Cottonelle

I just don't know what to say. Here's the commercial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDqCLZazPBE Please watch it, then we can discuss.



So, let's take it blow by blow. I'm going to name the characters TP and Sis, for the sake of convenience. First, TP asks Sis "Where are you hiding your moist wipes?" Now, I've been in several bathrooms, I've been to several countries, and I've never felt that "moist wipes" were essential to the bathroom experience. I also feel like because of the lack of "moist wipes" in every bathroom I've ever been in, around the globe, I'm not in the minority. So, I think that puts TP squarely in the minority. TP is astonished that Sis does not have moist wipes in her bathroom. In fact, she assumes that Sis must have moist wipes in her bathroom, and she is hiding them. She goes so far as to ask Sis where she's hiding her moist wipes. She's astonished. She must has a moist wipe, and it can be assumed that this is all before she even has need for the moist wipes. She is not "caught with her pants down," so to speak. She is preemptively checking for moist wipes. They are so important to her that she thinks to check for moist wipes in the height of chaos, in the height of supposed necessity for moist wipes.

Sis, like a normal person, says she does not need them. Again, I need to stress that Sis is in the majority here. Never in my life have I encountered a necessity for moist wipes. I think it's reasonable to assert that I am not some sort of cave troll, and behind the times of hygiene. I have, in fact, spent night after night cleaning bathrooms for the general populous. And in these bathrooms, it was one of my responsibilities to refill the toilet paper, but it was not a responsibility to refill moist wipes. Again, I am not saying that moist wipes are unnecessary, I am just saying that never in my life have I felt an aching need for a moist wipe, and I think that the general population is not in need of moist wipes.

After this moment, the commercial starts to take a nasty turn. TP is so outraged at the lack of moist wipes, that she becomes almost a martyr. She needs to show Sis what it's like for her, and her people (the moist wipe obsessed.) So, she goes into a moment of blind rage. And in this moment of rage, she loses control and cedes tactical position. She goes into the bath tub and shows to Sis what it's like for her and her people. She shows the grinding feeling her (albeit crazy) people feel when they are forced by the ruling class to "get clean with TP but no moist wipes."

This is where the commercial descends into chaos. Sis seizes her opportunity to manipulate TP's poor tactical position and turns on the water to the shower. This serves the purpose of showing TP just what water can do, and also humiliating her. But, it also leaves the viewer with a confused message. This is supposedly a commercial for Cottonelle Moist Wipes, yet TP, who is championing the moist wipes, ends the commercial humiliated and defeated.

So, what is the viewer supposed to glean from this commercial? Is Cottonelle trying to create a market for the Moist Wipe? If so, why are they using this woman, who may or may not understand social conventions? Also, if they are trying to create a market, why are they taking this aggressive standpoint? And this cannot be the first commercial for the moist wipes. Are they trying to sell a different use for the Moist Wipe? Are other companies going to take up this strategy? Are we going to see commercials where someone is astonished that people aren't using their cars as a house, or using their pizza as a painting, or using their garbage can as a speaker? Who's to say? But, there's no denying this commercial is the first step down a disturbing path. And it cannot be ignored.