A local man has wondered out-loud if he’s cold-hearted for not caring about an old man lifting a kettle bell, after an otherwise emotional ad campaign has gone viral on the interwebs this week. The advertisement, for a European pharmaceutical company, has been shared widely on social media this week, and lovingly depicts an old grandpa getting himself in shape to prepare for lifting his granddaughter up to the top of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

However, Watsonia man Trevor Nelson is not buying into the sentiment, which has inadvertently forced him to question what’s wrong with him. Speaking exclusively to The Watsonia Bugle, Nelson said, “Yeah, I’d seen everyone sharing it on Facebook this week, so thought I’d watch it yesterday. I watched the whole thing, but didn’t feel any emotion at all. Well, that’s a lie, because indifference, apathy and disdain are technically all emotions too. But they’re all I felt.”

Expanding on his emotional response, or lack thereof, Nelson said, “Well, for starters, why are we patting this bloke on the back for getting into shape? We should be asking why he was so lazy to get out of shape in the first place. I mean, c’mon pops, get your act together. It didn’t look like there was much else going on in your life.”

Despite insisting that his thoughts on the advertisement hadn’t changed after a good night’s sleep, Nelson admitted this morning that his response to the footage had posed some wider questions about his current feeling towards others. He said, “I dunno mate, maybe 2020 has changed me. Hardened me a bit, you know? I’m not sure. Fundamentally, I don’t think I’m a bad person, but maybe I just care a little less about other people now? It’s like, we’ve all got our problems man, and if that old grandpa can’t lift his grandchildren at Christmas, it’s not my problem, I guess.”

Advertisement