With the economy currently struggling, many Americans no longer have the money to go out to Wal-mart and buy whatever new item just came out, be it a new iPod or 3D Television or any other product. Many families just like this family are discovering that simpler pleasures can be just as, and maybe more so, satisfying than buying that new television and sitting in front of the screen for hours on end. I'm talking about family game nights.
Many of the board game companies, including Hasbro, are trying to market their products toward a more family-oriented direction. The ad features a family of four at different points in the day repeatedly saying, "It's Wednesday," before showing the mom at a store, possibly Wal-mart or Target, buying a board game for her family. The family then are seen playing the game at their house that night and having an almost gratuitous amount of fun. This commercial really emphasized the fact that a family can have fun together, even with a bad economy, and with all of the technology available to all people.
This commercial really hit home with me, causing me to remember all of the family game nights I have had with my parents over the years. Maybe I am not a normal teenager, but I actually like my parents and it does not bother me to spend time with them. The general truth seems to be that, with all of this new technology in the world, people (especially teenagers,myself included) began to become more and more anti-social, but, because times are getting tougher and people have less money, they seem to realize that they don't need new expensive toys to have fun- they need a group of people they want to be around.
With these new advertising schemes from the myriad of companies releasing new products, a shift seems to be occurring, from buying the new products and not being with your family as much, because all of the new "stuff" eats up all the time you have, to a more family-centric way of living, with the most important goal being spending time with family. Hopefully, with this shift, all of the innumerable problems in the world can be improved or even solved. But, if not, then I guess all Americans can just try to remember their family game nights and sigh contentedly at their reminiscences.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It is a shame that we've allowed our lives to become hectic and frantic and often forsaken family time. Our family game was monoply. We used to play for hours. Ironically, Ethan got the modern version: it has a credit card you scan instead of paper money!
ReplyDelete