The spot: medium shot of a man, waist up, wearing a suit and tie, lamenting the price of gas.  "That place where gas prices couldn't go any higher meets gas prices just went higher? I'm there."  Cut to a wide shot revealing the man standing next to a bicycle, wearing bicycle shorts below his suit and shirt.  "That place where four wheels meets two wheels? I'm there."  A narrator talks about how State Farm's low prices can help save you money while the cyclist unlocks his bike.  The spot ends when a woman walks past in the background and says, "Nice pants, Jim."



State Farm has this new series of commercials called "Intersections." There's one with the young guy getting married, but he's wearing Converse sneakers with his suit, so you know he's a hip cool youth.  There's another one where a guy sits in his super-cool loft-style apartment in the city, playing with his baby.  In other words, a slightly obnoxious but altogether harmless ad campaign about positioning State Farm as the insurance company for all you hipsters out there.  Harmless, until this ad.

Let me start by saying I am a bike commuter.  During the spring, summer, and fall, I do 11 miles roundtrip 3-5 times a week.  Apparently State Farm thinks I should be mocked and ridiculed for this.  Wow, did this ad piss me off. I'm sorry, but so what if rising gas prices has resulted in this guy having to ride his bike to work? Good! GREAT! What is the problem, State Farm? Are we supposed to feel bad for this guy because he can't afford to drive his Hummer to work anymore? If he lives close enough to ride his bike to work, then he should already be biking to work!  And who told him to ride in bicycle shorts and a suit jacket? If he wants to look like a fool that's his problem.  Oh, and then! And then! That woman walks past and says "Nice shorts!"  You are right, horrible woman, he should be ridiculed for finding a way to cope with high energy prices.  Lets just annex Iraq and start drilling in the Alaskan wildlife refuge until our problems go away.

Okay...I'm going to take a deep breath, regain my composure.  Now, how about a closer look at what exactly is wrong with this, without the hysterics.  I am of the opinion that driving a gasoline-powered car is incredibly cheap.  Lets do some math.

According to my bike odometer, I've put approximately 2000 miles on it since I started commuting regularly two summers ago.  At 20 miles per gallon, I've saved 100 gallons of gas, at an average of $3 per gallon, or $300.  In other words, I have not yet offset the initial investment I made in the bicycle (not to mention my helmet, scalp cap to keep my head warm on cold mornings, my lights to make me more visible at night, the pack to carry my clothes...

So why do it? Even at these prices, there is not a whole lot of economic incentive.  Also, I have purchase carbon offsets for my car, so there isn't even much environmental incentive for me to do it.  Basically, I do it because I think it is a way for me to set a positive example.  If my bike commuting gets others to follow suit, then I feel that it is worth the effort (for the record, I have gotten one other employee at my office to start bike commuting).

And then along comes State Farm, re-enforcing all these horrible notions about bike commuting. You have to wear tight shorts (I don't, by the way).  Others will mock you.  Its all so very...European.  You should do whatever it takes to save money so that you can keep driving that car around.  What is next, Hefty trash bags making a commercial about how recycling is for pussies?  Is this the way everyone thinks? The fact is, this ad is a reflection of the common perception of commuting on a bike.  Rather than help change this view, State Farm reinforces it to sell some insurance policies on the cars that you should keep driving, as is right as an American.  

Sigh.