Two Commercials, Two Different Reactions

Thursday, September 29/16

So there are currently two TV commercials airing from competing car companies and each makes me feel a different emotion. One makes me smile and the other has me convinced I'll never buy a vehicle from that particular manufacturer ever again.

Let's start with the one that pisses me off to no end.

Opening scene shows a teenage boy at night sitting on the curb in front of a house where it is quite obvious a house party is being held. Nothing wrong with that. Scene evolves to show the father arriving in the family mini van. Still nothing wrong. Now we see a close up of the son looking worried about dads reaction and the scowl on dad's face as the son looks at him as the voice over says "It's the family chauffeur"

For me the message is quite clear, don't waste my time calling me to come get you and find your own way home. That is not the message I've ever given my children and I've gladly roused myself out of bed at 1am to go and pick them up with friends from a party. I'd rather do that than have one of them try and get a ride from a friend who might have had a few drinks or try and walk home in the dark with other people whizzing by.  Now some of you might think I'm reading too much into the scene as the rest of the commercial shows fun family scenes but that one just sticks in my craw and leaves me angry at Chrysler Canada for even producing any scene where it could be misconstrued and works against our kids having the knowledge that they can call upon us at any time and we'll be there for them no matter what.

Now the one that makes me smile is from Subaru and shows 2 parents getting their kids out of the house late one night for a drive outside the city so they can experience the joy of seeing the northern lights.  I've been lucky enough to see them while standing on a hill with my parents, cousins, and grandfather at his cottage outside of Regina when I was younger, it's something that will live with me forever and that commercial takes me back to some fun times when I was but a youth.

The music for the Subaru commercial is perfect and sets the tone, the scenes where the son is excited to be heading out and the teenage daughter barely tolerant of everything going on. The smiles shared by the parents when the see the reaction in each child as they climb out of the car is priceless.

I know they are just commercials but I appreciate the one and doubt my business will ever go to the other again.

Just my take on things and you are free to unbuckle and move about the cabin at will, agreeing or disagreeing with me as you choose :)

Marcus