Inspiring?

In case you haven't been watching much sports on television lately, something for which there would be no excuse, you have probably seen the new commercial for the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. With John Mellencamp's "Our Country" playing, the ad shows various iconic pictures and videos from the past half century or so in American history.

Assuming that the advertisement's intent was to inspire the viewer's patriotism and, by extension, the purchase of an "American" product, some of the images definitely work. (The merits of labeling a vehicle "American" or "foreign" are somewhat dubious these days, but that's another matter.) For example, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. definitely hit the mark. On the other hand, seeing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina hardly evokes fond memories of days past. On Sunday night, when the commercial ran one of many times during game two, we at Casa Zwicker questioned the effectiveness.

Apparently, we were not the only ones, as this Washington Post article illustrates. Relatives of 9/11 victims as well as callers to the NAACP, among others have voiced their displeasure. Chevrolet's spokeswoman explains that the ad's message was that our country has seen rough times but has bounced back. That might be the intent, but that's not what I saw, and I still don't get it. I merely see a slapdash collection of enduring American images without much thought for offending sensibilities or morale. It will be interesting to see if Chevrolet keeps running the commercial, either in its current state or with different images.