The message of this baffling ad for the Washington Post iPad edition seems to be that technology is too difficult for newspaper journalists to master, who are generally old and confused and prone to yell strange things at one another.

Still, it's tricky to decrypt — the commercial feels like a sort of David Lynch movie about techno-journalistic dystopia. The plot: A young female staffer introduces legendary Post editor Bob Woodward to the iPad, and the new WaPo app, neither of which he can make heads or tails of. When the young staffer says "homescreen," this seems to trigger Woodward, Manchurian Candidate style, to embark on some kind of secret mission, lurching through the newsroom, toward longtime colleague Ben Bradlee's office. Along the way, he passes other journalists who are trying to explain the internet to one another. "I'm embarrassed," Woodward eventually tells Bradlee. "SWIPE IT, LIKE THIS," Bradlee shouts, holding up an iPad. End scene.

What? Clearly, more thought is needed to unlock the mystery of why WaPo, a newspaper, is showing its iPad owning readers how out of touch it is. At least the vid is in beautiful HD, and at least no one called anyone else a "mad bitch."