Sunday, March 11, 2018

Principal presents maybe the darkest commercial we'll see this year



Dad didn't tell Mom that he had purchased life insurance, so when he passed, she freaked out and spent weeks wondering how she was going to keep herself and her son in their house, pay for his college education, etc. etc.

Son didn't tell Mom that he saw her stress and responded by sneaking out of the house to find and engage in employment of some kind (he got paid by check, so I guess drug dealing is out and Principal Insurance decided that their ad was dark enough.)  Enough time has passed since Dad died for Son to get a job and get his first paycheck- which means enough time has passed for Mom and Son to have a heart-to-heart about the future.  But that's not how this family rolls, clearly.

The "happy ending" comes when Mom gets a check from Principal Insurance, a check which is clearly her first hint that Dad took steps to take care of his family before he died.  Gee, good thing she didn't just toss that unexpected check in the garbage, huh?

This is so screwed up.  All of this could have been avoided if Dad had acted as if he actually loved and cared for his wife and kid while he was still breathing.  What kind of asshat buys life insurance and then keeps it a secret from the beneficiary?  Was Dad afraid that his wife would bump him off if she knew of the financial windfall coming down the road?

And "the rebel" in this commercial- I guess his "rebellion" came in the form of not comforting his mother in any way but instead causing her more stress by sneaking out into the dark streets every night.  I know he's supposed to be the noble one here, but again- COMMUNICATION, PEOPLE!


4 comments:

  1. Come on! Mom didn't talk to the kids about the insurance after Dad died but before the check came?

    This is worse than the McDonald's ad where the manager reads the employee's college letter in front of the whole staff without previewing it. If that kid DIDN'T get into college, the manager is going to look awfully stupid.

    Unrealistic. To put it mildly.

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  2. thanks, i thought i was being too critical! Because that commercial does tug at one's emotions. And then I'm left thinking, gosh, what about all those families where the deceased DIDN'T have insurance...oh, yeah...I guess the message is WE SHOULD ALL HAVE INSURANCE IN CASE WE DIE PREMATURELY! well, yeah...but come on...

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  3. OK, if "Mom" didn't know the check was coming, who submitted the death claim? Last time I checked, life insurance companies are not scouring the obits to hand out death benefits. (Adding to my confusion, I've been told my family must be dysfunctional since, after seeing only the abbreviated commercial, I wasn't sure if "Mom" was the mother or the kid's sister!)

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    1. that's an excellent point- I doubt very much that any insurance companies have ever just sent out checks without paperwork being done by the recipient, which is why it's kind of important you let people know they are listed beneficiaries. Insurance companies aren't great at handing out money unless you ask for it and can prove your entitled to it- and even then, you're probably going to struggle to get them to part with it.

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