Acura - Season of Reason: Bette Midler

In Acura's Season of Reason commercial, a caroller hires Bette Midler to join his family's efforts:

The man seems shocked when Midler doesn't stick to the script.

But really, what did he expect?  He hired Bette Midler!  Did he expect she was just going to be a member of the chorus?  Isn't that kind of a waste of her talents?  If you hire Bette Midler to help out with your carolling, don't you do so with the expectation that she is going to be the star attraction?

Also, didn't he take a look at her outfit before they started?  This clearly isn't a woman who wants to simply be part of the crowd.

I'm not sure why the man at the door seems so put off by Midler's carolling.  He's got Bette Midler singing at his door and yet he looks disappointed?  Was he really looking forward to a bunch of locals belting out an off key version of Silent Night?  I'd say this is a major upgrade.

Maybe this explains why Midler was hired in the first place.  People in this town evidently have insanely high standards for their Christmas carolling.  It seems that if you want to impress people, you've got to pay for professional help.  And even that is no guarantee of success.
Rating - 2 TVs - I'd say hiring Midler to spice up the carolling was a wise move.  But he clearly went in with the wrong expectations.  If he wanted a background singer, I'm sure he could have found one.  Instead, he hired a star, so he should have expected a star-type performance.

Dodge - Road

In the latest commercial from Dodge, they demonstrate how Ram trucks can literally move heaven and earth:

We see a Ram truck driving towards a city when - Uh oh! There seems to be an earthquake up ahead.  This doesn't appear to be a minor earthquake either.  This looks like a "The Big One" level quake in which a large section of the ground has completely collapsed. 

I think I see what they're going for here.  They want to show how well the Ram handles in even the harshest conditions.  The case shown here might be a little extreme, but the point is made.

But wait!  This is no random earthquake.  The Ram truck is actually creating this earthquake!  Somehow, the truck is causing the ground to collapse in order to shorten the distance between it and its destination.

I will admit that I was not aware that Ram trucks were capable of such things.  If they truly are, I don't think Dodge has thought this all the way through. 

Sure, it might technically shorten distances, but the effect on the surrounding landscape would likely be catastrophic.  That city is probably going to be completely ruined by the time the truck arrives.  Is it really worth it to arrive a few minutes earlier if the city is going to be destroyed when they get there?

Not to mention, is this really the type of power we want just anybody to possess?  The ability to create earthquakes or destroy mountains seems like it should be in the hands of the military.  It certainly doesn't seem like a feature that Johnny Truckbuyer should be able to purchase for just $22,000.

Just think what might happen if you cut off someone driving a Ram?  If they're in a pissy enough mood, they could collapse the road underneath your car just out of spite.  Can you imagine the type of chaos that would cause?

Rating - 1 TV - This commercial worries me.  I hope that somebody at Dodge reconsiders the earthquake causing feature, or else we might have a real disaster on our hands.