Commercials

I love commercials. I talked my wife into satellite TV for one main reasons: 150 channels of commercials. Ok, that and ESPN, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, ESPN 2 and ESPN Deportes. But commercials are really amazing when you think about it. After all, how much better off would we be if you and I could learn to express ourselves in just 30 seconds? And not just express ourselves, but express ourselves with quick witted humor that would make people talk about our message the next day at work.

C'mon, admit it, you like commercials too. Here are some of my favorites:

Have you seen the Nextel commercial where the the two guys are dancing like freaks in the office when their coworker pops in and is all worried about transistors, delivery trucks and where Mark is? You should see my daughter do that dance, it's hilarious. Do a google search for "NEXTEL dancing commercial" and you can see it.

I loved the Superbowl commercials where the Budweiser horses are playing football in the pasture and the other animals are watching. Suddenly you see a blur of activity and the spectators are guffawing and then you see why: A recently sheered sheep has run onto the field. The camera pans to two ranchers, one of whom says, "Streaker". The other just shakes his head and replies, "didn't need to see that." C'mon, what's funnier than a streaker at a ball game?

One of my all time favs is the KFC commercial where the bro is eating a spicy chicken sandwich. Suddenly he sneezes and breaths fire out his mouth and catches his paper on fire. Then he panics and every time he says "Oh no" or "Help" more fire comes out and before the end of the commercial, his whole office is on fire. Classic stuff people!

But all these subtle little commercials are actually, not so subtle. The commercial I saw today is a great example. Can't even remember what the commercial was for but the message was simple: Get what you can, or get what you want. In each of the "examples" a person (or people) stands behind a deep, dark red line and they are faced with the choice of taking what's being offered or getting what they want. From boats, to houses, to second homes on the beach, to a big wedding, family and a great party with friends, whatever you want, this company will help you get it. Don't settle for anything else.

Nothing wrong with getting what we want. In part, being able to pursue wants and passions is what makes this country so great! But there is something deeper in that commercial that I believe expresses a mentality that runs rampant in our culture today. It's the idea that you and I are entitled to what we want. The big goals and dreams of our lives are supposed to be given to us and waiting for them is somewhat silly. Somewhat, un-American! Why settle for what you have when you can have what you want! Isn't it strange that the commercial naturally assumes that the people who are watching their ad do not like what they already have? That the people watching this 30 second spot want something else? That the people in front of the tube are discontent? I wonder how right they are.

Solomon had it all. The Bible says that after being king for 20 years he decided life wasn't good enough. There had to be more out there because he didn't like what he had. So he did it all (and you can read his old school blog in the book of Ecclesiastes). He tried sex and lots of it, in fact, so much of it that he had 1,000 women at his disposal any time he wanted. He tried booze, and lots of it. He tried money, and had so much that people considered silver practically worthless in his day. He tried building bigger houses, palaces, libraries and gardens and history tells us that anything he built was the envy of anyone who saw it. But after Solomon got what he wanted, it left him emptier than he ever had been before. He had boats. He had horses. He says it best when he wrote, "anything I set my heart to, I accomplished." He crossed the big red line.

What did crossing that big red line get him? Let his "blog" speak for him: "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for my labor. Yet when I survey all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless..." And later Solomon leaves us with this cheerful thought: "I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been..." Makes you wonder whether stepping over that big red line is what it's all cracked up to be.

I think I might get into the commercial making biz. Imagine the scene: A young couple stands before a big red line. On the side they are standing on is a nice but modest home, a newer van with a couple of car seats and a mid-90s sedan parked in the driveway. Their yard is strewn with kids toys and laughter is spilling out of the front door and on to the porch. This couple has been together for a while, but they still hold hands and wear the look of young love on their faces. Across the line is an enormous house with a view and two brand spankin' new cars. The manicured lawn is flawless and the neighbor across the fence bares the face of envy. The young couple inside haven't seen each other in days but the kids are each in their own rooms enjoy state-of-the-art entertainment. The camera pans back to the couple looking across the line, the music builds and then the husband kisses wife, smacks her playfully on the back side and chases her into the nice, but modest home leaving the red line uncrossed. Suddenly the screen goes blank and these words leave the viewer with a thought: "Enjoy what you have before you are destroyed by what you want" -- Solomon.

And that's life between the sermons.