I saw this ad for toilets in one of my favorite magazines, WIRED.  I often clip articles from WIRED and send them to my children and grand-children, the old-fashioned way, tucked inside a note card with a few words from me about why I thought he or she might like the article.

We all like to get mail.  Especially the mail that’s not in a window envelope, or mail addressed to Occupant.  I love this way of sending out “I’m thinking of you” messages.  I did make a slight modern adjustment:  my grandchildren cannot read cursive.  As one sweetheart explained to me, “We learned that in second or third grade, and never used it again.”

Around Halloween I clipped this ad.  Not to send to anyone.  I just wanted to sit with it, and maybe figure it out.   What is the message of this Kohler ad?  Who is the target audience?

LadyRomp posted “Women’s News:Advertising FAILS 2012: The 9 Worst Ads For Women This Year,” on December 15.  The Kohler ad was not part of the Worst Ads.  Still, I think it could be #10.

I’m unsure whether I’d classify it as sexist, but it sure is confusing.  Do we hope to be pulled underwater by a fleet of toilets?

Will a powerful surge of water be part of our experience?  How powerful does a toilet need to be?  Powerful enough to pull a sci-fi-ginger through a tsunami?

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure I can do without an upgrade.

The Kohler ad conjures up images in my head worse than Michigan‘s Department of Transportation’s experiment with the Destroilet.  A waterless toilet that incinerates waste for land application, the toilets were installed in a few highway rest-stops.  A great idea until the safety inter-lock failed.  Talk about being on the hot seat.

Please stay with the homey, comfortable ads for the bathroom.  I want to feel safe when I get to there; not prepared for high-adventure.

Related articles

• Wired Magazine’s Editor, Chris Anderson, to Step Down (mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com)