There’s this Doritos commercial, apparently it aired on the Superbowl, but I just saw it on TV recently, and I can’t believe how irresponsible it is.
The mother comes home from the grocery store, while the two sons are sitting in the front yard with their mastiff dog laying beside them. As she juggles grocery bags, she asks, “Boys can i get some help?”
The older brother replies, with a super snotty tone, “I don’t know, can you?”
To which, instead of reprimanding the brat for his rudeness and lack of respect, the clueless mother replies, “I guess you don’t want Doritos.”
The result, of course, is that the boys both race toward the car. The younger brother, in full cowboy gear, jumps on the mastiff and rides him like a horse, to reach the Doritos first.
This is all kinds of wrong:
The mother just smiles and lets the kid give her lip
then she bribes him with Doritos in order to get him to help.
The younger brother rides the mastiff–which even though he’s a large dog, it’s a dog NOT a horse, and not designed to carry people around on its back.
Then the dog eats the Doritos–not a healthy snack for dogs.
Finally, the younger brother hogties the older brother while the mother cheers. Seriously?
I know this is simulated, the boy actor is not REALLY riding on the dog in the commercial, it’s all CGI, and that very tiny letters stating “Do Not Attempt” are superimposed at the bottom of the screen. But viewers, and particularly children who don’t know any better, will focus on the entire scene. A mastiff (or great dane or Irish wolfhound, or St. Bernard) does not have the bone structure or strength to support riders, and could become seriously injured or crippled. And children who attempt to climb on a dog’s back and go for a ride may fall, or cause the dog to react out of pain–if a dog bites a kid who inadvertently causes it pain, the situation becomes tragic for both child and dog. The dog is blamed, and may be taken away from the family or even euthanized.
There are plenty of offensive and potentially harmful commercials around, but this one caught my attention. This commercial is stupid and harmful.
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