Lord, America is going to be forced to raise itself up from this economic crisis just so that we don't go insane from the repetition of advertising slogans about it. It was tolerable when just banks were running "Wall Street meltdown? We can help!" ads, because, you know, they're obliged to say something. But within a few short weeks even candy stores and home builders were using it as a creative crutch, and now it appears there are no ads left in America unrelated to "these troubling times": HBO. Crate & Barrel. Brooks Brothers. Denny's. Equinox. Even Mary-fucking-Poppins. All are running recession-themed ads, like some ill-informed country relative who fills all awkward pauses by repeating what they saw the other day on the tee-vee.

For instance, television commercials from the Walt Disney Company, selling tickets for the Broadway musical “Mary Poppins,” feature members of the audience who make remarks like, “You think of everything going on in the world, and it just becomes magic” and “So well worth the money, and the uplifting of the spirit in these difficult times.”

Let's get together and fix this thing before it's too late, people. [pic via NYT]