By Steve Otto
Every now and then I write about commercials I see on my TV. I have noticed there seems to be an effort to put more black folks on TV commercials. A lot of people would say “Wow! We are seeing more black folks on TV now. That must be progress.” But for me, it just means the corporations all know that black folks have money and they want to get their grubby paws on it.
What is trendy right now, are black women with frizzy hair. Nearly all commercials I see try to stick at least one black woman with frizzy hair in them. Often there is a white woman with straight hair with the black women, with the frizzy hair. At times they use white, or nearly white women with frizzy hair. And lately, with the last few commercials I noticed, the frizzy haired black women are perky—very perky!
The latest example is an outfit that calls itself DriveTime.com. There is this extremely perky black woman, with frizzy hair, who tries to sound like she is revealing some perky secret. There is the white guy, who needs a car and in just seconds he is approved to borrow money from DriveTime. Now he can drive off in that all important new car. In commercial land, nothing is more important than driving a brand-new car. We see lots of cars and all kinds of ways to finance these new cars.
Another trend I have noticed are people trying to sell us assets that are not tangible. For example, everyone needs car insurance. Everyone needs an extended warranty (car protection against repairs). All these things are intangible. Only the car is an asset we can hold onto. Insurance, extended warranties and loans are all intangible assets. They are all things that help us get our hands on a car and help us keep the car. But all those things must be paid for—paying for thin air, for various car privileges, that these commercials are out to get from us.
The guy in the DriveTime add is incredibly happy to get his loan approved. The perky woman assures him that he has earned this wonderful privilege. Loans seem to be extremely popular items to sell on TV. They give us the allusion we OWN fancy cars and houses. But we are really a nation of home and car BUYERS, not really owners. Owning a home is a badge of honor for middle class people who want to prove that they are serious about their place in society. They are quick to point out that they are “HOMEOWNERS” whenever there are arguments over laws that affect those who live in or near the all-important homes. These people are quick to yell out: “I’m a homeowner,” which is supposed to make them seem more important than the “hippie like people” who don’t own homes. And even when a person can afford to buy a home without a loan, there are those advisors trying to convince them that there are tax advantages and other advantages that make that all important loan look like a real bargain. But most so-called homeowners actually pay nearly twice as much as their home is worth, thanks to that 30-year mortgage. Most people are home or car buyers and not really owners.
Years ago, my wife and I bought our home with a 15-year mortgage. The payments were a little higher and we did not get any tax breaks. But after 15 years we owned our home. After it was paid off, we didn’t have to pay those huge house payments. We pay taxes and that is it. It was one of the smartest things we ever did. But that is not what most people do. Most Americans get loans, as with DriveTime.com. They pay a lot of money for that priviledge. In the long run it is a racket pure and simple. White folks have been taken to the cleaners for years. Now the corporations are taking the black folks to the cleaners. Maybe that is why we now see so many black folks on TV commercials.
Let’s not forget all the people who think they can keep up loan commitments, but they don’t. That is especially true of people who get a 30-year mortgage. A job lay-off or an emergency no one was expecting can cause a loss of more than 10 years of paying off on a house loan. Then all that money, time and effort can go down the drain as people are not able to keep up their 30-year commitment.
So now after all this time, black folks can be scammed by the same kind of sharks that have gone after white folks for all these years. Black folks can now experience the pain and suffering of home and car buying that goes wrong. Equality is here at last.
DriveTime.com commercial—It’s easy—super easy!
DriveTime.com commercial—It’s easy—super easy!