A long http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/blue-ridge-pollution" REL="nofollow">class action suit against it for polluting the watershed was recently settled. In the early 1990s at UNC I taught a student who had a Champion Paper scholarship. She ended up writing a research paper that critiqued the company for its bad practices. She cared about her scholarship, but she cared about her home community more.

[Matt]

Thanks for the background info.

[gerovital]

good information but I do not think anyone will live 200 years

[Russell]

Bizarre, and fascinating. Particularly telling that they were major polluters. I would sure like to see what they mailed you if you wrote to them for more information...