Bad Ad

I was riding the subway earlier, and one of the ads in the car stood out to me. “Do yourself a favor and think about future you!” It said.

When we talk about our future selves and our money, what we’re really talking about is saving — setting aside money for retirement or an emergency savings account, otherwise known as saving for the future. And when it comes time to retire, or when that emergency suddenly drops on you, your future self will be glad that present you had the foresight to squirrel away some money.

But that ad wasn’t about any of that — it was for a New York Lottery ticket called “Cash 4 Life Quick Pick” that an advertising agency called DDB New York dreamed up.

The voiceover for the TV spot is kind of insane:

This is present you, as usual, present you is being selfish and not thinking about future you…

…because if you play the new game Cash4Life, you could win $1,000 every day for life.

We’ve had pieces on the site looking at the playing the lottery from both sides.

But an ad that argues that you’re being selfish by not buying a lottery ticket for some kind of 1 in 21,846,048 chance of winning money for your future self (those are the literal odds) is just totally wrong, and I could not help but get off the subway and write about this.

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