Below is Apple explaining an important feature — FaceTime — of the new iPhone 4:

These, they are saying, are the many ways in which this feature might be useful to the public. Straightforward, if a bit cloying.

And below are Google/Verizon/Motorola informing us of their mobile phone called the Droid:

In case the bizarre imagery and geek-fi sounds do not make it clear (how could they not?), leaving you wondering what exactly they are talking about, the voice over makes it clear: “It’s a robot”. Ah, yes, a robot, of course.

There are other Droid ads that are worse, and others that are better. But generally speaking, what is depressing on average is the unwritten marketing mantra that the user (“consumer” if you prefer that label) has to be treated as if she were an idiot. That is indeed a requisite if you are trying to sell her something she does not need, like gasoline or “high-definition” television sets. But so ingrained is this instinct that even when given a decent product (such as an Android phone) the mentality remains.