"....Shinola Is Kicking Themselves They Didn't Think Of It First..."

Oscar Wilde was a pretty prescient fellow.

It was in the midst of his 1889 essay, The Decay Of Lying, he first offered the witty and wise notion that....

"...art imitates life."

If Oscar were around these days, I suspect he'd still be firm in that conviction, while, perhaps, feeling the need to contemporize it just a scoche.

Probably just about the time he first channel surfed his way across this particular contribution to creativity.











The reaction to K Mart's shot at satire here has been, to the moment, fairly predictable, tending to fall pretty much into one of two distinct categories.

Those who roll their eyes and/or shake their heads, further lamenting the continuing decline of contemporary morals and/or ethics.

Those who ship themselves with laughter.

I'd offer, though, there is a less definable, less obvious group floating around out there.

Those who publicly roll their eyes and/or shake their heads, further lamenting the continuing decline of contemporary morals and/or ethics.

While privately shipping themselves with laughter.

Comedy, of course, is now and will always be defined by the beholder and what their eye discerns.

My own eye sees this as some pretty funny ship.

But, then, of course, I'm a man so any MRI worth its salt would clearly indicate a large section of brain matter devoted to giggling instinctively at any and all things giggly to the average five year old.

And that giggly five year old thoroughly reacted with ships and grins upon viewing this spot, reminded, almost inevitably, of the various and sundry "mock" commercials that Saturday Night Live has offered through the generations.

Everything from "Colon Blow" to the more contemporary, but always intellectually cutting edge, "Dick In A Box".

The genius at work behind the K-Mart spot, I'm a thinkin', is the narrowing of the gap between sincere and satirical, tweaking the funny bones of those who laugh heartily at the SNL ship in the effort to lure folks into a real life retail environment.

Really, you didn't honestly think there was an actual "All Things Scottish", did you?

Whether this little prebusecent presentation will benefit K-Mart with a surge of sales or create a ship storm remains to be seen.

In the meantime, though, my fellow five year olds and I will continue to giggle.

While assuming that Oscar Wilde would see where his original assertion could use a little adjustment.

Art, it turns out, still imitates life.

But, these day, art also imitates parody.

Ain't that some ship?