DNA Test
I was listening to WEEI radio today and I heard the following commercial. It’s not a transcript but it’s pretty close.
A bunch of guys were talking about going to Vegas. They were saying things like “yeah baby, we are going to party” and “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”. One of them was at work and was finishing up a project or something. Then they asked about their friend Darren and one guy said that Darren had “weekend kid duty” and couldn’t come and another one called him dumb or something and that the kid looks nothing like him. Then they said that for a guy with his MBA, he is pretty dumb, implying the kid was not in fact from his…DNA. The commercial was for a mail away DNA service to see if a child is actually yours.
I am not joking. This was an actual commercial and is an actual service. My first thought was that it was a joke. But it’s not. Fr $375 dollars you can get out of spending time with a child that might not be yours.
My second thought was why did they say he has an MBA? Because if it implies MBA guys get “stuck” with weekend kid duty, then count me in except without the stuck part. I like it. If it implies that people with MBA father children with mothers who might be less than scrupulous, then I am a little insulted. Patti has plenty of scruples. Who knows?
My third thought was that there are some mothers out there who are probably going to sweat this a little, that know they are making a person pay child support who is not the actual father.
My final thought was that the commercial is a terrible way to promote this service. Whether the child is yours or not, spending time with a kid who knows only you as a father is not a bad thing. Obviously you had sex with the mom at some point and the child could be yours. If someone takes this test to get out of being in a child’s life, that’s too bad.
20 years ago this would have been something out of a 1984-type movie. 10 years ago this would have been too expensive for people to do. Now it’s a mail away service whose tagline is getting out of child support. Nice WEEI, I guess you gotta get those advertising bucks somehow.
Oh, Happy Father’s Day on Sunday.