Television Ad: "Reptillian Hot Buttons;" Don't Push My Buttons!

This particular television ad was aired during Superbowl XLII (2008). As everyone knows, all Superbowl ads are amognst the best (and most expensive) ads shown on television all year. I would think that all television ads during superbowl season or any television ad on any day should be "clever," because thirty to sixty second ads cost about a million dollars. It is remarkable how anyone can afford that much money for a clip that lasts for as long of a time as it takes to urinate in a restroom!

In this particular ad, a squirrel runs out to a street to pick up an acorn that fell from a tree. As this innocent squirrel is getting his acorn, a roaring car comes around the bend and nearly hits the animal. As the car inches closer to the squirrel, it lets out a boisterous scream along with a racoon, an owl, a rabbit, a rat, a turtle, a deer, a cricket and three gophers. Obviously these animals were fictional, because no animal can scream almost human-like! Even the wife was screaming, sounding like the animals! Luckily, the driver saw the squirrel and swerves out of the way just in the knick of time.

This ad is trying to subliminally encourage the general American culture to be aware of where they are and to always pay attention to the road. The more durable a car and/or it's tires are will help reduce the amount of roadkill on roads. This ad went for the target consumers of the product, which were Bridgestone tires. The worst thing that could happen to a driver is to kill something or to get into an accident. Personally, I do not understand why it is called an accident. Let's say, for example, the driver in this ad did not see the squirrel and hit it. I would not consider this to be an accident, rather it is an "incident" caused by inattention! Animals are keys to our lives and environment.

The "reptillian hot buttons" this ad pushes is to humanize animals and to make us view them as people. This ad also indirectly pushes for greater sales for its foreign manufacturer (Japan) which is never really identified throughout the ad's message. Ads of this subliminal nature actually cause a significant financial landfall for foreign sponsors that the ad never identifies. Corporations always try to rig their products to make them look better than what they truly are. It is an effective way for corporations to exaggerate the truth.

In conclusion, I am a very careful driver and have never killed or harmed an animal in any way, even without the Japanese tires. Just like the driver in the ad, I would do all I could to swerve out of the way. In my mind, killing an animal of any kind, should be considered murder! In the ad, the narrator says, "for drivers who want to get the most out of their cars." This ad does not need to use animals as potential victims to make their sales point. Though this ad was cute, the same message could have gotten across in another way.