It's sad 'cuz it's true
There is a television commercial showing in New York right now (and perhaps all over the United States) that breaks my heart and infuriates me every time I see it. It promotes a wireless telephone service (I think Verizon wireless) and its IN program that allows customers to talk to other customers of the company for as long as they want without incurring any charges against their allotted minutes. I couldn't find a video or a script for the ad online, so this script is from my memory:
Two teenage sisters stand in the living room of their house. Their mother and father enter. The father is a big, fleshy, goofy-looking guy with curly blond hair and a clueless enthusiasm. He carries two brand-new cellular phones. The mother is disproportionately attractive, and the teenage girls are basic carbon copies of their mother—thin, shapely, symmetrical, and well dressed.
Father: Great news, girls! We got everyone new cell phones, so now we can keep in touch all the time no matter where we are!
There is an uncomfortable silence as the girls take the phones and grimace at the thought of speaking to their father for any reason other than to ask for money. Mother tries desperately to alleviate their chagrin.
Mother: And it has IN, so you can talk to your friends as much as you want.
The girls' dispositions brighten dramatically.
Girls: Wow! That's great!
The girls both hug their mother.
Father: Yea! Group hug!
As Father steps forward to participate in the hug, the girls release their mother and walk away callously, immediately followed by Mother.
Father: (valiantly trying to remain enthusiastic) Yeah! Okay, then. This is gonna be good.
The attitude displayed in this ad is one of the saddest commentaries on American families that I have seen in a while. Here is a functional family with no obvious problems. The parents are married and apparently have a good relationship. The girls are not afraid of their father. He isn't overbearing or abusive. He seems to adore them and to want to be a part of their lives. He has supported them from their births. He has protected them and provided for them throughout their lives. He is the one man in the world who would give up his own life for their benefit without hesitation. But his daughters, his precious little girls, his beloved princesses, view him as unworthy of their attention and treat him accordingly.
To make matters worse, the commercial plays the situation as comedy. I find no humor in it. Sadly, though, many people will no doubt chuckle at the hapless dad on the basis that "It's funny because it's true." And that's the saddest thing of all.
