"Hi America, we've got nothing!"

The latest Dodge commercial is pretty sad. The founding fathers, scaring off the British with Dodges. "Our cars aren't very good, but...IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS YOU MUST BE A SISSY OR HATE FREEDOM. 'MERCA!"

Meanwhile: Chevy, Chevy, Chevy.

For those who can't read the tiny print on this ad for their Cruze (curse you blogger, and your photo compression), it says, "Like a Civic, but with everything you want." HARF HARF HARF. Yeah, like the benchmark of dependability and value over the past 20 years, except our cars are nothing like that, so instead here are some gadgets like navigation systems to distract you from this industry fact. Besides, don't they know, you don't tug on Superman's cape?

These two ads are the new template for American car companies. They are well aware they can't compete with Honda, Nissan, and Toyota (even post-sudden acceleration scandal), so they appeal to all they have left: Patriotism, the past, and/or hoping the consumer doesn't know better.

What now?

It took over 72 hours, but I think I've found a positive spin to be put on the Giants' collapse Sunday against the Eagles. It's not that champions have come back from "rock bottom" losses. That's true, but...been there, done that. And this was more a gut-punching loss than a rock bottom loss.

It's simply: Wake-up call. They can learn from it, use it as a rallying point, and come back more determined. The closest comparison I can make to this game, is not the "Miracle at the Meadowlands" (that game decided nothing but draft status for a sub-.500 Giants team), but the 2002-03 Wild Card loss to San Francisco. In it, they led by 24 points late in the 3rd quarter only to let the 49ers come all the way back, and also lost that game on a special teams gaffe.

So, better to learn this lesson (if you have to learn it, I suppose) in the regular season, than in the postseason. As for whether they'll rise to the occasion and come out fighting in Green Bay, or let the collapse define them...we'll find out Sunday.

And while I'm here, I'd also like to put to rest any notion that the best case scenario for the Giants is to miss the playoffs, fire Coughlin, and hire Bill Cowher. I like Bill Cowher, but Coughlin is a proven winner too. Plus, this is a team built to win now. A new coaching staff means a change of schemes, likely on both sides of the ball. That usually takes years for a team to master - and that's for the players who are even kept around. What if Cowher wants to play a 3-4 defense like he had in Pittsburgh, and half the Giants' defensive personnel aren't a good fit for that? There is no reason to go down that rebuilding road any time soon. The best case scenario is to win with what they have, and I think they can still do it.

Mild annoyance

You know how in advertising, usually with testimonials, they'll do the thing where they use a real person, and give their first name and initial of their last name? Example:

"This product worked great for me"

-Mike P., from Toronto

Well, I think they're stupid. Specifically, including the last initial is stupid. It adds nothing, and just strikes me as really cheesy and hacky.

If you're not going to use the person's full last name, why bother with an initial at all? Does market testing indicate that if you aren't going to learn someone's complete last name, at least if you know the letter it starts with you'll trust them way more or something?