Why does this ad appeal? The commercial made me laugh the first time I saw it – which is never bad. Obviously it has me thinking – which is good for Chevy’s message. But does anyone want to pay more for a babysitter? The ad made me think we should drive the babysitter home in our old car. Or maybe the van is better, with its accumulated stash of toys and food particles… “It is forty, right?” “Ummm… 20.”

So how does this commercial appeal? We want to appear wealthy. Probably not to the babysitter, but the message of the ad speaks that even a kid realizes the new Tahoe is luxury. And this ad appeals to our desire. We want to create an image that stacks up and over our neighbors. That allows us to stand out from the crowd as successful. And part of that is money to purchase…

“Wildstyle is a yellow Lego girl. Yellow like germs, but she isn’t dirty.” – Phoebe, explaining the new Lego Movie. 

I am not sure why yellow equals germs, but Wildstyle is a Lego person. She is boxy and square. Her arms and legs can not move perpendicular to her body – only parallel. Very different from the new Lego Friends that are marketed to girls. These Legos include skinny arms and legs. Their heads are not cylinders, but face shaped. And of course their skin is not yellow.

I think Phoebe knows humanity’s struggle with appearances. She doesn’t understand it at a deep philosophical level, but at a four year old level she knows that her first thought about a boxy, yellow Lego was anything but exciting. So she is trying to help us get past our hangups with first impressions. Wildstyle may not look like a Lego Friend, but this toy is ninja awesome. And now Phoebe wants to get three Wildstyle Legos – one for all the sisters. Because Phoebe knows, no matter how yellow, this Lego is way too cool to share…

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Allow me to give you another ad. If you have not seen the Lego Movie, please stop wasting time reading my blogs. Your first reaction to the idea of a Lego based movie may be “yellow=germs”, but this movie is splendid (to use their word, it is awesome). Brilliant for kids. Better for adults. I can not recommend this movie enough!