More TV commentary: is anyone else disturbed and upset by the new, much less creative, Comcast HD ad campaign? You know the ones: Comcast representative performs an HD intervention in the home of a poor DirecTV customer. The intervention is not the cause for concern; it is the family on whom it is being imposed.
Each ad features a (stereo)typical American family: Couch Potato Dad, Harried Mom, Lazy Kids, and Too-Close-for-Comfort In-Laws. In both commercials I am familiar with, it is Dad who must be saved from the DirecTV vortex. So here is the problem I see: the point is that Comcast has more HD selections at any given time. So when we are presented with two very overweight families, what immediately goes through my mind is: Yes, let's give them even more reasons to stay planted on the couch...
It upsets me because these commercials seem to be condoning the lazy American stereotype. Yes, God gave us the Wii to get the next generation of fat couch potatoes off their butts, but the amount of time in front of TVs, computers, and other media (cell phones are ridiculous now!) is astounding. I, too, am a victim, of course. I have my TV schedule and I love my Internet. And it makes me sad that I feel I am not as creative as I used to be. The generation that is being raised now is learning by media: there is an upsurge of educational TV programs, DVDs, and kid-friendly video games. Toys have gone almost completely digital. "Classic" games, like Uno and Clue, have either added flashing lights or sexified characters in order to capture the attention on children and stand a chance against the Leapsters, the Baby Einsteins, and the Wiggles. Is it good that kids are learning? Yes, absolutely. But I just feel so OLD and so old-school that I learned with blocks, and Barbies, and dress up, and the outdoors.
Just think: how rare is it to see an advertisement for a toy? A real toy that a kid has to use his imagination for? There are the playhouse-type toys that are reminiscent of things I had as a kid (the Cherry Blossom Market playset for girls and Elmo's Restaraunt for a more gender nondescript crowd). But mostly it's the Leap Frog, it's Uno I'll Fire Cards at You while also Blinking and Threatening Deadly Papercuts, it's Xbox...speaking of, I think the latest Xbox commercial is very fitting: the one with the kid on the couch with a creepy, blank stare; then the camera pans around his head, and we discover that it's...empty...except for an imagine of the kid on a couch with his dad, playing a video game. Is that what childhood imagination has been reduced to? What happened to tree forts? What about couch cushion condos? Where are the lemonade stands? And why do 10-year-olds have cooler phones than I do? WHO ARE THEY CALLING?
Anyway, that is my ten cents (8 more than you probably wanted). Just things I've been thinking about. And stay tuned for a sister article, about the teenaged children (referred to as the 6-going-on-16 phenomenon).
I'm now going to see how John's progressing on his homemade butternut squash soup...
2 comments:
Have you seen the ad for the electronic Monopoly now? There's no paper money to count - it's basically like some credit card thing that you slide into a calculator-type thing and it does all the math for you. My first thought was, "Great, so now there's one less game on the market that teaches kids how to do math." My second thought was, "Great, teach 'em to use credit cards." Ridiculous.
t.
I totally feel you on the XBox commercials! I thought they were just some strange french ads - didn't realize you had them too! Creepy!
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