Tag Archives: let them eat cake

Unfocused Hatred Theatre, NY Times Edition

I want everyone involved with this article to be pitchforked to death. I’m not gonna recount it, just click on that link. If you can read three sentences and not be filled with hate, you’re either Gandhi or dead.

Only the New York Times can not only think it’s a good idea to greenlight an article about the trials and tribulations of millionaire bankers–you know, the greedy assholes who plunged our economy into the pooper to begin with–but also not have the slightest clue about how tone deaf and out-of-touch they look. That is some serious “let them eat cake”-level of cluelessness.

Ugh. Die, all of you. And make sure you do it slowly.

Die Die Die: Lexus Performs the Collected Works of John Cheever

I don’t have a problem with the commercialization of Christmas. Or at least I think it’s pointless to rail against it. Christmas is a holiday whose main purpose is to buy presents for other people. In other words, commercialization is built right in. You might as well hop in the ocean and complain about how wet it is. “What the hell–this ocean is full of water!” You know when Christmas wasn’t commercialized? Never. Don’t like it? Deal with it, Linus Van Pelt.

What I do find gross at this time of year is commercials that equate Spending A Lot Of Money with A Demonstration Of Love. There have been many offenders in this category over the years, but my least favorites have to be the Lexus Christmas ads. These spots return every December, a lot like the old Norelco ad. But rather than show Santa tooling around in an Electric Shaver/Sled, these ads want you to drop 80 grand on a luxury sedan.

The commercials vary slightly every year, but they follow a basic formula: One family member–almost always a father/husband–uses a clever means to reveal his purchase of a Lexus to its lucky recipient. Sometimes, children are involved. Sometimes, carolers are put to work. Whatever ruse is employed, it’s twee and precious and ends with the revelation of a brand new Lexus in the driveway, topped with an enormous red bow.

As with many ads that infuriate me, I don’t understand what audience this commercial is pitching to. If you’re rich enough to swing a Lexus, you buy one, end of story. The Rich don’t need a holiday as an excuse to treat themselves to a brand new automobile. And they don’t need to be enticed with the oily aromas of Dealer Incentives and Year End Rebates.

If you’re waiting around for an Annual Sales Drive or Factory Surplus to buy a Lexus, guess what? You can’t afford one. Putting these commercials on the air, at this time of year, is just a slap in the face to every Working Schmuck laboring under a mountain of debt and expectations.

Continue reading Die Die Die: Lexus Performs the Collected Works of John Cheever