Super Bowl XLI Review of GM Ad

This ad has caused many mixed feelings since airing during Super Bowl XLI. My initial thought was that this was one of the best ads that debuted during this years' game. Then I got to reading some of the comments that were written about it and they put things into a different, not very favorable light for a couple of different reasons.

First of all, the reason I really like this ad is because it's so damn real. How many of us have given our hearts and souls to be the best we could be, only to have one little event or action turn our lives upside down? So it is with the little yellow guy whose whole existence revolves around putting the right bolt into the right hole at the right time. After many years of doing everything correctly, he has a moment when his mechanical concentration falters, the bolt hits the floor and it's out on the streets for this company robot. If he was a member of the United Auto Workers (UAW),that wouldn't be the case.

So Mr. Roboto hits the streets, determined to move forward. With Eric Carmen's only hit, All by Myself playing in the background, we see the tin man hawking condos and trying to make a go of it as a drive through speaker. But everywhere he goes, he's reminded by the shiny creations he once had a part in building of the one that got away. His despair increases as the song's chorus whines to a crescendo in the background until we find our little friend flinging himself from the highest bridge into the dark, cold, deeps churning far below.

The creators of this ad have elicited the viewer's pity for an inanimate object. Advertising brilliance!

As he hits the water he awakens and realizes it was all just a bad dream. The announcer explains that GM's new 100,000 mile warranty has got some people concerned for their job security. Do you think? Is that what's causing GM employee's angst in this day and time?

Critics of this ad were quick to point out that it's the outsourcing of jobs to other countries and the automation of the manufacturing process that have cost hundreds of thousands of living, breathing people their jobs. That's right! That poor little robot caused someone with a pulse to consider flinging themselves from that same bridge when they were downsized.

One other side note -- Some people have gone as far as accusing this ad of promoting suicide as an alternative to dealing with difficult situations. That's ridiculous!

Nonetheless, I do understand the point of displaced auto workers, but will also say that the demands for exorbitant wages and benefits are also partially responsible for that situation. In this case there's plenty of blame to go around.

With that being said, if we were just to look at the ad for what it is and not try to read something calculating and cruel into it, I think we can see it for the emotion inducing promotion it was intended to be. Good luck.