To reunite America, it must go to the dogs

It says something about the state of the United States when the political ad worth watching is one for dog food.

Pedigree has released this commercial to try recalibrate us just a little bit. Well, fine, they’re trying to sell dog food, but would it kill us to start thinking of cute dogs a little bit?

AdWeek couldn’t resist poking the feel-good nature of the ad. Because, of course it couldn’t. It’s 2016 and this is the United States.

It’s hard not to wonder, from a more cynical perspective, if the young white woman leading the charming blonde pup might have been received less warmly at the Trump rallies if she were, say, a young black man instead. (To be fair, it’s not only people of color who have been met with violence at the Republican nominee’s events stretching back to October 2015—in at least one incident, a black Trump supporter has punched a white protester.)

Even a golden retriever can only do so much.