A woman walks into the living room, surprising her husband by wearing a hot new dress. For some reason, this inspires the husband to start talking about their Chase Sapphire Credit Card: "Lets use our points to take a break."
Ok, let's take this in for a moment: Wife shows husband expensive-looking new purchase. First thing husband thinks is "hey, that reminds me, we've got a credit card?"
"We could go on a trip" husband says (cue scene with hubby and wife roaring down the coast on a speedboat- I don't see a "closed course, do not attempt" disclaimer anywhere.)
"No we can't" replies wife.
"Sure we can- we can use the points for just about anything" husband insists.
"I know" replies wife, stepping back to again point out that she's wearing an expensive dress.
Husband smiles- Ah, yes. That's where your Chase Sapphire points went, buddy. Your wife saw something she just Had To Have, and used the points THE TWO OF YOU EARNED to BUY SOMETHING FOR HERSELF.
Kind of an interesting reversal of the usual theme here- Husband is thinking of the fun things they could do as a couple; Wife plays the selfish choad who went out and blew the points without even consulting Husband. Generally, what we see in commercials is Wife/Girlfriend being sensible and Husband/Boyfriend being a clueless, self-centered little prick. This commercial would have fit into the standard if wife/girlfriend had enthused about all the great things they could do with their Chase Sapphire points, only to have husband/boyfriend point at the new Game System he purchased without letting her know. Shrug and eyeroll by wife/girlfriend, commercial over.
Of course, we can't see the husband ticked off at his wife for using THEIR card points to buy something for HERSELF- he just smiles appreciatively, as if she bought the dress for his benefit.
It's strongly implied that even though it's THEIR card, SHE has the final say on how it will be used. Still, I can't help but thinking that if it was the guy tossing cold water on his wife's big plans for a vacation by pointing out that he just bought a new tool bench or the 2010 MLB HD package on Dish Network, her reaction would not have been quite so generous.
One more point- with the unemployment rate hovering above 10% for the first time in 26 years, do we really need a commercial featuring people who spend so much on credit that they've accumulated enough points to buy dresses or go on vacation with? Oh, who am I kidding- we are about to be treated to another two months of "Show your Loved One that you Care by giving them a Lexus with a Red Ribbon on it" commericals. Compared to those, this credit card commercial is downright enjoyable. Like a toothache is enjoyable compared to a migraine.
The guy is supposed to think that the wife bought the dress for him, right? His share of "their" purchase with "their" credit card points is that he gets to admire how good SHE looks.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he should be happy that she wants to be looked at, and isn't giving him a lecture about "milky minutes" or making him wear a "European Shoulder Bag."
Her dress cost as much as a vacation? Really? Can we have a commercial that shows a teenage girl being happy her mother bought her thrift shop jeans and eating from fresh apples from the farmers market?
ReplyDeleteJennifer- clearly, this couple is not concerned about the cost of juice drinks and soda. ;>)
ReplyDeleteI hate that commercial too. Rich bitch blows points on dress. Yeah, we can all relate to that.
ReplyDeleteThank you! My thoughts exactly! :)
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, but the writers of this ad are behind the times; the woman in this mess might as well be Wilma Flintstone yelling "CHARGE IT!!" because she has no real idea that Fred has to pay for her excesses.
ReplyDeleteGOD, but I hate this commercial. It's a great dress, but still, a dress over a trip to... wherever they are in that reverie?!? GAH.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the woman is a poor man's Julia Roberts.
http://www.facebook.com/chasesapphirestinks
ReplyDeletehorrible
That's some thoughtless behavior from a sensible looking woman. Exactly, what if it was the other way around. Advertising would never portray the woman being 'just fine', if he used the points to buy something for himself without telling her. If he did the same, you'd probably hear the needle abruptly scratch off the Sinatra record and a look of disbelief on her face. Dump that gold digger!
ReplyDeleteTo 1st Republic 14th Star: Usually when a woman gets hot dress, it's to look good for other guys.
It's not exactly a reward for him. She could have saved the points and gotten a dress at The Gap or J Crew and he wouldn't have known the difference. Using the points to get a dress implies that it cost an equivalent price as a vacation for 2. Perhaps $2-3k. Remember, he's brainstorming about what to do with the points and she says, 'no we can't', steps back and shows off the dress. 'No we can't' (do those together things you're talking about) because I already bought this without telling you.
Here's a quote, 'That's a dealbreaker ladies!'