Seriosly, KGB?

That ad seems in pretty poor taste, considering what the KGB was.

Oh thank god, I was beginning to feel like the young whippersnappers creating ads out there today should get off my lawn or something. Someone else remembers the cold war! I thought the KGB pun was in terribly poor taste. Surely someone brought it up at one of the pre-production meetings, no?

That's a good question. The line at the end of the ad, "We answer to you" is an obvious reference to the Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnost (KGB). Either it wasn't brought up, or it was ignored. Even the logo at the end of the ad resembles a military rank insignia.

Exactly! I thought they were going for the connection. I just found it in poor taste. The KGB is never funny. Kind of like the Nazis. Unless you're Mel Brooks he can get away with murder.

"..Be a smarty, time to join the nazi party..." (from "Springtime for Hilter", from "The Producers"). And Mel often got away with murder, on screen, at least. (I know that he got away with robbery on 2 occasions. No, really, he did. He worked with the guy, and robbed him twice, as a gag. The guy didn't charge him with anything, and remained scared of Mel from that point on). Also, Hogan's Heroes was able to poke fun at Nazi Germany and POW camps.

I think they're stupid to use the KGB, and yes, I think that they're going for the connection (at least someone on the creative team was). Too many people have too many bad memories of the KGB. (Maybe they should wait until 20+ years have passed, like Mel did, and Hogan's Heroes did).

That's the difference. It's the portrayal.

The Knowledge Generation Bureau ad(s) doesn't mock the KGB, but instead it tries to create this kind of KGB and Hollywood Men In Black type of similarity that I find extremely ignorant and distasteful.

Allan1 is correct: attitudes do change over time, for better or for worse....