Trailer Trad Living: Don't Be a Settler

I've been a fan of DirectTV's ad campaigns for a while. Remember Rob Lowe's "Don't Be Like This Me" commercials? Incredibly, many people didn't like them or think that they were funny. I thought that they were brilliant. They were brilliant not just because they were funny (they were) but because they diverted the viewer's psyche away from stuff like price competitiveness, service, etc. and to basic psychological manipulation. Obviously, your choice of entertainment provider won't make you have skinny arms or turn you into a muscle-bound meathead (bro). But...really, why take chances?

That leads us to their newest campaign--a campaign that I love. There are very few people that you can mercilessly make fun of and this new ad campaign goes all out. Using a play on words, the 'settlers' are a nice, likable family of Little House era frontier farmers placed in a modern suburb. The fish out of water humor is not difficult but it's really well done. And, all the while, it is equating having cable instead of satellite (again, any actual price and service discussion is moved out of the viewer's minds) with being a Luddite LATE ADOPTER. Being a late adopter is probably the most grievous status that a Millennial can be tagged with. Anyway, here are a few of the ads. The 'Privacy' ad is shown twice but it deserves two showings. Enjoy the following compilation.