For quite a while I have been scratching my head in wonder at the unethical Artline by Pelikan ad which describes their pens as “the pen more people pinch.”

This ad works on the assumption that Artline pens are so wonderful that everybody will pinch them. I would have thought that it would be unwise to buy a pen that will be stolen because I’ll never have it when I need it.

On an ethical level it teaches people that stealing is acceptable and I find that very offensive. Furthermore, I don’t want children to be taught that it’s okay to steal other people’s possessions, no matter how tempting they are.

There is definitely a sadistic streak in commercials today and that’s because they are created by those ridiculous men in pony tails or those whose hair is gelled together into some kind of Great Wall of China effect.

I’m also put off by the ad in which the woman kicks her date out of her apartment because she wants to drink the cup of coffee all by herself instead of sharing it.

There is also that terrible ad about a little girl lying to her mother about some incident and blaming her brother for bad behaviour when she is the guilty party. The boy is sent out of the room while she pokes her tongue out at him and has the treat all to herself. No doubt she’ll grow up into that woman who hogs all the coffee after a date. Very admirable…

I’ve already criticised that dreadful ad in which the schoolchildren rush to falsely claim a Kellogg’s LCM Bar that has been found in someone’s blue lunch box.

It all smacks of selfish and unscrupulous behaviour which is being promoted by these companies. Blame someone else, steal, refuse to share. Sound familiar? These are the mores of the thirty-something and under ME generation. No doubt they are amused by all these ads just as they are by hooning, swearing and intimidating the rest of the world. These are the same people who see nothing wrong with living off their parents forever while they travel, party and spend their parents’ super.

Those parents who think that they can depend on such offsprings in the future had better stop dreaming and wake up and smell the coffee. That’s if the coffee has not been all used up by some greedy parasite who sees nothing wrong with pinching pens.

What are the authorities doing about these immoral ads?

In case you are wondering if I like any ads on TV, I absolutely love the DHL Sea Rescue ad in which a number of lifesavers and rescue vehicles are featured going through their paces. The background music to it is melodic and it always makes me watch the ad even if I’m reading a book in front of the TV. And surely that’s how ads should grab your attention. It’s soft sell with a lot of class.
Good on you, DHL! You support a fine cause.