The Dolce Commercial

I know I have previously mentioned that one of my dream jobs would be some sort of "tv commercial czar," where I could nix commercials that are stupid, crude, pointless, offensive, obnoxious, etc. This dream has recently been reignited by the Canon commercial starring tennis star Maria Sharapova and her little dog, Dolce.

You must have seen this commercial because they play it about 48 times per day. In the commercial, Maria and Dolce are stopped multiple times as they tool around town by people wielding Canon cameras. They ask permission to take a picture...Maria assumes they must want to take a picture of her, the gorgeous pro athlete. But no, they all want to take a picture of her Toto-like dog, Dolce. Apparently he/she is a VERY cute dog.

And the premise is cute...at first. But the scenario happens like, 4 times in the commercial. Every single time, Maria is shocked that the intrusive photographers want a picture of her dog. "I'm over here," she says. Honey...if it KEEPS happening, why are you still so surprised? Your dog is cute, people want to photograph it, get over it. But no, she's taken aback anew with each instance. Poor Maria comes off as either self-absorbed and narcissistic, or just really dumb.

I know it is not Maria's fault...she is just performing the script that Canon gave her (and for which Canon is paying her the big bucks). She very well may be intelligent and modest. But the commercial does not cast her in a very positive light. In trying to sell a product that can capture memorable moments, the ad guys at Canon are clearly stuck in the dark room. (I know, laaaaaaame pun. I'm groaning, too...)