Got the t-shirt
As regular readers of this blog will know, I love a good advert. As a preacher who often speaks in public uninterrupted for 25 minutes or so, I have huge admiration for the people who can capture my imagination with 60 – 80 seconds. The latest offering from Ikea, by London agency Mother, is no exception. However, when an advertising manager from a furniture store says that ‘unless the t-shirts looked 100% real the audience wouldn’t be able to empathise with them and care about their journey home’ I grow just a little sceptical.
Empathy is a precious emotion. It is a rope bridge slung between human beings, no matter how great the chasm beneath. Across it I may carry compassion, understanding, and even a screaming frustration to do something about what I saw on the other side. It strikes me that if I waste too much of it on animated t-shirts advertising a desperate need for neat storage in aid of a furniture company, I might find I have used it up for the day when I really need it.
What do you think?
