The Grand Illusion
I suspect we all have TV commercials that rub us the wrong way. I know I do, one in particular. It not only irks me, but I find it offensive and dangerously subversive at the same time. For those who can’t guess from the blog title, it’s a commercial for an insurance company that tries to ridicule the behavior of “parents” and ends with a statement along the lines of “we can’t save you from becoming your parents,” but we can give you good insurance.
Admittedly, some “parental” behaviors are easy to caricature and ridicule. After all, who doesn’t have or know of a parent who has gone to excesses? The other aspect of the commercials is that all of those I’ve seen feature men becoming their parents.
But just as there are parents whose behavior is either abominable and/or laughable, there are those who have done well by their offspring. I also don’t know any parents who are perfect, who never made a mistake.
What bothers me most about this series of commercials is that it presents grown men (unless I’ve missed those that feature women) who adopt mannerisms and behaviors (supposedly from their parents) as foolish, out of touch, and laughable. The first time I saw and heard one of these commercials, I found it slightly amusing. After months, if not years, of repetition, I find the series both disturbing and dangerous.
That’s not to say that parents haven’t done foolish things – and in too many instances dangerous and criminal acts – but ridiculing an entire generation in order to sell insurance irritates me. More important, this approach also contributes to the ongoing practice of polarizing society, in the sense that it implies that older people are inept and foolish and that younger people should know better.
While insurance companies have the right to advertise their product in any fashion that doesn’t defame specific individuals, this kind of sales pitch strikes me as a “softer” version of Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.
But then, I’m an “outdated” parent and grandparent.
Ridiculing older people is meant to appeal to younger people, who have more disposable income. It’s the same reason dads on kids shows are always bumblers, and the kids get all the snappy dialog.
The other aspect is that advertisers are desperate for attention, and will annoy viewers if that’s what (they think) it takes.
They have run some that feature women, but they much less frequent. They also have some that show several people, and when they do the women are outnumbered in terms of scenes there too (the one I’m thinking of for this one is one where a woman covers the couch in pillows to the point it is full).
Unfortunately all the insurance commercials I see fall into 1 of 3 themes: annoy to get attention (these), scare you (“Mayhem, like me”), or feature at least one person purporting to be an imbecile.
If it’s the Dr Rick series, then I got fooled because they seemed to belittle the 3-5 % of our citizens who were born with disabilities. I thought this was just the usual bad taste of most commercials.
Demographics of nations outside Africa indicate that there is an overall increase in the elderly (aka parents?). Perhaps these commercials are indeed meant to divide the youth from the elderly with the goal being a sort of “Soylent Green” solution to the ‘nonproductive’ retirees.
It would be a tough sale: demographic data indicates that 18% of adults ages 25 to 34 in the U.S. are living with their parents, with young men being more likely to do so at 20% compared to young women at 15%.
Also in the US, the percentage of gun ownership varies by age group, with 21% of Americans aged 18-29 owning guns, while 37% of those aged 50-64 own firearms.
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/06/22/the-demographics-of-gun-ownership/
https://ammo.com/research/firearm-ownership-in-america-by-year Jul 25, 2025
There’s a simple solution, LEM. Stop watching television. Voila! No more irritating ads.
I did and my life is so much better for it. I now have plenty of time to read things like “Legalist” which I’m thoroughly enjoying.
I have become my parents – I recall well what they were like in their mid 50s. And I know what they are like now that they are in their mid 80s. I picked my parents well.