Thursday, October 1, 2015

Chevrolet's New Commercial Highlights What's Wrong With Modern Connectivity


Chevrolet just launched a new commercial called Woodchipper. While the automaker is using it to highlight a great feature that comes in its vehicles, it's also inadvertently showing off what's wrong with modern connectivity.

In the commercial, which you can watch below, several younger people (likely Millennials) filter in a room for a focus group at a marketing research company. Chevrolet stresses that the people in the commercial are "real" and "not actors." It's a similar setup to other recent commercials put out there by the company.

The focus group leader collects everyone's phones supposedly so they can't leak information about what everyone will discuss. Then another guy fires up a woodchipper in the corner and the focus group leader starts chucking the devices in one by one. The kids around the table look horrified and dumbstruck.

That's when the guy asks how they feel. I know how I'd feel if someone destroyed my phone. My primary concern would be how my wife and kids would contact me when I'm out and about, then I'd be upset about the cost of a replacement. Those are understandable points, but the people in the commercial, at least in their edited responses, seemed more concerned about feeling naked without being able to Instagram their next meal, post selfies on Facebook and tweet about their evening plans.

While the commercial's supposed to highlight Chevy's new in-vehicle WiFi connectivity, which would leave these people a way to get their Internet fix, for me it really just showed the negative side of too much connectivity. Sometimes it's good to unplug and recharge, getting back in touch with the physical world. Even Steve Jobs understood the importance of limiting screen time, and perhaps everyone else should as well.

The commercial:


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