Ad Analysis: The Kia Ice Skating TV Ad

This will be unpopular, but I hate this ad. I know what Kia wanted and I know why. Kia, and their ad agency, made my wife cry. That’s what they wanted, right?

I hope you’re happy, Kia! My wife was already dreaming of a Kia (not an electric one) and this pretty much seals the deal, but for me …it makes me not want a Kia.

Why am I so angry at this commercial? Because the story it tells is not the least bit anchored to any common experience, realistic event, or feasible scenario. Not that commercials can’t touch the heart. Lord knows the cry-inducing commercial genre has been around a long time. As a child of the 70s and 80s, the AT&T “Reach Out and Touch Someone Ads” are legendary (side note: hard to believe AT&T and Bell had to run ads to convince people, hey, use the phone???). I don’t mind ads that get me choked up. But, the story should be somewhat rooted in reality. It would help if the ad would make me pause and think, hmmmm, that could happen. I could see myself doing that.

This Kia commercial made my wife cry, but I’m not so easily fooled.

First, why did the skating daughter look into the stands at the empty seat and act like, whoa, she didn’t realize Grandpa wasn’t there? Super-dad probably should’ve mentioned that on the way to the rink. Unless Grandpa had to bow out at the last minute due to a health matter or impassable roads. And if that was the case, I think most dads and granddaughters would say, hey, we’re sad you’re missing the skating event, but at your age and given the fact you’re in a wheelchair, it’s smart to stay home. We have iPhones. We’ll video it and Email it to you, OK? Yes. The dad, like all dads, should’ve had his phone up taking video of his daughter. That’s what we do. We shoot video of everything on our iPhones. Always. Even dumb stuff we’ll never watch but especially skating performances by our daughter and for a grandpa that couldn’t be there.

And where was Mom? Want to make me cry? Explain that!!!!

Second, where on earth does wheel-chair-shut-in grandpa live? Miles and miles of road. Snow and ice. A winding, cliff-side mountain road? How many hours were dad and crying-daughter in the car? Did daughter wonder, hey dad, why aren’t we going home? We live 15-minutes from the rink? And isn’t the daughter old enough to figure out long before arriving at grandpa’s mountain lair that, oh, cool, we’re going to grandpa’s. She only smiles knowingly when dad pulls into the driveway.

Third, when did dad sneak a giant Bluetooth speaker into the Kia? And all the the lights? I mean allllllllll the lights (look closely at the lights hung on all the trees circling the entire, perfectly shoveled, perfectly zamboni’d skating pond)?

That’s point four and five. I’ve hung outdoor lights. It takes a full weekend …or two. Also, I’m 50-years-old, and a naturally occurring, smooth-as-glass skating pond happens, maybe, once a season …if you’re very lucky. Did grandpa’s caretaker (or is that grandma pushing the wheelchair?) get a text from dad and rush outside and shovel an ice surface the size of a hockey rink? Maybe she used a snow blower. I’ll accept that. Barely.

Finally, was this during COVID? Did granddaughter not run into the house to give grandpa a hug and say, “we’re here to show you my skate routine?” Did dad not ask, politely, to use the bathroom after the long drive?

We’re to believe that dad and (grand daughter) drove at least an hour, into the evening, showed up, snuck around and hung lights and shoveled an ice rink, and then, what, honked and flashed the headlights to get grandpa’s attention and he came to the window? A closed window, mind you …so could he hear the music from the Bluetooth speaker?

The only other possible option is that dad knew grandpa wasn’t going to make it to the rink, so he took the day off, drove to grandpa’s, shoveled the rink and hung most of the lights, then drove all the way back into town and acted sad that grandpa wasn’t there, knowing the whole time he’d head right to grandpa’s house immediately following the performance at the rink. But that’s not what the commercial implies. And if that’s what happened, why didn’t dad drive grandpa into town and down out of the mountain retreat and bring grandpa to the rink and invite grandpa to stay at their house after the performance?

And where’s mom!!! And grandma!?!?!?!

I love a good advertisement. I am proud to work in advertising. This brings shame to my entire profession and perhaps I’m the only person who gets legitimately angry when I see blatant pandering and terrible storytelling, but darn it …Kia just dropped a few notches in my book. Yes. Because of the ad.

You go ahead and get angry about politics and wars …I’ll shake my fist at my TV when the commercials come on.