My hatred for the latest Toyota Highlander commercials knows no bounds. Yes, children, you should feel humiliated if your parents can’t afford to buy the latest, super-ginormous monster truck laden with electronic garbage to tote your entitled asses to and from your rich suburban school.
While Jalopnik protests the disparaging remarks made against the Corvette-engined Buick Roadmaster, Sociological Images nails the underlying shame the ad is intended to invoke: “If you’re too poor to buy a brand new mid-range SUV, you suck.”
Another ad in the series, entitled “Kid Cave“, is particularly disgusting because it tells kids they should just plug in their headphones and cut off all communication with their parents, as if it’s a good thing. The scene of the wedding-singer parents is funny, but in my car it’s rare that I get to listen to my own music with the kids.
Rather than enjoying listening to music TOGETHER, I guess I should be isolating my kids by covering their ears with headphones and listening to whatever I want. Seems the Toyota ideal is to have all the members of the family walk around plugged into their own electronic devices, silent on the outside and ignoring each other.
BONUS: More analysis on Hipster Runoff
We just drove past a billboard near the Lincoln Tunnel for the same campaign. The slogan was “No more down the street drop offs.” When I complained that it was seeking to shame parents into buying their over-priced gimmick wagon, my 6 y/o daughter told me not to worry. “I like our car. It’s cool.” Then my 5 y/o said “Yeah, when it’s washed and sparkly it’s like a rock star!” Thanks kids.
DJ – Great story about your kids. Go sparkly!
I have to agree at the utterly crass and shameful nature of those commercials. Makes me want to go Homer Simpson on that little snot.
I have to wonder if there isn’t some meta counter-agenda being snuck in there by the ad people- this is the campaign they sold to Toyota, but they clearly make the Child of the Wagon more likeable and the Highlander kid as irritating as possible. It wouldn’t be the first time an advertising group had their cake and ate it too at the client’s expense!
I join you in the hating of these adverts. They are similar to the back-to-school “you don’t want to look like a loser again, do you?” clothing ads. Absolutely deplorable. It’s enough to make me want to turn off the TV forever.