One should always believe in good intentions. For, though they may be rare, they can move people to heights they thought previously unattainable.
So when I look at Verizon's new ad campaign, I seek the nobility within what I fear is something that might attract a touch of venom.
Verizon, should you have lived lately far beneath the earth's surface, is the company that might have the finest wireless network. It is also the company that some say might, together with Google, have some intention of bending the idea of Net neutrality in order to satisfy loftier, if perhaps self-interested aims.
So perhaps this new campaign is the first expression of Verizon's new exalted thinking. For not only does it eschew the nice man in glasses who was always desperate to know whether we could all hear him, it also offers the tagline "Rule the Air."
I know there will be some who will look at this tagline and immediately see a declaration that this large, powerful company intends to do just that--to rule the air and charge each and every man and woman a lofty fee for being a subject of the Airdom.
These thoughts might be bolstered by lines emerging from the mouths of the charming women in this spot, including: "My ideas will be powerful, if they are wise, infectious, if they are worthy, and if my thoughts have flawless delivery, I can lead the army that will follow."
Do these words not portend a new neutrality that might be less, well, neutral?
But no, a belief in good intentions tells me that this is an example of a company bending over backward to empower its customers--in this case, the women of the world--to take that air, suck it in, and use it for the common good.
I am not sure if human beings or, indeed, corporations, were put on this earth to lead armies. However, for you, the potential ruler of the air, what is important is whether this message has been expressed with flawless delivery.
Or whether you are already commencing the incredulous laugh that comes before a swear word or two.