It’s Ford time

Uh. oh. Busted. The driver quickly clicks off the erstwhile bubblegum-pop diva. But the friend strikes again, telling the “Sync” system to play Michael Bolton. The system complies. The look of shame on the driver’s face is priceless, and he tries to recover by playing Korn’s heavy-metal offering “Hold On.” The bad: It’s a fun idea, but think about the message it actually imparts. To wit: Rather than being cool, Ford Focus drivers are dweebs who bop to Tiffany and emote like Bolton.

Not exactly reaching that 18-to-34-year-old male demographic. The manipulative: Here’s something else: Is the only good thing to be said for the Focus is that it has a cool stereo system? Sure, at the very end, the ad mentions that the Focus gets 35 miles per gallon. But that’s an afterthought. The lasting image in your mind’s eye: Michael Bolton and that world-class mullet. The result: Please don’t ask me about my guilty-listening pleasures. Oh, OK.