Is Ricky for real?

What about that Subaru Outback commercial? Featuring nature boy Ricky.

The Outback is designed to answer "the call of the wild". Ricky is NOT one of those nature-trashing SUV or pickup guys. He drives a little fast, but he doesn't splash through quagmires or drive up talus slopes. He's a wuss-boy faker who wears a leather jacket in the woods, and doesn't own binoculars. He's there to dupe you into buying the anti-SUV with a crappy gas mileage of 23/28 mph. (How come they never mention gas mileage?)

This commerical gets a 3.5. It's so dumb its funny.

(Scoring criteria)

1 -- immediate repulsion; you see it once and never want to see it again
(reaction: abusive verbalization directed to the TV),

2 -- delayed repulsion; you have to see it several times before rejection sets in
(reaction: sneering and irritating thoughts)

3 -- tolerance to mild amusement
(reaction: silent neutrality to mild pleasure)

4 -- amusement to genuine enjoyment
(reaction: you'll stop doing almost anything to watch it).

Commercial viewers who post comments on the web are divided in their reactions.

Those who like the ad seem to be all hung up about who Ricky is, and can't tell moose from caribou from elk. (Not sure you need to read these, but it's doubtful many of these folks ever peed in the woods.)

For entertaining comments and theories howevere, check out what the cynics say on commercialsihate.com.