How far will you go?

Watched this appalling ad for a Toyota Highlander on TV yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzuK85t2jlE

In this video, a child is embarrassed to get into his dad's old, beat up car; When he is being picked up at school, he actually hides behind a bush and then pole vaults into the car to avoid being seen in that car by his friends; while another child proudly sits in his parent's gleaming Highlander and goes " Just because you're a parent , you don't have to be lame".
Even for advertising that is meant to undermine, impress, insinuate and trick the mind , this is disgusting.
  As grown-ups we often compare ourselves to others - be it physical attributes, be it possessions, the vacations we take, the classes we send our kids to and so on. With all our maturity and rationale, we ourselves get overwhelmed sometimes. Think about the tender years leading up to and during teenage - this period is fraught with superiority, inferiority and a bunch of other -ity complexes. We've all walked down that street. It's a period we're insecure about so many things , including our parents - their appearance, their accents, their sense of humor and so on.  But from time to time we've had eye opening moments even at that age when we regarded our parents as our heroes; when it was reaffirmed to us that no matter what, as long as we do the right thing, there's no need to be ashamed of who we are, what we look like, what our lifestyle is like, what we possess. When I was in high school ( and now) , it was most certainly uncommon for school going children to be working outside the house trying to earn money to support the family. Our teachers used to tell us that they knew girls in our class who worked as domestic help - cleaning and scrubbing before showing up in school at 9 am.  They asked us not to be vain and realize what was truly important and of value to us. Till date I do not know who those girls were. But I was certainly in awe of them for what they were.
  Parenting is not easy. As we teach our kids to have self identity and self worth that does not involve conforming to fads and belonging in cliques, it was repulsive to see a message that had stooped so low , even for advertising. You are enticing little children to buy toys, video games, sugary treats and Disney vacations. Do you have to resort to calling a parent lame for driving a non-glamorous car ? And this is the same company that came up with the Prius, a bellwether of earth friendly vehicles? Sigh!