The ears of Spotify

The ad appears from time to time for those who don't have Spotify Premium and the editorial's kind press officer makes me aware of it. These days on a book tour, we've heard it in various cars, many times. It's a paradoxical ad. It tells you that if you had Spotify Premium you wouldn't hear this ad.

The ad is absurd in its magnificence. It speaks to you, in Spanish, one-on-one: "Que estas orejitas no se merecen menos", says the female voice. The "orejitas" are yours; in this case, mine. Why does it say "orejitas", I wonder? It's not a children's ad. In fact, in children's ads, diminutives are no longer a trend, because they are precisely trying to treat them as adults. "Tus orejas no se merecen menos" would be perfectly correct. But it says "orejitas".

I remember that in a past era I worked for women's magazines, which paid for large reports due to the amount of advertising they could absorb. They gave away cream samples and there were pages and pages of luxury advertising. There were no social networks or influencers, and they were the medium for talking about women's "topics" and clothing. In these magazines, there was a very clear style guide. If you had to talk about panties, you had to use the diminutive. You would never say "bragas". You would always, always, always say "braguitas".

I still understand that, because it sounds more refined, but this "orejitas" seems to me as if they were talking to a gnome. Ned Flanders always spoke in diminutives and we all consider him a eunuch. If you see me on the street, don't use diminutives. I'm asking you.