College Ads

Slate takes a clever look at college advertisements during the bowl season. It's a nice sliver of the ridiculousness that has become higher education. From the conclusion:

The season's most memorable institutional spot won't be playing during a bowl game. Notre Dame will introduce a new ad for the Fiesta Bowl, but the school will have a tough time encapsulating the smug Golden Domer attitude any better than it does in "Candle." A girl lights candles at her church, ostensibly for many years, until a thick letter arrives from the Notre Dame admissions office. A glance to the skies confirms just who's responsible for her shot at a "higher education." Prayer for personal triumph: It's not just for end zone celebrations anymore.

I like Notre Dame, but I have to admit: the commercial has a dash of Norman Vincent Peale prosperity theology.