WE'RE REALLY MESSED UP. HOW ABOUT THIS SMALL SET OF EXAMPLES?

DOGS, PICKLEBALL, BRUSHING TEETH & BLACK PEOPLE
I suppose you're wondering what these all have in common.

When I watch TV [God save me from broadcast TV] whether it be broadcast or streaming, I am subjected to commercials, we all are. You know these commercial ads that are the same whether on regular television or internet streaming. Well, I've seen four things they all have in common and it's just frustrating.

Dogs: Yep, not such a surprise in a country that elevates canines to human status. People are sleeping with, showering with, playing with, and doing unmentionable things with their dogs. It's no wonder that advertisers have noticed this. Hence the overabundance of dogs in advertising.

Here's an ad for an SUV seen sporting down a dirt road in the countryside. Seated prominently and closest to the camera lens is a dog. Yes, Fido gets 'top billing' in this ad. The owner is seen getting out of his truck, letting the dog out, and then nuzzling and hugging his pooch. The camera goes back to the grillwork of this truck and that's it. Here comes the narrator, "Dog Approved." So how come there's no price tag on the dog?

Here's a pizza commercial. Yep, the family gathers round the table to enjoy a nice hot pizza and, his chin resting on the table between two of these people is ... yes ... you guessed it ... the family dog! I wonder if this animal, like so many in America will actually take food off the table to eat it. Forty or fifty years ago this would not be the case but hey, welcome to 21st Century America!

Anyway, from automobile to food and even furniture ads you'll find the presence of a dog shoehorned into the script in over 82% of these ads; according to the NAB [National Association of Broadcasters]. You people need to get a grip on reality. Try it, you'll like it! ... I hope.

Pickle Ball: A more recent phenomena in America is the advent of Pickle Ball, basically it's Wiffle Ball for the old and out-of-shape. In ads for medications, health insurance, life insurance and insurance companies of every stripe you'll see a growing trend in wedging in someone holding a pickle ball paddle. Banks and even restaurants somehow manage to shoehorn in something related to Pickle Ball.

I can only assume there is a financial interest at stake and that somehow Pickle Ball manufacturers or leagues are paying for what's called "product placement" to center the theme of an ad as much possible toward this burgeoning sport. Either Pickle Ball has already taken such a hold on society that it's a way of appealing to viewers and potential customers or there's some sort of "payola" involved.

Brushing teeth: Here's a woman brushing her teeth and her husband is taking a shower. Suddenly the water goes out, the husband magically diagnoses the problem as a broken water main, and the woman takes center stage. She feeds off of his magical diagnosis and takes the toothbrush out of her mouth and, waving it around like a maestro's want, repeats her scripted lines. Her hand holding the wet toothbrush takes center stage but wait ... it's not an ad for toothpaste. No, this is an insurance ad.

Or how about the ad where the man is getting ready for work?
He's shown on camera taking about two seconds to get out of bed and dress, but nearly 10 seconds to brush his teeth, with the camera focused on his foaming mouth, and toothbrush at work as reflected in the bathroom mirror.

Yes, one should brush one's teeth regularly, especially in the morning. But seeing people with a toothbrush in their mouth, foaming like a rabid dog and spitting into a sink at every given non-sequitur moment is not normal and I can't see why it would be. The only thing I can think of is some sort of "payola" here.

Black People: Here we go. With American Blacks making up a little over 12% of the general population, how is it that they are featured in an overwhelming majority of TV and internet video ads? How is it that they can be seen, if not as primary characters but in the background, in nearly all TV and internet video ads? You know what I'm talking about.

I can only think that it's Corporate America working to soothe the social conscience of a nation divided. But wait a minute! Doesn't this actually aggravate the racial rifts? Maybe it's because Black Americans watch much more broadcast TV because it's largely a free medium. If you have an antenna and a TV, away you go. And of course, those same ads are streamed on the internet for all to see.

This is all a small part of what I call "Messed Up America."