Disturbing trend watch: ads that use phrases such as "for these troubled times" or "because now more than ever we need to count every penny" or...well, you get the idea.

You know we're in a recession. I know we're in a recession. Every media outlet in the country covers its downward spiral by the nanosecond.

Which is exactly why we don't need a car ad or a fast food commercial to constantly remind us of this fact. Obviously, advertisers are making the crude mistake of giving a literal interpretation to aspects of briefs (ie, "our target market has less and less disposable income") which are meant to inform the creative, not become it.

Telling us that you're reducing prices or offering a better value is all we really need to know. We can connect the dots and somehow retain a shred of dignity and peace of mind. But telling us that you're giving us a free coke and an extra side of cole slaw with our bucket of fowl because you feel our economic pain is not only unnecessary. It's inexcusable, offensive and a bailout-sized bummer.