Animal Amistad?

I know this commercial is supposed to funny, whimsical and adorable. But I find it creepy and bizarre. Here we have an African American who, in order to save on his electric bill, has turned guinea pigs into slaves. He trains them to row a boat, something I imagine actual slaves did in early America. All right, it's a stretch, but that's how it hits me. Also, loving animals as I do, I find nothing amusing about using animals as labor, even if they are rodents.