Toyota Ad

It appears the people in charge of advertising for Toyota think parents here in America include their offspring in their car buying decision.  I don't know about you, but growing up I do not recall my parents ever asking my opinion on the choice of vehicle they were thinking about buying.  Here is probably how the decision was made; make - Ford of course because my father worked for the company; style - just big enough to comfortably hold a family of five; color - my mother and father picked between whatever was available on the lot; extras - none, if it wasn't included in the base price then it wasn't needed.  According to the current advertisement for Toyota, just because you're a parent today doesn't mean you have to be lame, and your lameness is shown in your car buying choice.  In the ad, this not so cute youngster is so pleased that he gets to climb into a Toyota Highlander while an older student is just so embarrassed that he is being picked up in a pea green station wagon (think Vacation).  I am sure if my brothers or I ever showed our disdain for the car my parents drove they would have told us we could walk.  Over the years, my husband and I have purchased and leased many cars, we never made our decision based on the opinions of our children.  We bought/leased what we could afford, oh and always a Ford since my husband worked for the company!  I don't get how the people who came up with this ad thought it was good, and I certainly don't get how the people who approved the ad thought it would sell their product.  If parents today really cave to the pressure of their children to purchase a "cool" vehicle, then they really are lame.  The worst thing about this ad is the idea that a youngster is so status conscious that he looks down on those who are not as fortunate as he, and that he has that amount of  control over his parents.  Think about it.  What does an ad like this say about our society today?
Rosemary