Now that the holiday season is behind us and with it, thank God, those headache-inducing Hyundai hipsters, it’s time to focus on an even more insidious automotive ad campaign.  You know what I’m talking about – the Toyota Highlander commercials featuring that obnoxious little punk.

At least the hipsters were trying to convey a sense of fun and whimsy.  Can anyone explain what the redeeming qualities of these ads are?  I can tell you what I see in these spots:

• Smart-mouthed little brat?  Check.
• Future status-seeking jerkoff?  Check.
• The most rage-inducing child I’ve seen on my TV since Danny Cooksey?  Check.
• Little turd who doesn’t get the irony of calling his parents lame while wearing skinny jeans?  Check.
• Ungrateful twerp who should be thankful his folks don’t smack that smirk and poodle haircut right off of him?  Check*
• Future hipster who uses terms like ‘je ne sais quoi’?  Check.

I know I’m not the first person on the hate train with the ads, as they’ve been out for a few months.  But unlike the hipsters, they’re still around as a near daily reminder of why I sometimes hate our consumer culture.  And of how I hope my son does not turn out to be.

Incidentally, and for those wondering, the actor playing this pint-sized Mephistopheles has a name: Riley Thomas Stewart.

And because I’m in a charitable mood, here’s some more of these abominations!

*The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit neither condones nor promotes violence against children.  Except maybe this one.

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