There seem to be more and more ads on TV that say that it is perfectly OK to lie to your kids if it is “for their own good.”
It started with – or, at least I first noticed it in – ads showing mothers who would do anything to keep their munchkins from learning that the canned pasta products they love contain Vegetables.
It quickly spread to the new drinks like 
that hide the taste of veggies behind fruit juice and sugar.
Now, it has even spread to the marketing of computers, and the lies (and liars) have expanded.
A commercial that aired this weekend shows a kid lying to his mom about how long it takes to do his homework. Meanwhile, he is spending time on social networking sites with his friends.
Mom, it turns out, is perfectly happy with the lie, because it gives her “Me time” to surf the web herself!
I know and accept that each generation is convinced that the world is going to Hell in a hand basket, but isn’t this getting out of hand. Shouldn’t someone at the agency – or at least shouldn’t the sponsor – have said “This is unacceptable behavior that we do not wish to endorse?”
Just a couple of corrections/clarifications:
ReplyDeleteThe "lie about pasta" movement was not begun by Campbell's, but by Chef Boyardee.
The "computer" add was actually sponsored by AT&T Broadband.