I know a sign everybody knows. But it's not appropriate for Yuletide.

Oh, the schmaltz, the schmaltz!

Unless you've been busy throwing your shoes at your favorite idiot, you've also been assaulted by these cheesy spots by Kay and Target and other merchandisers desperate to tug your heartstrings and ravage your wallet.  Not a great time of the year to be a shiksa.

See, apparently the way to tug your heartstrings is to throw a deaf signer in there, show them in a few frames, cue some cheesy music, and wait for you to go, "awww... fuck world peace, I need a piece of that cuteness."

Observe:

and you can see another signer here, this time shilling for Target.  In neither commercial does the signing have anything to do with the product or the marketer's promise.  

Funnily enough, the Kay spot is drawing the ire of other bloggers... even bloggers who have no ostensible connection to the deaf community. 

Says Amy:

It can easily be read as either "We haven't been together long enough for me to get good at ASL but I felt society's pressure to buy you an insanely expensive gift" or "I'm a jerk and haven't put much effort into this whole sign language thing, but you're hot, so here's a bauble to keep you happy a bit longer."

And Brian:

Her response when he asks if she likes it: "Read my lips." Kiss. I guess it's laudatory of Kay Jewelers to recognize hearing-deaf relationships in the service of selling watches. So, why does it annoy me so much?

Here's why:

Because Christmas is a time for goodwill and connection and buying cool stuff for people you like in hopes that the things they give you will be even cooler.  And if your attempt at capitalizing on such goodwill is to plunk a deafie in front of a camera in a sloppy (albeit possibly well-intentioned) effort at inclusion while still speaking FOR them or TO them instead of letting them be their own person capable of their own actions, well, good luck.

Because, trust me on this one, a blank-faced kid standing cluelessly in the middle of a crowd of stage-hogging costumed thespians apathetically moving her hands around isn't a great symbol of aforementioned goodwill.

Nor is the new girlfriend who sits there and sweetly tells her FWB of the week that his inability to talk meaningfully with her "is fine."  If there's anyone who's being accommodated in that commercial... guess what?  It ain't her. *snort*

Hey.  Think about it. She gets a booty call and jewelry out of the deal.  He gets to think that learning to sign "Merry Christmas" means he's a good person and that he's fulfilled his Christmas do-good obligation.  Who's lying to themselves here? *snort squared*

I'm not slamming the Kay or Target marketers here.  Their job is to make money by taking advantage of cultural tropes already present in our society. 

And the hearing samaritan trope has been around forever, no?

Read these lips: hearing guilt = profits.

Comments

[Jarom M.]

LOL at the part about FWB... How true!

[sazzy]

Interesting perspective. :) Mines definitely different. I've nothing against Kay or Target to use sign language in their commercials.

Kay commercial - cute, I was in a hearing/deaf relationship before and so, it was cute for me to see. Something different rather than speaking only.

I watched the Target commercial a few times, and whoa. I realized how DIVERSE it was, which was really cool to see! Really impressive, obviously they wanted to make a sort of diverse statement, so kudos to them! It's just amazing how they included the signing child, to let the world know that a deaf child should be blended in just like everyone else in that diverse group.

I could name a ton of commercials where the setting (without any deaf people or signing) has NOTHING to do with the product, but only to capture your attention, and go, oh WOW i didn't think that'd be for TIDE LAUNDRY DETERGENT! Holy Moly!

Honestly, this is good cultural experience...

Just my two (or 500) cents! :)

[Rob]

Funny, I didn't even realize the kid in the Target ad was deaf until I read this blog. Thought she was just a bit spry. And after replaying, it was hard to understand anything she was saying.

[A Deaf Pundit]

*laughs* I love this blog. :) You nailed it ... the Kay commercial is way too cheesy and fake for me.

[QuinnCreative]

As a hearing person, I thought the Kay commercial was a 9.7 on the cheese-o-meter, but I have a grim view of commercials. Then I began to wonder how many deaf clients they have. I mean, why else target that audience? It's surely not for cultural education. That's not what commercials are for. And finally, I decided that in tough times, it's not enough to make you want something, the thing has to have explainable value, e.g., cultural understanding. Or a booty call. Tough to tell.