Stupid People--At least they're good for a laugh!

Sometimes I really hate being an "English Guy." It ruins movies, songs, and I found out today that apparently it ruins the pleasure of listening to radio ads. On the plus side, I did have the opportunity to enjoy one of those laugh-out-loud-at-someone's-great-stupidity moments that I otherwise may have missed.

On my way to work this morning I was listening to Shine Fm and heard a radio ad that caught my attention (unfortunately I was not able to catch who it was for, but if I find out I will update this post). Now, I often praise advertisers for a well thought out and convincing ad; they have a tough job selling products to an overcrowded market; but today I couldn't help but literally laughing out loud at the stupidity of the ad that said this:

"Electricity isn't just a convenience; it helps us live our lives."

I'll give you just a moment to digest that statement, if you need it, and tell you that I shared this quote with my classes today. None of my students were able to figure out why I would be laughing at this statement--and let me be clear, the statement is not funny haha, but it is a definite head shaker how this statement made it through however many people without being noticed and corrected. Either, it was a mistake, which I genuinely hope, or the advertiser actually thinks the general public is stupid enough to be convinced by this statement and will buy their product.

Some of my brighter students began to piece it together when I asked them to simply define the word: "convenience." Some slow smiles edged their way over their faces and I gave a small nod for them to allow the others to piece it together themselves. So some students said that convenience was making something easy, others that it was something we don't need but it's helpful, etc. You all know a valid definition. At that point I said, "You know what else is a good definition for the word 'convenience?' It helps us live our lives." That got most of the others smirking, though there were some that I fear never did grasp the nature of the blunder.

I mean, come on, you paid how much money to have this ad on the radio and thought it would be appropriate to prove how stupid you are?!? Brilliant! And by brilliant I do indeed mean moronic. The fact that you can't get basic English correct does not inspire a great deal of confidence in me that you can look after my consumer needs. This goes beyond the basic errors that everyone makes from time to time (that even appear in some books we read after dozens of times through top notch editors). This is a basic problem in logical thinking. Either that, or you actually do think I am stupid enough to not pick up on this, which means you certainly will not get my business.

I informed my students that I better never get any work from them with such a glaring error in the defense of a statement. If you are going to tell me that something is more than just *fill in the blank*, then you sure as heck better tell me what else it is, and not simply and stupidly prove yourself a moron (I didn't put it quite this way, but I'm certain they got the gist of it).

What was really funny were some of the comments I got afterward from some students. Like, "if I didn't know you were an English teacher before, I would think so now", and "Uh-oh, you really pick up on things like that?" Those also made me laugh out loud.