Such convincing arguments from everyone, even when poles apart on this ad. I think
@Scandichic has made important points here about damaging stereotyping.
Also, what I keep coming back to, is that there are lots of ads that offend because they make you cringe - I won't say which offend, it would only set another hare running, and we're all different in our response to what things are cringe-making.
I cringed at the DUK advert because:
The elderly amputee, a bit shame-faced and regretting his 'few extra pounds', didn't even look overweight at all, so what was going on there, was it supposed to make sense?
The mother, in danger of losing her sight, was calmly discussing her fears in front of her young daughter. Would someone do that? Was this a situation we could empathise with? I don't think so.
The elderly woman, supposedly knocked for six by her husband's untimely death, "We were supposed to grow old together!", uttered this odd sort of comment that implied that if her husband had taken his diabetes seriously, she would not have been left alone.
I think the wrong-footed feeling I get, when I watch this ad, is that it's badly scripted and therefore badly acted (no reflection on the actors).
I think that on this thread, we're all arguing about valid and much bigger things that this ad doesn't even begin to address, and therefore the ad is an annoying wasted opportunity in the face of a dangerous world-wide epidemic with many complex causes.