I Never Knew I Was So Deprived

The company Siemens had a two-page colour advert in the Sunday Telegraph Magazine today touting their ‘brand new state-of-the-art interactive fridge freezer coolMedia.’ The main selling feature of this refrigerator is the 15-inch flat screen LCD integrated television. Really. Out of eleven sentences in the main advert copy, only once is the actual fridge function mentioned, and even then, it’s almost an after thought:
‘Not only does the KG39MT90 keep all your fresh and frozen food stored safely, but it also provides you with a 15” flat screen LCD integrated TV, to make sure that you never miss any of your favourite TV programmes when cooking or partying.’

The advert goes on to describe the brightness and contrast controls, the stereo sound, the hand-finished, stainless steel finish, and the remote control. It seems you can also hook it up to your DVD, VCR, camcorder and videogame console so you can ‘simulate cinema viewing, too.’

Oh my. Isn’t progress great?! Back in my day, when we went looking for a refrigerator, we were concerned with things like whether it had adjustable shelves, whether it had a special niche for the butter dish, and whether it actually got cold. Now we can stop our misguided refrigerator shopping and focus on what really matters: the fact that I can play video games while I cook.

(Lest you think I’m making this up, visit www.mycoolMedia.info.)