Making The Pinky popular

Have you seen The Pinky?

It's part of a new television advertising campaign from 76 - which I always remember as 76 Union. Their orange ball logo is one of the most identifiable brand marks in the U.S. I'm not sure The Pinky will do anything to enhance the brand.

The premise: we've lost civility on the road. We cut each other off; drive in the "fast" lane; roll through stop signs - and then use our middle finger as a message that doesn't equate with "Hey...you're number one!"

Enter The Pinky.

76 is advocating the use of the pinky finger for drivers to signal other drivers when they experience something which makes "driving better for everybody." Like letting someone in line when two lanes merge to one.

Unless, of course, they sneak up on all of us that have been patiently waiting in that same line for 15 minutes. I'm not sure I'm giving anyone a smile and The Pinky at that point.

Anyway...I'm guessing The Pinky is 76's lighthearted way of diverting attention away from the high cost of filling our tanks with their expensive gasoline. If you haven't seen the spot, take a look at www.76.com. From even a slight distance away, if someone is raising their hand with a digit extended - The Pinky or not - it still looks like the conventional bird to me.

We might see a whole new form of road rage as 76 tries to popularize The Pinky. It's probably best to just fume in your car - and don't raise a digit at anyone.