"Is this self-parody, or are they really being serious here?"
I mean, the only thing we're missing in this repurposed Reagan '84 ad is someone eating a hot dog with one hand and apple pie with the other. This is not Everyday Commercial Cringe. It's what Skynet would create if asked to create Cringe. It's Cringe on an Epic Level.
Nobody in the comment section* thinks that this is a good ad. The only thing anyone wants to know is- is this for real? Is RAM trying to make us laugh, or making fun of us. or what?
*there's actually one person here who claims to love this ad "and America." But it has to be a bot. It just has to.
Quick Boomer Tip: Avoid companies that use words like "Patriot" or "Liberty" or "Freedom" in their names. Those are cheap marketing ploys designed to tweak a very smooth part of the brain that should never, ever be used in making purchasing decisions.
The "4Patriots" solar generator - proudly made in China, perhaps even in the same factory that makes Trump Watches and MAGA caps- has a ton of terrible reviews describing it as cheaply-made, unreliable, and overpriced. So it's not really "4Patriots"- it's for really shallow people who measure patriotism based on how many American flags they display and how many times they voted for a convicted felon/cult leader/Russian asset carnival barker. You know, people who are already in the dark in every other respect so won't mind being let down by a piece-of-junk-garbage generator if it's called "4Patriot." Just tell them they're owning the Libs.
I don't know what these two jackass multimillionaires are pretending to joke about, nor do I care. All that matters to me is that they are doing it in service of an addictive app that ruins marriages, finances, friendships, and lives. With great big smiles on their faces.
Because there's no such thing as Enough Money, I guess.
The actual content of this ad? Who cares? I don't gamble. The people I respect most in the world could not convince me to gamble. These guys are so far from the people I respect most in the world, they aren't even in the same universe. And they sure didn't gain any points when they decided to make this crap.
You guys are so damn enamored of your stupid electronic devices that your kids are totally free-range. In every scene, the kids are jumping around while their alleged "parents" are staring a phone, only getting attention when they seem to be on the verge of destroying another piece of conspicuous consumption.
Then, once the problem of untrained children jumping on furniture is "solved" with the purchase of a trampoline, the "parents" go right back to ignoring those kids- never mind that every single trampoline sold in the United States comes with a warning not to let children play on them without parental supervision. The "parents" are close enough to notice a seriously hurt child and are holding a device that can connect with emergency services so it's all good, I guess. I bet these wonderful people are even committed to glancing outside to "check" on the kids during moments the dopamine hits from the entertainment the phone is providing is interrupted.
I don't understand this mindset at all. Those children you chose to have are going to be children only for a moment. This is the time to revitalize your own youth, and build permanent emotional bonds, by engaging with your offspring. Instead, you choose to act like they are annoyances distracting you from the REAL joy of your life- a freaking phone. Your priorities are absolutely insane. Your kids are being denied real parents, and you are denying YOURSELVES the joy of experiencing your children's innocent youthful joy- for this?
Don't come to me complaining that your kids grew up too fast or, now that they are out of the house, never visit. You reap what you sow. Turn the damn phone off. Turn the damn tv off. Engage with your kids. Ok rant over.
I suppose that if the salesmen at Lincoln are going to dress like Euro Trash and carry themselves with the air of high-end jewelry dealers, the customers should show up wearing clothes you'd think would be reserved for dinners at high-end restaurants, so ok. And because it's 2025, there's no reason for the prospective customer to do anything other than sit in the car, lovingly stroke the steering wheel, and fantasize about actually owning it while appreciating the big screen and all the other bells and whistles that have nothing to do with safety ratings, fuel economy, or all that other stuff everyone used to be concerned with but now apparently nobody is.
The Lincoln Aviator- so-called, I assume, because it's only slightly smaller than a passenger plane- has a base-model MSRP price of $62000. The version featured in this ad runs closer to $70k. So no, I am not going to be getting one of these Summer Invitations. I'll manage.
That should be the final line of this ridiculously maudlin, overproduced ad for ridiculously overpriced, overproduced dead chicken parts.
Kentucky Fried Chicken was the brainchild of a guy who had a vision/dream of making tons of money selling, well, fried chicken to the masses. He worked very hard to get the spices just right and was "obsessed" (I guess, I mean I'm just using the tagline in this ad) with quality control because he was the face of the company after all. When I was a kid and I was treated maybe once a year or so to Kentucky Fried Chicken, I thought it was the best food in the whole world and I imagined that when I was a grownup and could eat whatever I wanted I would consume it all the time.
Thing is, KFC's decline in quality in the 21st century is a very well-known, off-repeated story. I haven't eaten it in at least twenty years, but from what I've heard the chicken is now blander (less fatty, less distinct in taste,) the sides are also dull, stores are notoriously lacking in cleanliness, and the overall value is really lacking. Yet the prices are extremely high (Kentucky Fried Chicken was ALWAYS an expensive choice for fast food, but when it was known for being tasty that was ok) for smaller, drier pieces that look nothing like the ones seen on TV.
Simply put, if all this guff about the Colonel is true, he'd probably be ashamed of what has become of his franchise. Unless KFC is going to pump billions of dollars into restoring the company to it's former glory, these ads are kind of a slap in the face. Who cares if Colonel Sanders was "obsessed" with quality? The guy has been dead since 1980, and the people who have been carrying out his "mission" dropped the ball decades ago and don't seem any more interested in bringing my childhood back than anyone else. Give me a break.
...and the even worse people who enjoy it (I mean, take a quick look at the comments. How predictable can you get? "My dog loves this ad," "This commercial reminds me of my dog," "my dog reacts to this ad and goes to check her own puppies," and on and on and on. Hand me a freaking barf bag.)
This is just super-cheap, super-manipulative Twee on a Stick. No actors are needed, so that saves money. Just put three dogs in a freaking car and run a camera for a few seconds and add music and images and there you are- a group of innocent, clueless animals have been used to sell a car-- by highlighting a ridiculously mundane feature. You can strap your kid into a car seat in the back of a 2004 Honda Civic, strap an iPad to the back of the passenger seat, and accomplish the same thing. You don't have to buy an overpriced Subaru for chrissakes.
And if this car is "Dog Approved," dogs should feel free to buy it. I mean, I was already sick of getting the opinions of babies and young children when it came to the purchase of a non-asset that depreciates in value the moment it leaves the lot and is a savage money vampire for as long as one owns it. I do NOT care if "dogs approve" of Subarus because NO DOG HAS EVER PURCHASED A SUBARU AND NO DOG EVER WILL, and if I ever buy a Subaru NO DOG WILL EVER HELP ME MAKE THE PAYMENTS.
