The Invisible Ingredient, Acticle 01000
By TOV – The Entertainment Industry Chaplain
I was cleaning the kitchen this morning, after making an oatmeal breakfast for the family. Take note guys this really is the way to a woman's heart, especially when she and both your kids are sick. She was thumbing through a magazine when her eye fell upon a new Dodge Caravan advertisement.
No offence to Dodge, I'm sure they have many professionals working on their advertising for family-friendly vehicles, but maybe they should try talking to people "like us" more often. This two page glossy ad sure was pretty. Nice pictures.
The two largest of the six make sure you see a "mommy" with smiling face in the driver's seat, while the kids are watching Nickelodeon—live—thanks to a new partnership with Sirius Satellite Radio, called, "Sirius Backseat TV," (I have to throw a bone over to Sirius, some good people over there). I mean, this van is really nice! It has Halo/LED Lighting*! The "*" takes you to a note at the bottom that says, "Available" Wow! That almost sold me right there.
Then there was the picture below that with "Jordan", "Buried in another comic book!"
The Multi-Media system is something I might really be interested. No kidding.
Let me get back to the part about the two kids watching television. It really disturbed me. I'll be the first to admit, I've had the portable DVD playing going on long trips. It can often be a wonderful distraction, especially since children need attention and can get a little grumpy on long trips (any parents out there "feelin' me"?). The caption over the picture is what really bothered me though:
"6-hour trip to Grandma's and never heard a peep out of them!"
What exactly is being sold here? Kids with headphones in a picture, and happy smiling "mom" driving the car (their ain't no "dad" in the picture, yet another message from big business that dad's are worthless oafs who can't even be bothered to drive their kids to see Grandma, but hey don't worry your favorite nanny the television will keep them company).
What a sad, sad thing to sell people: Silence.
Wasn't it a few years ago people were still chastizing previous generations for holding to the philosopy that, "Children should be seen and not heard"? Seems we're back to it again in this generation. Is that hypocritical? Where's the conversation? Where's the interaction?
What I get out of this is a message that kids are better off watching television in silence while mom gets to play with her on-board computer (hopefully while watching the road). There's no need for interacting with my kids. Why bother? It doesn't matter that kids learn adult interaction by, ah—interacting—with adults—like their parents—on long trips to Grandma's house.
How about the slogan sound bit that is written next to the Dodge Emblem in BOLD letters announcing, "Grab Life," when the real message here is, "Keep your kids' brain cells melting away as you have your own private silence party and abdicate your responsibility, in yet another area of your life, to have a positive impact on your family."
Then there's the one picture with, "Grandma, Granddaughter…and Grand Caravan!" I tell you, the thought of that great silent partner taking care of my family really brings me a lot of comfort right now.
Simply Amazing. I'm sold. Let's go get one, my love. Oh, don't forget the headsets.
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