I want to thank you for your wonderfully honest commercial that ran during the Sochi Opening Ceremonies last night. In a world of advertisements that seek to mask their real message beneath a veneer of appealing hogwash, you just got right to the point and used truthful words.
You said a month-long vacation is for sissies (I think you may have specified Europeans) and the only way to be great is to work from sun up to sun down at least fifty weeks each year. You backed up your claim with the achievements of the Wright Brothers and the Apollo missions, as if a stronger work ethic is all that stands between any one of us and aviation greatness.
But then you got down to your main message: it is not really about the accomplishments or the value of hard work -- it is about the stuff. The big pile of luxurious stuff. Those were not your words verbatim, but I think I am getting it pretty close. It was plain as day. And the best part is that my whole family was sitting right there to hear it all. That is why I wanted to thank you.
You see, we just spent all of 2013 on the road living the antithesis of everything your commercial espoused. We did not spend our year working for fifty weeks so we could spend the last two enjoying the inside of a vehicle. We drove around in a used truck so we could park somewhere amazing then get outside and enjoy that. I can tell you that God's creation beats the tar out of any car a human can build, no matter how hard we work.
I can also tell you that when we don't spend most of our time building wealth to collect the pile of stuff we have time to build what matters: relationships and memories. The main character in your commercial is a husband and father and he illustrates my point beautifully as his lovely wife passes by him without so much as a word. The children look completely disengaged, as if they have already figured out they don't rank highly on Mom and Dad's priority list.
For the last several weeks my husband and I have been searching for ways to be certain the lessons our kids gained from our year on the road will stay with them for life. How can we stay put in a house in suburban USA and not get sucked back into that very mentality of acquisition, image-building, and high achievement. Your excellent and forthright advertisement summed it all up nicely in thirty seconds. You reminded us all that the material wealth driven version of the American Dream is a lie straight from the pit of hell.
Sincerely,
A Family Who Is Not Buying It
P.S. Don't get me wrong, we think electric cars and the work ethic that got us to the moon are pretty awesome, but in case you are curious, here is what we are glad we chose not to sacrifice on the altar of possession.