John Mellencamp has been sent by aliens to destroy me and everyone else who watches sports on TV. In case you're not a part of that group, you're missing out on some stirring stuff in a truck commercial with Mr. Mellencamp. Namely, you're missing out on the fact that this is our country.
Let that sink in. Simmer in the patriotism, Mellencamp-style.
I realize that's not such a bad line. It's not so profound, but it's not entirely stupid. John Mellencamp is making a point about the United States, and we, as citizens, might want to listen up and learn a little something from the 'Camp.
The problem is that we haven't just heard that this is our country once or twice or a hundred times, but roughly 11.8 infinitillion times! Just watch a football game sometime. At the end of the game, you may not remember the score, the announcers, or even the teams involved, but you will remember that John Mellencamp says this is our country.
Not only am I no longer sure what year it is, I can no longer even recall what country Mellencamp is singing about. What is this thing I'm typing into? Is this a Mellencamp communication machine? All I know is, I'm buying one of those Mellencamp-mobiles from the commercial, and I'm killing anyone that John Mellencamp tells me to.
What I don't understand is how, somewhere, there are people who think this commercial is still a good idea.
There's somebody at the truck company reviewing their prospective ads and saying, "Gentlemen, I'd like to buy something new, but we have a little something called John Mellencamp and a bunch of cliche Americana crap, and if it ain't broke, we ain't fixing it!"
There's somebody at the TV station saying, "I know there are more entertainment options today than ever, and so we must offer compelling, fascinating options for our audience. All of that being said, let's crank the Mellencamp."
And even stranger, there's someone out there who's seen this commercial 893 times and, instead of loathing it and throwing rocks at the neighbor kids when it comes on, this person sits up on the couch and says, "He's right. This is our country. Now what the hell is he advertising and where the hell is my checkbook?"
After hearing this commercial again tonight, I can tell you that John is wrong. If it's anybody's country, it's Mellencamp's.
Posted by Cody at October 22, 2007 8:40 PM