This morning I saw a TV ad of the kind I hope never to see again

I don't remember the product being sold. I don’t remember much about the ad. A woman was talking about a family florist business, and then the words “socially responsible” entered my ears. I watched the ad with more attention then, and saw the words “Black Owned Business” in neat letters on a window of the business. I wondered, “What does one’s color have to do with selling flowers?” 

Used to, advertising pretty much said, “This is our product. We would appreciate it if you bought it.” Or, “Our product is much better than anybody else’s. Buy ours.”

All that is changing now. Ad agencies are pushing “social responsibility.” But that is a term with multiple personalities. Income, ethnicity, color, regionalism, education.

My wife said, “If I were walking and I saw that business, I would think, ‘They have some nice flowers. I think I’ll go in.’ But when I saw that ‘Black Owned Business,’ I know they do not want me in their store.”