This commercial demonstrates what I guess is the “Football
Mind Trick” (similar to the “Jedi Mind Trick”), but here referred to as:
“mental strength” (the ability to make someone else do something you want them
to do based upon suggestion).
Apart from the obvious Star
Wars homage (an odd reference for a football themed ad, crossing the jock
vs. nerd chasm in an unexpected way), this spot mostly made me wonder if the
Florida State quarterback used this “mental strength” football mind trick with
the Tallahassee police department when he was accused of rape, but they didn’t
charge him; or when he stole a bunch of crab legs from a supermarket, and he
didn’t get in trouble; or when the school administration pushed back the date
for his student conduct hearing so that he wouldn’t miss any important football
games. Or if Ray Rice used this “mental strength” to get his suspension
reversed. Or if Ndamukong Suh perhaps used this “mental strength” to get his
suspension lifted for stomping on the unprotected leg of a downed opponent recently.
It has always seemed to me as though there is a separate set
of rules for athletes (like with politicians), where they don’t get in trouble
like the rest of us would for the same things. I always thought this was due to
corruption and the ridiculously hyper-inflated importance of sports like
football in our society, and perhaps also due to all the money generated by
sports. But maybe I was hasty in my judgment, because perhaps it has merely
always been the mental strength exhibited by these athletes that get law
enforcement to drop charges, and get college administrations to look the other
way, and get the NFL to reverse punitive measures, and get fans to ignore
unsavory issues and events when their favorite team is involved, etc.
But what has any of this got to do with AT&T? If this
stuff really works, why not just get football players to “suggest” we all get
AT&T, using their “mental strength”? (Or would that count as subliminal
advertising?)
Here’s the mind control commercial:
