Here’s now sinister this ad is: I must have watched it six or seven times before I thought, “Hey…wait a minute!”
The male “bad date” in the ad is so disgusting a viewer is half-hoping the woman pulls out a .44 and shoots him right between the eyes. This is masterful manipulation at work…he begins with an insult framed as blame causing him disappointment: “You’re too short.” Asshole. Then he reveals his narcicissm and boastfulness, showing the selfie “by the dumbbells.” Giant asshole! Next the air-drumming comment…UNBELIEVABLE asshole! When he gets to the bit about forgetting his wallet and “Sugarmamma,” the viewer is seeing red, and feeling that the victim of this toxic creep is being noble by just sneaking out rather than setting him on fire.
But she isn’t. She’s being an asshole too, just a slightly better one. Leaving the table on false pretenses to escape is cowardly and indefensible. Moreover, someone who misbehaves as outrageously as the “bad date” needs to be told just clearly how unacceptable his conduct is and why, since he obviously doesn’t know. His next victim will at least partially be the runaway date’s fault.
The commercial also showed an anti-female bias by making the bad date a male and his victim female. A genders switched version would inspire at least a substantial reaction from viewers of “What a weenie! The jerk doesn’t have the guts to confront that jerk!” But teh woman in the ad is also a weenie—it’s just that the Hyundai marketers are calculating that running away from confrontations and unpleasant situations is a girl thing, and socially acceptable.
No, it really isn’t. This is not only a stereotype, it’s a damaging one. Why haven’t we elected a female President yet? Accumulated cultural poison like this commercial is one of the reasons.
Incidentally, I hope that actor who plays the asshole was well paid for his performance, because he may end up dying single and alone as a result.
Ethics Alarms 
I’ll add that she should have paid the server for her portion of whatever they ordered. The only answer to “I forgot my wallet” is “You can zelle me. Now. Before I pay.”
I watch a lot of TV shows, but I can’t remember the last time I saw a commercial. How likely is it that someone would see this? He would probably have to pull up the video on his phone to show to a date. Even if they did see it, the actor, Alex Bonifer, is 6’3″ and not unfortunate looking. I doubt he has to worry about unwanted alone time.
If Hyundai was interested in ethics, they would make their cars harder to steal. (It hurts me to say that because I really like Hyundais and Kias.)
I would say the commercial is ironic or satirical. If you ask many women what they look for in a man, they follow the three sixes: six feet tall, a six pack, and a six figure salary. This commercial turns it around, in my opinion not with too much success.
Here the genders are reversed, and the guy doesn’t sneak out of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp0KBkum8Ug
Perhaps ironically, I found myself rooting for the woman in that commercial. But I’ve never understood or respected the whole “pet parent” thing where people anthropomorphize their pets…
I agree that anthropomorphizing takes it too far, but at minimum, dissing someone’s pet is like dissing their hobby. Not a good way to build rapport.
Sure, pets are part of the family. I get that, and pets are much more than hobbies to most people who have pets.
But nothing she said was untrue, or even thoughtless. He was putting dog food in the fridge. Some people probably wouldn’t find that weird, but I think most still do. Of course, most would likely also think it’s weird to spend as much money on dog food as they do on food for themselves, which that brand likely necessitates.
But then all you need to do is watch a few hours of reality tv to be reminded at how mentally and emotionally wrecked a good chunk of the population is.
Whoa Nellie!
A television commercial with only white actors playing white people? What’s going on here? Shouldn’t the guy have been played by a black actor? And the woman, maybe a Chinese actress? Don’t of color actors need to get all the work? Oh, wait. I forgot. Minorities are perfect and admirable. Only white people can be mocked. After all, they’re terrible. Particularly guys.
(In case you haven’t noticed, I am sick to death of advertisers pandering to black people. It’s pathetic and embarrassing.)
I caught the ethics issues here and it was kind of obnoxious on everybody’s part.
However, it pleasantly reminded me of my first date with my eventual wife. We met at a bar in downtown Minneapolis right on the Mississippi. So, we are on the deck of the bar, drinking beer and having dinner. At the time, I was convinced I was “allergic” to beer; I would get stuffed up and start sneezing when I drank it. Mind you, this reaction was not sufficient to get me to refrain from drinking beer. It was merely my cross to bear in life and I bore it enthusiastically. (Turns out it may have just been the result of a deviated septum.) Anyway, I must have excused myself half a dozen times to go blow my nose. Each time, however, I assured her that I was not going to ditch her, that I would return, and other words to that effect.
She thought it was very strange. I thought I was being funny; unfortunately, I was just being myself. But, of all of the stupid things I have said in attempts to be funny, the consequences in this instance were among the least unpleasant.
-Jut