I assume that the commercials we see now (December 2020) have been filmed since widespread awareness of the coronavirus began in February and March 2020. Yet, few of the ones I have seen show people wearing masks. Why is that?
Here’s my theory:
I think advertisers don’t want to offend the large minority of people who oppose mask wearing. If they show commercials with people without masks (in places where they should wear them), they probably figure that people who support mask wearing will just think the ads are old.
One company that tries to have it both ways is AT&T. Here’s one of their current ads. The people are not wearing masks but the ad says you should wear a mask in their stores.
AT&T Wireless TV Commercial, ‘Word of Mouth Advertising: iPhone 12 Mini’ – iSpot.tv
Here’s an ad with no masks or social distancing:
Here’s an American Express ad with masks
Sad! 