"Why is the mother chasing and beating her daughter?"
Well, if you've seen this ad before, you know that this is about a person's future played forward. My mom has misinterpreted the whole idea behind the ad.
Her comment made me think, "Does this mean that the ad has failed for not being able to communicate the main idea clearly to its audience?" The ideas behind ads are supposed to be easily understood. The worst thing to happens is to have your idea being misunderstood, isn't it?
On the other hand, I was thinking, "So was the ad specifically made for its target market?"
If this ad was indeed made for a particular niche, then it's is possible that the rest won't be able to understand what the ad is talking about. For example, if you are marketing golf products, those who do not play this sports will not be able to understand what you are talking about, unless you cater specifically for newbies.
Then my mom is clearly NOT their target audience.
The next question is, if this is meant for a niche group, should this TV commercial even appears at all? After all, you are exposing your ad to the mass. Unlike topic or interest-specific magazines, you won't be able to predict who will be watching the program in which your ad will appears. This means you are paying for exposure to those not in your target group. Perhaps the company could have chosen to air its commercial in programs that its target audience are most likely to watch, but is there a better media other than TV?
Furthermore, when a person is watching TV, what state of mind is he or she in? While the commercial itself is rather entertaining with a bit of drama, is it compelling enough to make people sit up and listen or reflect on the idea the ad is conveying?
So if you are using mass media, should your ad be simple and easily understood by all or only your potential customers? Or better still, understood by all and extremely interesting to your potential customers?