Kay Jewlers, a jeweler in my area broadcasts TV and Radio commercials with the slogan "every kiss begins with Kay." I find it hugely offensive for a company to claim to be the gatekeeper between two lovers. Tonight, they hit a new low.
It's a commercial of a military officer skyping to his wife and son, and surprising her with a gift of a ring.
Now, wedding rings have a very nice function. They let you quietly say "sorry, taken" when you go out in public. But besides that, they are a waste. They do not store wealth, because you buy them at a huge markup from the market prices of the metals in them, and when you come to sell them, they have to be assayed to make sure you're not trying to rip the buyer off. If you try to sell diamonds, you're lucky to get back 20 cents for every dollar you spent.
And when you're married, and have responsibilities like your house, your medical insurance, your kids, their college aspirations, and your retirement plans, every cent you spend on more jewelry is money wasted on an obscenity. So when Kay Jewelers come on the air, and tell me that to deserve the continued affection of Mrs. Ocschwar, I must spend hundreds of dollars on a shiny bauble, it makes me angry. It's an intrusion on the sacred institution of marriage, and the financial stability of the family. It damages family values in ways Teh Gheys can't even hope to match.
And now they're peddling this message to military families, because nothing says "financially stable household" quite like "army wife, and husband is deployed," right?
I'm pissed.