Ads that Don't Add Up: Absentee Dads, Oreo Webcams, Phones for All (Over 10)
Growing up, my parents would use the Spanish word propaganda when referring to television commercials. Not to make any kind of statement (I don’t think) but as a slang, I suppose, for the more common commercial. It would help if you knew that I grew up in a household where the primary language was Spanish.
When I grew up and heard the English word ‘propaganda’ and learned what it meant, I knew it made sense.
I would say it’s rare to see television commercials today be considered propaganda, with the exception of maybe campaign ads. Most commercials are typically trying spreading ideas to sell a product. Sure, they use tactics to make you believe you need something you have no use for, but they are no different than smooth talking salesmen lying to your face.
I have two issues with three recent commercials. I sometimes take time to just poke fun at bad commercials, like say Papa Johns, Quizno’s, or any commercial about penises, but in the case of the ads below, I have real bone to pick.
My first issue is with a pair of commercials. One is an Oreo commercial featuring a father and son enjoying a snack on chatroulette (or just webcams, I‘m not sure). The other is a Chevy commercial entitled “Scavenger Hunt.”
My issues with both commercials is how we are expected to feel accustomed to these absent fathers. Now, I may have taken a leap there;. people have to work and people have to be away from their families sometimes. I understand that. My main issue with the Oreo commercial is that it’s a better commercial for Skype than it is for cookies, isn’t it? Similar to what AT&T did a few years ago.
The Chevy commercial, on the other hand, has nothing good to offer. Here we have kids running to the Chevy Equinox following a balloon and the scavenger hunt begins. Jump to Mom, who by now is driving with the little buggers in the backseat, hitting a button to take a call from...Dad? “Guess who?” Mom’s new boyfriend? Weekend-Dad? I don’t know, who? “Hey Daddy!” Oh, phew! Dad signs off with, “Enjoy the trip.”
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