Commercials

In a way it doesn't seem fair to bitch excessively about TV commercials since they can be so easily avoided. But what can I do?

There's dozens and dozens of common irritating factors that you'll see in many commercials. Hopefully, I will someday cover them all. But here's the one that got stuck in my craw today. The phrase "It's about X."

It's about family.
It's about trust.
It's about getting the most out of each day.
It's about the long term.
It's about reliability.


What's about reliability? What is about reliability? Let's say the commercial opens with a happy family pulling their rugged Nissan SUV up to the beach. While music plays, they happily unload beach chairs and coolers from the spacious cargo area.

"It's about safety."

WHAT IS ABOUT SAFETY! The car is about safety? Do you mean the car is safe? Is it the decision to buy the car that is about the safety? One should buy this car if one is concerned with safety?

Look, obviously the authors of the commercial were handed their bullet points from the marketers. The commercial, they were instructed, needed to stress the safety and reliability of the car, and should probably also mention that it's great for families. Fine! Fine fine fine. I have no problems with commercials. I understand that their existence is what pays for my entertainment. I have no problem with being pitched an SUV and having the safety, reliability and family-friendliness pointed out to me.

But "It's about family." DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING. It's a way of communicating the bullet point to you in a nonsensical, but easily digestible format that you've come to accept because you've heard it so often.

P.S. Hair can't be "healthy". Hair is dead.