Now that the rest of America is living hand-to-mouth like my family, I’ve noticed a huge change in the mindset endorsed in advertising. Before our nation’s official recession, it was all about what we “deserved,” regardless of whether we “earned” it. Like a way-too-big house, a gas-guzzling V8 or that Fantasy Island dream vacation.
Now you see an insurance company cajoling you into believing that playing a board game around your dining room table or watching a snowy TV screen in the garage is the new Disney World adventure. A paper towel’s absorbency is exalted when a couple, in their messy attempt to get their family budget under control, save their Starbucks’ bucks by making their own cappuccino and playfully spray the milky foam all over their countertop. And I can’t remember the last time I saw a Hummer commercial—it’s all about hybrids.
Yeah, yeah. It just warms the cockles of my heart (if I had one…) but what I wanna know is—has America had a mass epiphany about family values, or are we just trying to talk ourselves into being happy about accepting less? It’s like asking for a Louis Vitton handbag and getting an L.L. Bean backpack. The knapsack will work just fine, but it’s not what you had in mind. Oh well. Welcome to my world.
Personally, I think some of this 180-advertising is Corporate America’s way of keeping the masses under control. Fearful that consumers will rise up and scream out “Hey—what happened to all our money?” we are being placated into believing that it’s okay to be broke. Granted, a lot of individuals’ fall from grace has something to do with their personal greed. But some of problem is bigger than even that.
According to the National Debt Clock, at this moment, our Outstanding Public Debt is $11,808,207,536,564.75. Let me check my pockets, I think I’ve got the 75-cents.