No Medals for Olympic TV Ads

I had a nightmare last night. I kept seeing this TV ad that centers on a teenage babysitter getting a ride home in a Chevy Tahoe. She strokes the leatherette console as she enters a state of euphoria. The climax is the young girl’s response to the mother’s question: “$40?” With a smirk the babysitter chimes. “$60.”  This disgusting ad promotes dishonesty, greed and nothing about the mechanics of the vehicle. And the taxpayers bailed out the manufacturers a few years ago. And this is real, not a dream.

There is a sick trend here. Prior to Chevy, VW had an ad where two young girls selling roadside lemonade for 25-cents see a new Passat coming their way. One girl quickly turns the price sign around to reveal the cost for people who drive luxury cars: $1. Okay, this isn’t as bad as the Chevy piece—less money involved and there is no direct lying—but VW should think of other ways to convey its message.

The Chevy spot has been running non-stop during the Sochi Olympics along with a spot for Coca-Cola where a young man “sip steals” coke in a convenience store. The ad ends with this disclaimer that “sip stealing” is not a felony in all 50 states. The message here is that it is okay to cheat as long as it doesn’t reach the level of hard crime typically punishable by two to three years in state prison.

The Chevy-Coke  ads promote dishonesty on the edges. There are lines/boundaries in the world of values and standards. I resent ad people who believe it is okay to blur the lines.