Ad Nauseum: Thrive

Finally, an advertisement that portrays cyclists as well-adjusted and happy human beings who love their chosen mode of transportation instead of people looking to save money on car insurance, people too poor to afford a car or insects.  This pleasant ad from health care giant Kaiser Permanente makes a clear statement that cycling is a smart thing to do if you care about your community and want to live a healthy life.

The first three quarters of the advertisement is nothing more than a pleasant sounding song about doing activities in the sun played over film of a diverse group of people biking around town.  For the last 15 seconds, the music is replaced by a female narrator who drives the point home that cycling is a clean and healthy way to move from place to place:

We believe that good health belongs to everyone, that it’s more than some card you keep in your wallet.  It’s the air we breathe, the food we eat, the community we live in.  We’re Kaiser Permanente and we’re here to spread the health.

Some of the commenters at bikecommuters.com noticed some problems with the video, but others agreed with me that they’re not seeing the forests for the trees.  After all, isn’t it nice to see a corporation portraying cycling as something good to do in their television ads?