# What is your response to this ad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531 "2015-12-28T03:06:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/1 "2015-12-28T03:06:24Z")
I debated whether this belonged more to Cafe Society or IMHO, but decided on CS as it involves a television ad. I present this as it was presented to me, with no context other than that it was an ad made for Edeka, a German supermarket. The ad is in German but there are English subtitles, so it should be easy to understand: [EDEKA Weihnachtsclip - #heimkommen - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6-0kYhqoRo) I’m very interested in everyone’s opinions, as my own opinion is completely different from everyone else in my family. I shall say no more just now, except to ask what your emotional response was. Not gonna lie, I’m intrigued to know if my take on it will be supported by some or most of you, or if I’m totally off base here. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/2 "2015-12-28T03:18:14Z")
That old man is an awful and manipulative person. His kids probably aren’t that great either, but I can see why they wouldn’t be eager to spend time with him. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/3 "2015-12-28T03:19:26Z")
We already did a thread on this, don’t remember which forum it was posted in. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/4 "2015-12-28T03:19:51Z")
I’ll spoiler my take because I’m the first response, and some people have tall screens:Blatantly emotionally manipulative, on two levels, but amusing in a work of fiction. Frankly, any anger you might feel immediately evaporates once you spend a few moments thinking about what actually happened, and how _blatantly idiotic_ it was: Having a scene not only in a hospital but in an actual funeral for the old codger is so over-the-top it’s impossible to take it seriously. It [Crosses The Line Twice](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrossesTheLineTwice). ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/5 "2015-12-28T03:38:29Z")
Crap, **Telemark** , seriously? I looked and didn’t find anything, but I must have missed it. **Derleth** , I think the bits in the hospital are because one of the old man’s sons is a doctor. You see him getting the news on his phone. And **Derleth** and **Omega Glory** , thank you!! That is precisely how I saw it – what a horrible, manipulative man, and what blatant disrespect he shows for his children and grandchildren! ‘How else was I supposed to get you all together?’ Oh, I dunno, how about by talking to people? How about you get your own tuckus onto a plane and go to them, since they clearly have busy lives and you are clearly retired? How about you see if everyone can’t swing a trip at a less slammed time than Christmas? And what possible sense does it make that the daughter would find out her father had died by opening the death notice? Who was supposed to have printed and mailed those, and why wouldn’t they have called the man’s kids? And wasn’t it just terrific that everyone ended up meeting outside the family home before walking in together? And will they be charging him for any super-expensive, last-minute flights made at Christmas? Also, how many days before they put him in a nursing home? My money is on one. Gah! And to make things so much worse, my family is all misty-eyed at the touching sentimentality of it all, and I seriously wonder if they were watching a different ad, because the one I saw had a man willing to play a cruel, emotionally manipulative prank on his own children and grandchildren, and I think that’s completely reprehensible. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/6 "2015-12-28T04:04:21Z")
I’m with you. I think it’s horrid. I suspect it may be because _I’m_ at that busy part of my own life with running a household and working full time, and my mother is regularly delivering guilt trip messages about wanting to spend more time with me. So, yeah, there’s that. But he’s an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/7 "2015-12-28T04:34:47Z")
What an awful, manipulative commercial. I was getting a shade depressed, honestly, missing my own dad, but then it was all a trick? Fucker. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/8 "2015-12-28T04:41:10Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > What an awful, manipulative commercial. I was getting a shade depressed, honestly, missing my own dad, but then it was all a trick? > > Fucker. Pretty much agree with this. I kind of saw it coming. Maybe I’d already heard about the ad, or I just figured people were only talking about it because some gotcha was coming. But by about the time of the funeral, I guessed what the reveal was going to be. Anyway, the sympathy I felt for the guy at the beginning was dashed by the awful glurge. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/9 "2015-12-28T04:44:13Z")
Heh heh, see who skips the _real_ funeral! ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/10 "2015-12-28T04:47:57Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > Crap, **Telemark** , seriously? I looked and didn’t find anything, but I must have missed it. [Here’s the thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=776931). (It was hardly three weeks ago.) I think the responses there are about the same as you’re getting (and will get) here. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/11 "2015-12-28T05:49:42Z")
My family hasn’t all been together in close to 20 years. I feel sorry for the old man. Remember it is meant to be an Ad, not real life (I don’t know anyone that would play a trick like this is real life) Simple message expressed in the 2 minutes available - make time before your regret it ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/12 "2015-12-28T10:40:18Z")
Guy’s a dick. In real life, while I’m sure the family would be thrilled, there would be a lot more anger directed at him. > [@shantih](#): > > I think the bits in the hospital are because one of the old man’s sons is a doctor. You see him getting the news on his phone. I thought that was the doctor calling the family to say he was dead? I guess your explanation makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![nicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/13 "2015-12-28T10:48:11Z")
I done a little bit of sick in my mouth. If he can cook a full christmas dinner for 12 people, he can get on a plane. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/14 "2015-12-28T13:37:50Z")
D’oh! The first time I saw this was when they did a bit on it on one of the morning news shows. Guess I wasn’t paying attention because I got the impression the kids had cancelled after they had agree to spend Christmas with him, and I thought “what assholes” :smack:. Then “the twist” came I and I thought Grampa was a dick. I think they all seem pretty unpleasant (from the two separate, 30 seconds I had to form an impression). In any case, totally contrived, manipulative and a complete downer. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/15 "2015-12-28T17:11:54Z")
Here, cleanse your palate with this heartwarming [Publix commercial.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgymlJ4mbgg) And I agree. Grandpa is a manipulative ass. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/16 "2015-12-29T01:56:43Z")
The commercial needed to end with one the adult children saying “Of course, when you _really_ die, none of us will believe it.” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/17 "2015-12-29T02:42:32Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Here, cleanse your palate with this heartwarming [Publix commercial.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgymlJ4mbgg) > > And I agree. Grandpa is a manipulative ass. That was freaking awesome. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/18 "2015-12-29T03:10:43Z")
While I agree with the points brought up here, above, to be clear it was lots of years Grandpa was left alone. I think the implication was not just that no one visited Grandpa for Christmas but that the rest of the family didn’t see each other, either. Anyway, YouTube suggested this commercial when that one was over, and it’s much better: Sainsbury’s 2015 “Mog’s Christmas Calamity.” [Mog’s Christmas Calamity | Sainsbury’s Ad | Christmas 2015 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuRn2S7iPNU) ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/19 "2015-12-29T05:21:28Z")
First reaction was a chuckle, since this was a dramatization of an old joke. Next was a burst of sympathy, since my wife and I spent Christmas alone this year. Next was contempt for all the heartless boors who criticized him. Go to them? - maybe he’s unable healthwise or financially to travel. We’ve seen nearly all of our relatives recently, so its not a problem for us. But anyone who does not have sympathy for his situation has major character defects. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531/20 "2015-12-29T06:28:23Z")
I see Hitler grew out his mustache. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-response-to-this-ad/741531.md?page=2)