Everything I’m about to say regarding this advertisement may be quickly deemed irrelevant because after watching it, I thought about it. And then I looked it up and watched it again. And then I put it on my site, so you too can watch it:
This is actually one of a series of Charles Schwab ads that all follow the same basic format: A ordinary person talking, only they’re not really ordinary because they look like cartoons. Upon seeing this ad, I realized that my prediction–that this god awful effect would permeate all forms of moving images–had finally come true as it reached what most filmmakers would probably call ‘the bottom of the barrel’: commercials.
Why are we so afraid of human beings? And why are producers, directors, and now advertisers so afraid that human beings alone are not enough to connect with us? Have we been so dazzled by special-effects, computer induced reality, and photo-shopped presences that we no longer can find any magic alone in the human face and human voice? Can we really, really not imagine sitting there just watching a nice looking girl talk?
Have you considered Subscribing to all of this madness?
Perhaps it’s an attempt to connect with the growing “antisocial nerd” market. As you may know, there’s actually a demographic that consists of people that cannot connect with others, but instead settle for an unhealthy obsession concerning 1980s cartoons and anime.
I don’t think it’s a ‘demographic’ as much as a ‘entire generation’, but you’re quite right and it’s effecting every medium and it’s awful.