My kid is forcing us to watch football, which means watching live TV, which means watching ads. I almost never see ads any more, so I haven't been desensitized, and holy crap are they just awful.

I think the reason I hate TV ads so much is that the industry has the biggest, most sophisticated audience-research apparatus in the world. Every character & trope in every ad = what worked in audience testing & focus groups. It all reflects what appeals to Americans, which ...

... is not great, given the ads. The example that keeps jumping out at me: America apparently really loves non-threatening black women dressed like bougie suburbanites, with "fun" bouncy hair (but never an afro or anything too, y'know, black).

Apparently America wants white men who are good-natured but incompetent. Their equally good-natured wives roll their eyes but take care of them anyway. Dudes just want a man cave & some unhealthy food & a big truck, like big ol' lovable kids. Ugh.

Apparently America wants uber-competent housewives who feed the kids, maintain careers, schedule everything, never miss a beat, & look good doing it -- but they need a few luxury products & a glass of wine at the end of the day, amirite ladies?! Ugh.

Apparently America wants every young woman under 18 to be precocious & sassy. If yer not precocious & sassy AF, don't even apply. Extra points if the precocious young girl helps her good-natured but incompetent father out of a jam, making her uber-competent mom smile knowingly.

And of course, in America, everyone lives in the suburbs -- and drives there on highways that, peculiarly, have no other cars on them.

You can imagine how fun it is to watch TV with me.