Margaret: You know what really chaps my hide?....When I get an ad in the mail for a house-cleaning service that says "Life's too short to clean your own house." Can I just say "LIFE'S TOO SHORT NOT TO CLEAN YOUR OWN HOUSE!" If you've gotten THAT busy then its time to cut something out of your life. I can see the next ad coming, "Life's too short to raise your own kids." OR "Life's too short to cook your family a nice meal and sit around the table together."
Bobbi: Sounds like someone is upset that they have to clean their own house. I have to be completely honest here...if I had the extra income, I'd pay someone to clean my house once a month. Granted, I would still clean in between but at times I have so much on my plate to think of cleaning my house on top of that adds more stress. And I'm not even busy doing 'extra' things. There are times I actually enjoy cleaning because I feel accomplished and I think it makes me appreciate my home better. But to think of doing baseboards, windows, ceiling fans, etc. makes me tired and I usually don't have the extra time for, hence the pile up of dust on them as we speak. Plus, if I think someone needs the work I wouldn't mind employing them to clean. Both of us benefit from it. Yes, I agree...life's too short, so come over Margaret and clean my house!!
Margaret: I'm not in the least upset that I have to clean my own house. (That doesn't mean I always love it and would cancel a lunch date to scrub the toilet OR come and clean your house.) What I am upset about is the growing feeling of entitlement and even laziness in this country. And the advertisers are not helping! These ads aren't aimed at the people who occasionally need the help because of an extended hospital stay or occasionally want to help someone who needs employment. The tag line, "Life's too short...", is a blatant attempt to devalue the work it takes to clean your own home. To suggest that my life is too short for me to take the time to clean my home makes me wonder what we DO put value on in this country.
Bobbi: That could change easily per person. Like myself, I'd like to think life is too short but I've filled it with volunteer work and many other responsibilities that I feel are worthy of my time. Others may fill it with video games, late night partying, and selfish desires. The true statement in this is life IS short. The advertisement is smart because the meaning could relate on so many levels...maybe life is too short because you work 80 hours a week. Maybe it's because you are a single mother who already does so much and just needs time with your kids. OR maybe it's because your feet are chapped and you should be getting a pedicure instead. In all actuality, the ad was brilliant because it covered any scenario that individuals could be living under. I hope that agency got paid the money they deserve because they did their job right. The fault lies in each one of us. It's the accountability aspect of not taking a advertisement's word for it, but deep reflection of what we are filling our time with that makes us incapable of doing a fairly simple task of cleaning our homes.
Margaret: You really should be a defense lawyer!! But ...if I were on the jury...my questions might be:
1.Who's the target group of this ad? The number of people working 80 hours a week might be higher than we'd like to see, but still not big enough to be a target group. The number of single moms is sadly higher than we'd like to see, but still probably not big enough to be a target group either. From the ad I got the impression that this company is trying to sell the idea that no one should have to clean their own house.
2.What is the value of work? Let's say a single mother is tired and needs time with her kids. Great times can be had as a family works together. You can put some tunes on, work side by side laughing or counseling and then have treats afterward. I would say, that as important as family recreation is I believe that working together side by side with mom and/or dad is equally, if not more, important and for me resulted in some of the greatest lessons I ever learned. I needed them more than I wanted them, but they are some of my best and most meaningful memories. Excellence comes through effort. I'm not saying it should always be work and no fun, but work can be fun and so rewarding and I worry that many of the children today believe that life is too short for that kind of effort. Are we raising children that will value volunteer work even if they don't value the work they do within their own homes?
3.What do we value? Well, you're right, that will be different for every person. I know this is a generalization and is not true for ALL. but it just feels like there's been such a shift lately. More emphasis put on relaxing, entertaining, down time or "me"-time than there used to be. Yes, people have to work hard at their jobs and then come home and don't want to have to work some more. But when you have a home and a family it requires work, and that's OK. Teach and train and work and then go out and have some fun together. The fun will mean a whole lot more. I guess my biggest concern is what we might see evolve out of attitudes like this ad's message in the coming generations. If life is indeed short, what will we choose?
So I really wish the advertisers were less brilliant and that as a people (and as consumers) we were more brilliant.
Bobbi: This really could bring up a WHOLE other issue and I don't want to stray too far from where we've started but I definitely feel it ties in. Many times, it's the 'reward' people are looking for. I did this so I deserve that. I do so much work, I deserve someone to clean my house. I did my homework, I deserve candy. I did housework, I deserve a night out. If individuals could get out of the entitlement mindset, the advertisements might not be so powerful.
Margaret: So often what we "deserve" is not a thing, but a feeling. A feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction, success. What ever happened to doing something just for the intrinsic value of it? And when did candy become so valuable?? BTW I scrubbed my shower really good today and all I got for it was a clean shower and hands that smell like bleach, but I feel really good about it...there ain't NOTHIN' growin' in that shower!
Bobbi: Okay, but here is another side. I seek for and enjoy work...but there are MANY different kinds of work. For instance, a gentleman I was speaking to recently talked of his yard landscaping. He loves to have his yard look clean and crisp. He himself does not like doing yard work, yet this man has a very hard work ethic. He hires his friend, who owns a landscaping business to do it for him. Because someone else is doing the work that he isn't so great at because his heart isn't into it, this gentleman now works harder at the work he enjoys doing. There are jobs around my house that the only accomplishment I feel is when it's over is to say the job is done. I don't take a lot of pride in it because all I'm thinking while doing it is that I can't wait for it to be over AND guess what? I'll be doing the same job again NEXT week. UGH! That's not accomplishment, that's misery. Life's too short for that. I'm not saying work is always going to be fun. I'm not saying you can't try to make work fun. Yes, there is intrinsic value to work. Yes, I feel as families it's important to work together and great memories and lessons are had in doing work. But I think as individuals and families, the choice isn't so much of the desire to work, but deciding the kind of work that will most benefit those memory building experiences. But in the meantime, way to give the advertisement MORE audience and airtime. I'm telling you, brilliant...they even have YOU advertising for THEM.
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