Match.com went there, one year ago today

In this ad, Match.com goes totally Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on us.  From the opening scene, it's made totally clear that the ONLY reason this guy needs to find himself a female is because his kid is sick to death of burned food.  Howard Keel/Dad needs to go into town and find himself a woman- ANY woman, because there's a kid to be taken care of and food to be shopped for and cooked and a house to be kept clean. 

And as if this isn't creepy/retro enough for you, Match.com ramps it up by having the KID take charge of the whole Getting Dad Back Into The Game thing.  This little boy simply cannot WAIT to have another woman in the house so he can actually have a damn meatloaf that isn't burned for a change (women are genetically designed to cook meatloaf, you know.)  So he fills out his dad's dating profile, selling his dad not as a worthless, helpless, scared little doofus but as a Real Catch because Oh Freaking Lord We Just Need a Woman Here.

And then we get the hilarious punchline- when a susceptible female bites on the hook and agrees to a date, the kid sets her up to meet Dad at the aquarium.  And then he comes along! 

Let's take a look at this from a few angles, shall we?

1.  If you are the guy, you are telling the woman straight out that you are property of this little boy who runs your life, and if she's going to get a second date she'd better impress that kid.  I'm frankly surprised the guy came along on the first date, he doesn't seem necessary here at all.  He could have just given his credit card to the kid- he's got the computer password and unfettered online access after all, why not?

2.  If you are the woman who showed up for a blind date and found yourself being sized up as Potential Housekeeper Material by this kid, well, you know a lot about that guy that wasn't specifically listed on his profile page, don't you?  You going to go through with this?  Why?  So you can have a great story to tell your female friends who talked you into Match.com later?

3.  If you are this guy's ex-wife....well, what do you think about your kid being introduced to your ex on the first date?  Just curious.

4.  If you are the kid in this commercial....oh no, I can't even begin to go THERE.  Someone else is going to have to wade through THAT damage.  Way too disturbing for me.

Let's keep in mind that this is specifically a FATHER'S DAY AD.  A Father's Day Ad with the message that fathers are totally butt-worthless as well as being guilty of neglect every day they continue to pretend they can raise a kid without a woman in the house.  Stop acting like you can be a parent, Stupid Man!  Kids need decent meals and clean houses!  Get back out there and lasso yourself one of them women folks so we can get some decent service around here!

Sick.

Staples will promote the personal touch right up to the moment it becomes Staples.com

This Staples ad carries the message that it understands the value of building a relationship between it's employees and it's customers and that nothing can replace that one-on-one, face-to-face human contact which builds trust and brand loyalty.

Meanwhile, Staples is aggressively pursuing the shutting of it's brick and mortar stores all over the United States and moving to a web-only presence, almost certainly achieving this cost (and employee) slashing strategy by 2025.

You reconcile these two things.  I can't.

Wealthsimple's Super Bowl commercial gives me a severe case of the Sads

I can really relate to this confused, harrassed individual.  He's got a high-paying job and a nice house in the suburbs but he's having nightmares and his head is spinning because he can't decide how to invest his excess money.  And the world sure isn't doing him any favors, offering him unsolicited advice everywhere he turns.  He can't even enjoy a nice soak in the tub or a relaxing breakfast in front of his flatscreen without being tortured with thoughts that he isn't turning his pile of cash into a bigger pile of cash more quickly.  Oh woes.

I wonder how many people watched this ad and thought it was cute and/or clever but also had absolutely nothing to do with the reality of their lives.  Every year a larger percentage of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, carrying credit card and other debt from month to month as part of the normal cost of living.  "Investing" means possibly buying a house you can borrow off of and perhaps sell when it's time to retire- if you're lucky enough to hit retirement age during an upswing in the real estate market and not one of the all-too-frequent "corrections."   "Retirement Funds" means "Social Security" and not much else to more people every single year- and that's not because investing is "complicated."  It's because stagnant wages and the death of pensions have made surplus income at the end of each month a fantasy.  Figuring out what to do with wealth isn't the middle-class problem it used to be, Wealthsimple.  For a whole lot of us, there's already a creditor out there waiting for every bit of it we can- briefly-get our hands on.

So pardon me if I don't shed a tear for anyone who gets dizzy at the dizzying buffet of investment options.  BMWs come in different colors, too- that doesn't mean I'm going to sympathize with anyone struggling to make that choice.  The guy in this ad is going to have to look elsewhere for a tissue or a shoulder to cry on. 

Meet Mr. Cooper, your Friend in Denial....

Is owning a home the American Dream?  Maybe.  I bet the kids in this ad would settle for financially responsible parents.  I mean, look at these people- they've got a house in the suburbs they can't afford without rolling up credit card debt and making themselves vulnerable to predatory loan companies like "Mr.Cooper."  They buy stuff then can't really pay for, digging a big hole for themselves while pretending that they are better off than they actually are, just so they can "give their kids everything" while maintaining smiles and relaxed attitudes that are fake or clueless or both.

So they'll sign with Mr. Cooper and get a debt consolodation loan using their property as security, and if they just keep on doing what they've doing to get into this mess in the first place they'll end up right back where they started- except, this time, in something a bit less substantial than that nice house in the suburbs.  Where will the "American Dream" be then?  Where will those stupid, vapid, fake or clueless smiles and relaxed attitudes be then?

How about living within your means, Stupid Suburban "Adults?"  Maybe pretend that the "American Dream" is being happy with what you have and knowing how to set limits?  Just a thought.  But if it's a thought that doesn't seem particularly attractive, there's always Mr. Cooper there to help you delay your inevitable rendevous with Reality.

Just remember- it really is inevitable.

The Honda Fit itself? Well, you'll have to check out other commercials for any actual info....

I could spend this entire post complaining about the blatant, phony diversity game being played by the good people at Honda here.  I mean, look at the characters in this ad- an Asian girl, a black guy, a red-haired white guy, and two brunettes of uncertain ethnicity.  For chrissakes, Honda.  Please.

Or I could beat up on the YouTube weirdos who really, really like the Asian girl.  I really hope I'm never that lonely.

Instead, I'll just point out that this Honda Fit commercial, like so many others, focuses entirely on the car's impressive trunk space.  So the car is being advertised as a $20,000 closet with wheels.  Wow, I'm so sold.

Ocean City presents the...um...."Fun" Family

Get it?  Because their last name is "Fun."  And they like to have "Fun."  Isn't that clever?

I wonder why they aren't the Inane Family.  Or the Doofus Family.  Or they Whitebread Family.  I mean, come on.  This perfectly ordinary, boring man-child bumped into a desperate, Clock-is-ticking Equally Uninteresting, Depressingly Fertile female of the species totally willing to mate with anyone who could provide sperm and a reasonable amount of money for a bank account and a House in the SuburbsTM.  In due time they managed to pass their DNA on to the next generation of perfectly ordinary, probably Just As Boring kids who will grow up to marry people of their same race and mind set and start the whole vicious cycle all over again.

In the meantime, these are the people you'll meet if you go to Ocean City, Maryland, otherwise known as Six Flags For People of Moderate Income.  Moron adults with their moron kids acting like morons. 

Now, if all this cloying - not to mention all the noise that goes with crowds of kids and their stupid parents and water slides and rides and ride lines- isn't for you, you could head a few miles down the road and enjoy the windswept dunes of Rehoboth Beach in Delaware.  No arcades or mini-golf or water slides or rollercoasters, just sand and surf and nature quiet time with your kids.  For people who don't need constant stimulation to keep their "brains" going, might be worth a visit.  But if you aspire to be like the "Fun" Family, please stick to Ocean City and the glitzy carnival atmosphere and the corn dogs and the cotton candy and the noise.  You wouldn't find the quiet beaches fun- in fact, you might find it downright terrifying having to entertain your kids without assistance from colorful shiny junk.  And we don't want you there anyway. 

Off to Florida for my annual Working Vacation!

I treat you to a minute of this woman with a very punchable face and waaaay too much enthusiasm in her voice to remind you that I will be grading AP exams in Tampa again from June 2-10, and won't be updating my blog until I return.

I was able to visit a few of these attractions last year- I walked the Riverwalk every day and took in a few museums.  The amusement park and George Steinbrenner field are a little too far away, so I missed minor league baseball, however we will be returning to Louisville Kentucky for the Reading next year and I'm looking forward to seeing the Bats play at Slugger Field again in 2019....

Enjoy the archives until I get back, everybody!