Another slice of the banal, courtesy of State Farm

1. If you didn't know how this commercial was going to end ten seconds in, well, either you aren't particularly bright or you haven't watched anywhere near as many commercials as I have (which kind of contradicts the first possibility.)

2.  If you care about this hipster eurotrash wannabee doofus with his prerequisite beard and flowing hair and office job, you're a far, far better person than I am.

3.  If you wonder where this guy is running to the hospital from (come on, he's either fleeing his house where he left the water on, or he abandoned his desk at work.  Not both)- hey, me too!  This makes no sense at all!

(And yes, if it's the pregnant woman who left the water on, that makes a bit more sense.  But it's still stupid.)

4.  If you are sick to death of bloodsucking insurance companies inundating us with BS "we care" commercials, join the club.  State Farm doesn't see a baby about to be born here.  State Farm sees a Dependent about to be added to this couple's insurance policy.  And dollar signs.  Period.

Chevy Boldly goes where too many car companies have already gone before

Car commercials which wedge actual family issues and life-altering events and everyday humdrum moments that everyone experiences whether or not they own a particular car are quite the rage these days, aren't they?

I have absolutely no idea what ANY of this has to do with being "bold," because there's nothing especially bold about being an empathic human being dealing with a kid going through all of the banal struggles involved in growing up.  I know this guy wants a statue and a parade if he can't actually get his profile carved into Mount Rushmore because He Was There for a daughter he willfully created, but what he really needs is a good kick in the ass and directions back to the No Awards For Doing What You Are Supposed To Do Corner- at least, in my humble opinion.

So please, Mr. Bold Dad Who Wants To Convince Us That He's His Daughter's Hero- get back into your Bold Camry and hit the road.  Because, seriously- you're so full of helium, you must put lead in your shoes to keep you from bumping up against the ozone layer.

And please, Bold Camry Commercial Makers- give this smarmy, twee Slice of Life crap a rest.  No one is impressed by your idea of what it means to be "bold."  You seem to think it means "perfectly ordinary."  Which, come to think of it, is a lot better description of your crappy round-peg-into-round-hole cars than "bold" will ever be.

This will all be coming out in therapy sessions down the road

Yeah, I get that this commercial is supposed to be all about the kid's fertile imagination, and how it leads him to imagine dangers where they really don't exist.

And yet, I can't help but notice that, again and again, this kid's idiot dad is in fact putting him in constant danger by driving way too fast on city streets, engaging in unsafe passing, etc.  While it's true that the car is not actually being attacked by trees or chased by bears, the kid's defensive mechanism- to imagine the hazards he's being subjected to because Daddy isn't being very responsible toward his Precious Bundle of JoyTM- is being triggered by something very, very real.  The kid is nervous because he gets that the guy behind the wheel- the same guy who just gave him a loving, "you are the most important person in the world to me" look before starting the car- is being reckless because hey the car will tell him if there's anything to worry about, right?

Chevy Presents: Soul-Sucking Sad

Never mind the first 17 seconds of this banal, insulting little nub of a car commercial, which features the done-to-death bs "focus group" which has been lured into sitting around a table (probably with nothing more than the promise of having a few seconds of face time on tv) to answer exactly one question by a Chevrolet Spokeschoad (I hope they at least served cookies.)  It's a pretty typical commercial for the genre- "hey, here are a lot of really cool things about this new car, guess what car company we are talking about?"  It's been used with coffee, pasta, frozen pizza, diet soda- why not cars?

No, don't worry about those first 17 seconds.  I suggest you skip right to the seriously depressing part of this commercial- when the Obviously Dead Inside woman responds to the fact that this car comes with internet connectivity you can carry with you with "that's the dream, to have WiFi in the car."

Um....I guess that's your dream, lady.  I really hope to god that it's no one else's.  In fact, I hope to god that you are just reading off a cue card and your "dream" doesn't REALLY include driving a car that allows you to stream movies as you travel from Point A to Point B.  Because if you are being sincere, well, seriously.....your dreams need some serious evaluating.

Maybe I'm overreacting a bit because I walk so much, and despite my blaze-orange backpack I know I have to be constantly on guard against stupid, distracted douchenozzle inattentive drivers.  At least two or three times a week I have to audibly remind some jackass behind the wheel staring at his/her phone that a human being who has the light is crossing in front of their car.  I'm not too excited at the idea of vehicles becoming moving theaters with continuous Facebook connectivity, even if it is some thoughtless moron's idea of "living the dream," sorry.

Subaru's Legacy is just one stupid ad after another

1.  Is this really "easier" than just fixing the toy car or buying a new one?  Driving around like an idiot, wasting a lot of gas, and risking a rollover or other accident rather than just telling the kid that he'll have to wait until his toy is fixed or can be replaced?

2.  How does the guy in the car know when to turn right or left- he can't possibly have any idea how his kid is manipulating the remote contro.  And if he's just doing it randomly, how does the kid get any satisfaction out of watching his dad act like a dangerous idiot with a real car?

3. What's the lesson being taught to the little kids in this commercial?  Is it

A)  Cars are toys, to be used in reckless, stupid ways on a whim?

B)  Driving like a lunatic is fun fun fun (so much fun, in fact, that it can make dad totally forget that his two small children are standing nearby?) or

C)  If you put on a really sad face, you can manipulate your dad into acting like a freaking puppet on a string to wipe that sad sad little face away?

If this doesn't solve the overpopulation crisis, nothing will

Because there's absolutely no way any kid who ever grows up playing with one of these freakish things will ever, ever want to have actual children.

"Look, a magical charm!"  If you find yourself saying something like this when your Precious Gift From HeavenTM gives you a "Diaper Surprise," your soul is long gone and your brain cells have absorbed way too much Pine-Sol.  But hell, maybe you're better off.

Back to the drawing board, Wrigley's

In six years of doing this blog, I think this is the first time I've ever snarked on a gum commercial.  Mainly because I don't see a lot of gum commercials.  As little as advertisers have to say about anything, they seem to have even less to say about gum.

This ad is kind of a concession to that point- the people who made it have absolutely nothing to say about their product, but they apparently decided that every few decades they have to make a commercial featuring Juicy Fruit anyway.  Even if it makes no sense and features two disgusting old creeps doing things no adult male should ever do- chew sugary gum and make arm farts.  During their annual one-day visit to a gym.  In the middle of a locker room.  Like I said- makes no sense.