This is one ad in a series of commercials that Ally Bank launched a few years ago. It uses kids to represent the bank's customers and the man is meant to represent most other banks that may have hidden fees or other important information that it keeps from its prospective customers. The art of using fine print is more popular than ever before it seems. Chances are that we have all seen a commercial or ad with this fine print hidden at the bottom of the screen and some of this print can be as long as a paragraph or two: impossible for any human to read and comprehend in the short seconds that it is shown on the screen. There is also the situation in which someone in the reads the fine print and details to you but they sound like a spanish soccer (or futbol) play by play announcer! By the time the commercial ends, you are left dumbfounded and trying to recall a single word that was said.
Humor and imagery seem to be what people remember most about commercials but is that what we really need to be paying attention to? In the Ally Bank case above, the kid just simply wanted to play with the real truck (the product that was probably in the commercial that HE saw). But instead, the man so kindly reminded him of the small print that the boy's truck was just a limited time offer, something that the advertisement strategically left out. What I am trying to say through all of this is that we as consumers, in my opinion, tend to get carried away with what is directly advertised to us, whether is be fancy commercials or print ads that have a strong aesthetic appeal. Instead, we need to be more responsible and intelligent consumers and just simply keep in mind that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. Go the extra mile to uncover the details before you so helplessly get consumed by an ad or offer.
* If you are reading this, good job! You passed your first test in being a better consumer
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