With Mother’s Day only a couple months away, this commercial offers a funny reminder to women of the hit and misses that we suffer from our husbands’ gift selections.¬† I’m lucky.¬† My husband has a real knack for picking out gifts.¬† I’ve received beautiful jewellery, gorgeous purses, and stylish clothes.¬† Although the commercial is, essentially, an ad for JC Penney, it’s¬†a funny, satirical¬†commentary on the¬†opposing perspectives of men and women.¬† The biggest question I have is… even if we all had a man-sized doghouse in our backyard, would any husband really be willing to enter it on our command?¬† Don’t think so.

I hate to be cynical about a commercial that is so sweet (okay – that’s a lie… I love being cynical) but there’s a reason why McCain has to make up a fairy tale about the creation of their fries – or more specifically, their smiley faces.¬† Would any mother want to buy from a company if they showed minimum wage workers dropping tons potato slices stamped with happy faces into massive vats of boiling canola oil?¬†Duh, nope. Bring on the potato dusters and affectionate oven mitts.

The reality is that I actually do enjoy McCain’s spot.¬† Heck, I watched the entire 60 seconds, which is pretty lengthy for a fry commercial.¬† Certainly, my younger boys will asking for those greasey grinners as soon as they see this ad because they’ll no sooner doubt the authenticity of the commercial than question the existence of Santa Claus (particularly around Christmas time.)¬† Typically, I keep away from any fried potato products, preferring to purchase a kilogram of PEI spuds for two bucks and, over the course of a month, peel, mash, bake, slice the versatile orbs for frequent dinner side dishes.¬†

Yet, does McCain get what it wants from the commercial? That is: will I buy a pack of frozen smiley faces next time my kids stand by the freezer section of the grocery store, nose pushed against the glass, begging “Ple-e-e-e-e-ease.¬† Can. We. Have. Smiles?”¬†
Well…¬† All right. I’ll get them.¬† But just ONCE.¬† Okay, maybe twice.