Tubes Tuesday: Ship My Pants

Have you seen this commercial?! I was shocked when I saw it; things have changed so much on television. I swear I sometimes hear the f*bomb, and often find myself saying, “When did they start allowing them to say ‘bitch’ on T. V.?”

George Carlin (theatlantic.com)

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not beyond using “curse” words when they are appropriate for what I want to say (so did George Carlin, a master of words). But there’s a little part of me that sees the deterioration of decency, and the manipulation of the public viewer with humor and shock. It angers and disgusts me. I’m not disgusted only at the media for promoting this change, but I’m angry (maybe more so) at the public who has allowed their senses, and those of their children, to become numb and dumb and vulnerable to such heinous manipulation. The young people who have grown up with this as a norm have no idea that they are being manipulated and used by greedy people who just want their dollar.

There's no place like Kansas! REALLY?

On the other hand, this is a really clever use of words and funny just because they get away with it. I suppose not everyone is so easily duped as I’ve worried about above, or is that just an excuse to forgive myself for enjoying it, or is it me wearing “rose colored glasses”?

Here’s the story behind the commercial from creative-online (Ann-Christine Diaz). The article is peppered with curse words, in keeping with the interview and creative discussion. The intention of the creators is to make the joke evident and lasting. The impetus for the joke was the need to make customers aware of a service that K Mart offered but wasn’t being used. From this interview we can see that the manipulative intent of the creators of the commercial is to make us laugh, and it is an intelligence based effort. Nothing dumb or greedy about that. So, if we want to be angry about the dumbing down of the viewers, we have to look at the need for the commercial, not the creation or delivery of it; the latter is just art.