In a new commercial for Duracell batteries, a mom is at the park, unbuckling one child from a stroller, when suddenly she realizes that her other child has gone missing.

As she looks around, the camera cuts to a white van pulling away. Has the child been kidnapped? Run over?

No, it turns out he’s just walked away. But Mom, instead of doing the usual parent thing -- yelling for your kid in that voice that says, "I love you but I’m really mad at you" -- pulls out an electronic tracking device and uses it to locate her son.

Duracell

The ad is clearly meant to substantiate Duracell’s long-running claim that people should trust its batteries in even the most serious situations. It’s a tactic that’s provided a good (and long) ride for Duracell, but also has, at times, felt over the top.

This risks being one of those cases. The combination of tugging at parents’ heart strings and playing up parents’ worst fears feels overdramatic. Instead of making people want to buy the batteries, the company is in danger of turning off parents who don’t want to be scared into shopping.

It kind of makes us pine for that irritating, but light-hearted, Energizer bunny.

Also, in partnering with a company selling pricey electronic child-tracking technology, Duracell opens up a distracting Pandora’s box of thorny issues over whether such devices are a help to parents, or a needless and creepy invasion of privacy.

What’s more, it turns out the firm that makes the product, called BrickHouse, specializes in a much deeper array of products geared toward the distrustful (or paranoid) family member.

At the company’s Web site, you’ll find equipment designed to spy on your nanny, test your teen for drugs and your spouse’s clothing for signs of infidelity, secretly track your child or spouse, or monitor their computer habits. Perhaps the strangest: a bulletproof backpack designed to "give your children, loved ones, or yourself added protection from gun and knife violence."

While few people may make the connection between Duracell and BrickHouse’s other products, the question remains: Does a traditional brand like Duracell really want to associate itself with a company that sells something called the "CheckMate 5-minute infidelity test kit"?

Click here to watch the ad.