Do what SportsIllustrated.com does; insert a loud, annoying streaming ad down at the bottom of the page (under the fold), and have it autoplay, so that when it starts, it’s impossible to figure why or how your computer is blasting noise.

Then, just for kicks, make it play on every page of the site, even if the user has already watched the whole thing and muted it. That way they’ll have to scroll down to the bottom and stop the ad every time they load a page.

Or you could just have a big header at the top of every page that says “GO AWAY!” Whatever’s easier.

I watched the Super Bowl tonight despite the fact that I hate the Super Bowl. It’s an overhyped excuse for comercials between two teams that aren’t necessarily the best in the NFL. But the other networks seemed to concede the night to ABC so there wan’t really anything else on.

This ad for the new Toyota Camry hybrid really stood out.

Because it was so terrible. It features a bilingual dad explaining to his son why they bought a hybrid:

Son: Papá, why do we have a hybrid?

Father: For your future!

Son: Why?

Father: It’s better for the air, and we spend less because it runs on gas and electrical power. (Points to dashboard display.) Mira, mira aquí. It uses both.

Son: Like you, with English and Spanish!

Father: Sí!

Son: Why did you learn English?

Father: (Pauses.) For your future!

Both my parents are immigrants from Argentina, and I grew up speaking English and Spanish. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was offended, but I was definitely put off. The commercial is a blatant, moronic attempt to reach out to the Spanish speaking audience, and the association between hybrid cars and “hybrid” families is forced and unnatural.

When I was growing up, my bilingual parents were working hard on their graduate degrees (for my future!) and saving every penny they could (for my future!). We drove a broken-down 1979 Chevy Monza they bought at the Goodwill for $400. For my parents in 1986, buying a new car to ensure my sucess in the future would have been as ridiculous an idea as signing me up for polo lessons.

But even more than that, the ad just smacks of condescension and false-multiculturalism. I find it annoying, and I’m probably one of the people they were trying to reach out to.

For a more subtl (and probably more objective) analysis, check here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 5th, 2006 at 9:08 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.