PlayStation Ad Unconsciously Prescient
The recent PlayStation ads have been generally enjoyable, as commercials go. But a recent addition to the campaign (above) is at best ill advised and at worst horribly insulting.The gist is a kid readying for a job interview consults the PlayStation guy:
Kid: “Is it okay to list MAG platoon leader as management experience?”
PlayStation Guy: “Absolutely, you rose through the ranks to command real people in 256-player battles. Your decisions included a constantly evolving war.”
The problem is that reality makes this conversation a sick joke. Returning veterans currently face double the average (already high) unemployment rates. National Publicly Radio sums up the misery:
Another problem for veterans is that their skills aren’t easily understood by employers, Smith says. For instance, someone who managed a warehouse at a military base might be an ideal candidate for certain retail jobs, but it can be hard to convince recruiters he or she is qualified, the labor commissioner says.
Joseph McDonough, who left the Marines a few months ago and still has the closely cropped haircut to show for it, thinks military service doesn’t count for much with potential employers.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, they didn’t go away to college. I went to college. I know more than them.’ They kind of sneer at you,” he says. “The only people who actually see it as being anything glorious are people like senior citizens, who know that somebody sacrificed something.”
Malicious oversight? No. But it further frames the disconnect between Madison Avenue and main street.