Pepsico released a commercial last week showing a spoof of a popular deaf joke that has been told among deaf people for generations. It's an amusing joke, one that has probably never occured in real life, because, well--it's a joke! The commercial shows two deaf guys going down a dark street. Both of them have forgotten the address of the Super Bowl party that they're attending at Bob's house. So the driver shrugs and presses the horn as they drive down the street. One by one, the houses light up--except for Bob's. They've found the Super Bowl party, all right.
Entirely appropriate for the Super Bowl where commercials are meant to be funny and entertaining.
However, I'm hearing from others in the field that they're not happy with this commercial. Not everyone uses sign language, one said. Most people are hard of hearing, not deaf--Pepsi is not representing the population that uses cochlear implants and hearing aids effectively, said another. Shane Feldman shares more in his blog, where he shares a letter from Alexander Graham Bell Association, an organization that promotes speaking and listening:
AGBell Tackles Pepsico Super Bowl Commercial
May I remind the readers again, that this commercial is a spoof of a joke?
Darren Therriault, the guy who plays the passenger in the commercial, uses a cochlear implant. He attended Clarke school as a youngster, an oral education school where American Sign Language or any visual language is not used. Darren is just at home at the deaf club as he is among the employees at work--he's one of those guys that uses every means to communicate wherever he goes.
He can be seen here on an ABC interview that aired this morning along with the commercial:
Bob's House to Air During Super Bowl
(Photo description above: Darren shares the making of the Pepsico commericial at a deaf club. He is wearing a gray shirt. Girls in red shirts sit behind him holding numbered boxes for a "Deal or No Deal" game. )
