Manipulative commercials

There's this commercial that shows this adorable little baby crying inconsolably. She's just crying and crying and crying for long enough to make anyone who is capable of doing so lactate, and anyone else look around to make sure the baby is okay.

Then the caption comes on saying that X people die of drunk driving. The more crying. Then they say "Emily's mother was one of them."

I don't like this commercial because it is far too manipulative. First of all, it upsets me, as is intended. But I don't like my television set upsetting me unexpectedly - especially in the morning, if I have my TV on while getting ready. Selfish as it sounds, the last thing I need is to tear up when I'm running late and have just put on my mascara.

Then I get indignant about being upset as a warning against something I would never do and never allow others to do. I do own a breathalyzer and carry taxi money for a reason!

Then I realize that it's upsetting me for no reason. The baby is crying and inconsolable, but that's not because her mother died because of drunk driving. She's crying because no one has come to get her! Even when a baby's mother dies, of whatever reason, someone is still put in charge of the baby. The problem in this scenario is that whoever is in charge of the baby either hasn't reached her yet, or is of the "let her cry it out" school of parenting. Which is a problem, but has nothing to do with drunk driving. So then I get embarrassed about allowing myself to be manipulated like this.

And the overall problem with this commercial is that the kind of people who are selfish and/or stupid enough to drive drunk probably wouldn't care that the poor widdle baby is crying, they'd probably be more the type to say "Someone shut that damn kid up!" So the target audience completely disregards the commecial, while innocent bystanders have to redo their mascara and are late for work. Not a good plan.

I don't know if the aim of this commercial is to get me to not drive drunk and not allow others to do so, or to get me to give money to MADD (or whatever organization). But I'm already not going to drive drunk - it's not like I have the opportunity anyway - and it's making me less like to give money to the organization because I don't like being manipulated this way.