Father Knows Best. Except At Verizon. / Banned 'dofus dad' ad "The Elliots"

As Howard Stern would undoubtedly testify, the media times they are a-changin'. Well, boohoo for Howard and hooray for every poor schlub who ever had a creative conscience and a desire to do great work.

I mean, regardless of what Naomi Watts and Adbusters think, a lot of us in the business have been embarassed for years by the crap that passes for advertising. Especially on television. But come on. Other than getting a couple of chuckles as an awards show judge before we throw it out with greasy pizza boxes, well, what could we really do?

But now comes groups like Dads And Daughters and as it turns out, these folks are doing a lot. Their latest target? Verizon. Specifically, that DSL spot where the bumbling dad gets chastised by his wife for hovering over his daughter's computer, with this look on his face like any second he's going to break out with, "Shazaaam!!!"

Is it a lame spot? Oh yeah, absolutely. Is it worth thousands of irate viewers writing letters in to Verizon demanding that they yank the thing? Probably. I mean, how is this different from that perky housewife bouncing around from room to room with her new Swiffer magical dust remover? Help me out here. Is it me or is what we need to get away from isn't dads with oatmeal for brains or moms with a dust rag fetish. It's sterotypes and the hacks who love them.

Client: Verizon