Do you think that this ad from Colonial Williamsburg intended to trip so many totally not okay wires, or do you think their ad agency is just stoopid? For the record, this appeared in the Atlantic Monthly last month (thanks to Annalee Newitz for the tip) and I tore this one out of the New York Times Style Magazine (yes, I know: why do I still bother reading them?) from last Sunday.

For those of you dying to know, "Colonial Williamsburg" is pretty much just that: a theme park whose theme is the Williamsburg, Virginia of colonial times. In their words:

"Colonial Williamsburg is the world’s largest living history museum—the restored 18th-century capital city of Britain’s largest, wealthiest, and most populous outpost of empire in the New World. Here we interpret the origins of the idea of America, conceived decades before the American Revolution. The Colonial Williamsburg story, “Becoming Americans,” tells how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality. Americans cherish these values as a birthright, even when their promise remains unfulfilled."

Indeed.

As the ad's tagline says "Connect with your inner 18th Century". And why not? If their ad agency can do it, so can you.