Heard any of today’s “news of the weird” yet? Before I continue, I’ll let you get a cup of coffee. You might need it in order to ponder the following.
(pause)
Recently as I was thumbing through a magazine, I saw a picture of a cat’s litter box immediately following an article on the entertainment industry. I thought, Does not compute, as I took another sip of coffee. My second thought was, Um, is that little lump of something in the box smiling and waving at me? (At which point I wondered if I’d had too much caffeine.)
Turns out the lump’s name is “Clumpy.” There’s even a cat litter website devoted to chronicling his (its?) “adventures.” Clumpy’s foil is named “Crumbly”—but that blob isn’t nearly as happy and didn’t even attempt to smile at me.
All I could think about on my way to work was the fact some advertising agency had probably done market research to see how best to sell cat litter. They decided that creating a fantasy world for a happy litter box clod is the best and most necessary way to reach the American public.
Seriously? Is our culture so accustomed to amusing YouTube videos, slick pictures, and screen time with cheerful little characters that even cats’ poop has to be animated in order to sell a product?
I think I do need more coffee. Excuse me …
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