Lexus ad tickled my inner 8-year-old, not my thinning wallet

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Lexus ad tickled my inner 8-year-old, not my thinning wallet

by PJ Hruschak on Jan 3, 2009 at 02:33 PM

lexus atari commercial december 2008

You’re likely seen that Lexus TV commercial with the kid playing Centipede on his Atari 2600, remembering it as his best Christmas ever. Until he gets a Lexus, that is. (If you have not, scroll below and give it a looksie).

Sure, a car would be a pretty memorable gift but nothing will surpass this gamer’s best Christmas gift ever as the Atari 2600. Spending hours mastering Combat and Air Sea Battle with my younger sister, even beating my father at a marathon match up of Breakout a year later. Then Space Invaders and Asteroids? Forget it. This little system brought together the family like few other gifts ever could.

Certainly the Atari was pricey for the time (a little more than $200) but, a car, well, that’s just insane. The Lexus IS 250, the car in the commercial, is listed on Yahoo!‘s Autos page as having a MSRP of $31,155 to $34,785. The 6-speed manual version gets 18/26 mpg. (The Lexus “promotion” ends January 5, 2009).

In this economy that might be OK since gas prices have declined but, even so, the green thinker in me is still looking for a cleaner burning vehicle. And something that doesn’t cost more than two or three times remaining savings after being downsized from a full-time job.

Now, for less than the price of the original Atari 2600 (or Sears Video Arcade, depending on the version you owned) that you can get a DS or PSP. You can get a Wii or low-end Xbox 360 for a little more. Heck, splurge and get a PS3, higher-end Xbox 360 or even a computer for a truly impressive gift.

The version of the commercial featuring the Big Wheel makes a little more parallel sense in terms of a rideable gift but a car will cost me gas, maintenance and many years of headaches. And I didn’t even get to pick out the make or color.

In terms of bringing the family together, game systems have already proven to be the favored group holiday activity since driving anywhere a) uses gas, which can be costly, and b) costs money once you get there (times the number of people with you).

That Atari 2600, which I still have and occasionally play, has brought me nothing but joy for 30 years. My first car is now likely a forgettable pile of scrap. Sorry, Lexus.