Ad Nauseam

SF editor's note: I can personally vouch for the speed, reliability and comfort of Midttrafik, as I relied on it during my semester in Denmark. 

Can you believe this?  Does this get you riled up? You need to take a gander at this new commercial for Mazda's CX-5, an advertising partner for Universal Pictures Dr. Suess' "The Lorax". It's the latest, most outrageous act of Hollywood greed.

Reader Paul Murphy sends along this ad from the Australian division of Giant Bicycles. The spot, by the Melbourne-based firm Leo Burnett, started airing last summer as part of Giant's "Real Riders" campaign. Imagine if images of grocery bags slung over handlebars could somehow saturate the airwaves as much as sleek new luxury sedans gliding through traffic-free downtown streets.

A couple of car-related ads in heavy NFL rotation caught my attention mostly for their emphasis, intended or not, on car-free transportation.

One of the many reasons that America has such a deep and lasting addiction to its car culture is the advertising dollars that paint such an attractive picture of car ownership.  The ads are everywhere and appear in many different forms.  But, you know this.

(Tanya Snyder takes a somewhat more serious tone at Streetsblog Capitol Hill.  Alao, the Times reports that G.M. is pulling the advertisement out of its rotation.- DN)

If you've been watching the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which resumes tonight, you've probably seen this Subaru spot, called "Baby Driver." In it, a distressed father leans into the passenger side window, imploring his preschool-age daughter to be careful on the road -- stay off the freeways, put the phone away -- to the point that she interrupts with a sweetly impatient "Daddy, o-kay." When he gives up the keys, we see the child as a present-day teenager. As she backs out of the driveway, to the obligatory strains of an acoustic guitar, the word "love" pops up on the screen. It dissolves into the Subaru logo as dad's voice intones: "We knew this day was coming. That's why we bought a Subaru."

Via the website Girl Bike Love comes one of the more depressing automobile advertisements we've seen recently.  Used car resale dealership Tyme Auto Group, proudly serving Northern Ohio and Michigan, proudly offers a discount to any jogger or cyclist who promises to stay off the road the author is driving on (sic).