Slate's ad report card comments on the new Verizon commercials that feature a mixed-race family, with a white mother and a Latino father.

I had seen these ads and was intrigued by the use of a mixed-race family. I would agree that it's used as an attention-getting gimmick, but not because of the fact that "a mixed-race family is still sort of a big deal." I think it grabs the attention because it's something we haven't seen before, from either full television shows or commercials.

The article views the move in the standard, cynical marketing way, but I think the fact that such a huge company can used a mixed-race family in their broad, nation-wide marketing campaign is a wonderful sign of how far we've come as a society. With all the issues of race and diversity we've had to deal with on campus this year, it's comforting and reassuring to see that Verizon, and its market research, feels it can treat the issue as "no big deal at all."