Patronising Ad of the Week

This missive popped up as I browsed Reddit this morning. There is always an ad close to the top of the page and I usually let my gaze drift over them, unperturbed and frequently non-comprehending.  This one, though, demanded attention and it did so in an alarming manner. My browsing having been interrupted, I took in the main content of the message and was forced to contemplate it.

What caught me? Reader, it was a simple but misplaced comma. Can you spot it? [Don't offer any prizes, there is only one and most of them will find it. Ed]. There is no need for this comma. It wrongly breaks up the sentence. I suspect that someone fresh from working at a greengrocer who sells "tomato's" and "cucumber's" has been let loose on this slogan. They missed the golden chance to write "friend's" though.

On to the crux. "We" at Tesco Mobile know about us, the public. Our friends and family come first, yes, even ahead of a second-tier reseller of mobile phone services. Amazing, is it not? I wonder how they know. They certainly did not ask me.  I think I would remember a survey that asked me to rank in order of importance a) friends and family b) Tesco Mobile. 

The arrogance is astounding. Unless it is meant to be ironic and self-deprecating. "Yes, we are just one amongst many service providers but, you know, we really care and we are radiantly happy just to be runner-up in your affections, the top place couldn't have gone to a more deserving winner, we get a warm glow just being compared to your friends and family. And if you have a falling out with them, your family disown you and friends cross the street as you approach, fear not, we'll be there for you in the bad times as well as the good, the two of us against the world, hand in hand into a  brighter tomorrow"

The funny thing is that Tesco Mobile are not a network. They enable access. They are the equivalent of the assistant in the supermarket selling National Lottery tickets pretending they decide each week's winners. If they ceased operating tomorrow the mobile phone network and all the related stuff that links to the Internet would carry on without anyone noticing.

So, patronising, ungrammatical and incorrect. Not bad for two short sentences.  Perhaps all was explained in the video, the link to which comprised the body of the ad, but, as usual, I refused to watch it and we shall never know.