Saturday, March 12, 2005

Viewing Car Ads

...is a lot like visiting or partying with friends and observing their marriages and relationships: the effort and cost are hidden. And advertisers know their greatest ally is your imagination, projecting from your dissatisfactions.

From the outside, the experience of other people's relationships can be one of vivid though perhaps contrived beauty. But you should suspect illusion. If it were your car, could you get in without banging your head, would your feet reach the pedals, would the turn signal be where you instinctively reach for it, will the car work with you to stay upright at an unexpected bend in the road, and could you afford to keep it running?

For the life of a car, it is adjustable to fit some people. While falling in love, humans can adjust to a partner who may not or who may later grow to not fit that well. The balance of the relationship will run on patience, commitment and tolerance, if at all, which is both more explainable and more admirable.

For a lucky few, "while" is a long long time.

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