David Kronke: Commercials for dummies

It seems like there are a lot of commercials out there these days that outright admit that they're aiming their products at morons. But is insulting your target audience a good idea?

In one, for microwavable macaroni and cheese, we see a couple sitting beside one another, going about their business, while a series of bestial grunts or gaseous gurglings occur. Somewhat reluctantly, the guy stands - to deliver a bowl of microwavable mac-n-cheese to an obese buffoon, his T-shirt woefully incapable of covering his ample gut, lounging on a nearby sofa. Notice the young couple don't actually seem interested in the product advertised; notice, too, that the fat guy is too lazy to roust himself from his stupor to prepare the food himself. Is that really who the advertisers envision as their prospective buyers? If so, how do they figure they'll even bother to get themselves to a grocery store?

In another, a group of friends use their cell phones to call one another and scream in each other's ears or try to humiliate someone before his work colleagues. Is this really the kind of service cell phone companies want to sell their customers? If so, how do they expect people so loutish and irresponsible to maintain their monthly payments?

But inspiring the most discussion right now are the car commercials that depict distracted drivers plowing headlong into other vehicles. The point of these being, apparently, that, hey, our cars are so safe you don't need to pay attention to what you're doing; the fates of anyone else in the accident is not our problem. So this company thinks I'm a lousy driver? I should buy one of their cars!

And then, of course, there're the pratfall-laden ads for the movie "RV:" Those with a measurable IQ need not apply.