$20 if you can find me that Prego commercial*

i have been scowling the net since last week for the "newish" Prego commercial. lemme set the scene for you. medium shot of bowl of spaghetti. you understand it is spaghetti. a jar of sauce--literally, a jar--is dropped onto the spaghetti. bounces. unappetizing. pan right. bowl of spaghetti. SAUCE is poured on it. mmm. sauce. Prego. "for when you want sauce, not a jar." (paraphrase, but the intent is the same). WTF?!? hi. Prego IS IN A JAR. YOU EVEN PICTURE THE JAR. NEXT TO THE SAUCE ON THE PASTA. what creative director says, oh yes, let's use our unique selling point! we're not a jar sauce! we just happen to be in a jar. dumbasses.

PS--want to laugh? i got more images of pregnant women when image searching Google for Prego than the jar sauce. on the first page, Prego appears only once, at #3.

*and by i will give you $20, i mean that i will give you a drawing of a spider. for real, click that link. it's one of the funniest things i've seen this month. maybe ever. i'm half in love with Jane Gilles. because it wouldn't be anywhere near as funny if she hadn't gone along with it. we need more people like her in the world. or at least in customer service. so cheers to you, Jane and David.

commercials switched at birth

view each of these. draw your own conclusions. my snark after the vids.





okay. first thing's first.
1 -- OMFG people leaning over me are CREEPY. and who says my questions take the form of a British wannabe nanny? or a cab driver? or any other of the bizarre personifications they give to my "questions."
2 -- why is "ask.com" in its multiple incarnations asking questions for me? shouldn't i be asking the questions? and those creepy people be answering them for me? i don't want to associate myself with creepy people unless they're being helpful. especially if i'm carrying those folks on my back. that's right, i'm self-serving, and so are you.
3 -- if anything, as the commercials currently stand, i should be asking questions of ask.com (since they're pushing that they know all kinds of random shit), and the G1 should be supplying me with answers (as that's the G1's unique benefit they're pushing).

creative teams, please switch executions. kthanxbai.

devil in the details: dunkin over starbucks?

now, if there's only one thing i learned in college about math--and i do believe there is only one thing i learned in college about math, actually--it's that numbers can be skewed to say preeeeetty much whatever you want. it was a class called Numeracy but instead of something out of Harry Potter, and though we did play with card decks, it was useful. analyzing statistics changed my world view.

something said in the commercial got me thinking: "hard working Americans." [disclosure: i fucking hate coffee. i can't drink it. i hate starbucks coffee and dunkin' donuts coffee. keep them both. so this is a completely impartial standpoint on the Coffee Wars. please hand me an Earl Grey.] in my head i'm already saying: this qualifier is interesting and where can i get the stats on the actual study?

surprisingly, NOT on the related web site, where the hoo-ha is the usual BS about south american beats and slow roasted whateverthefuck. after 5 mins of Googling, i came up with this link, which cites it was an independent double-blind involving "476 adults, each of whom had consumed regular, hot brewed coffee within the past week" in "10 cities."

honestly, if i cared a whole lot, the next questions i'd be asking are: what cities? what demographics? what are their jobs/income levels? what does 'city' mean? it's no secret that starfucks is more expensive and a status symbol. if you're polling New York City CEOs, i think your numbers will be skewed elsewhere. i'm not saying the study is fuxxor--i'm just saying having a study at all may be misleading unless this information is further qualified. i want to know there's an even split between people more likely to drink starbucks as those likely to drink DD.

transparency in movies, blackberry

wouldn't it be cool if there were transparency in movie posters? ok, so you'd never know what it was about, what actors were in it, what genre it is, or if you could take your little brother to it--but can you tell what you were being subliminally sold through product placement? YOU BETCHA! [haha] and let's be honest, product placement is what really matters otherwise everything would still be low-budget.

apparently, Ocean's 11 may be responsible for my purchasing habits or brand emotions regarding: Apple, Dr. Pepper, HBO, Ketel One, and Tropicana. see how these movies may have influenced you; check out the awesome posters spotlighting Ocean's 11, Dark Knight, Iron Man, the Matrix trilogy, Kill Bill 1, and The Bourne Ultimatum here.

on another note somewhat, i think the hype created by the new Blackberry Storm commercials is pretty sweet. and i don't even like Blackberry. but you know what would be sweeter? Blackberry owning up to its "crackberry" name and doing a series of spots a la Trainspotting. hell yeah. see the infamous baby crawling on the ceiling withdrawal scene here, youtoubed for your pleasure.

make (out) face time.

okay, you win. you found me out. secretly, i'm an optimist parading as a realist. and these ads totally appeal to me. that's right, i said it. i love the new Dentyne ads.

do i chew Dentyne? no.
will i switch to Dentyne? no.
do i like Orbit's advertising? no.

well, you can't win them all. i get the strategy: you're gonna need wonderfully fresh breath to get that close "face time" with anyone, be it a whisper or a kiss. and you know what? they're right. i always carry a pack of gum with me. always.

(in fact, it used to be Dentyne. i can't tell you what changed, but now i only buy Orbit. how's that for advertising i hate. i could really do without the Orbit lady. the only one i ever liked was when Orbit "cleaned up a dirty mouth" and the couple was fighting; one called the other a "lint licker." anyway. i'm sure to switch it must have been a friend recommendation.)

way to know your target market. i wonder if post-30 chew anywhere near as much gum as 10-25. anyone have stats for me? plus, the relevancy is easy to relate to, especially when so many of us manage real-life interactions online (even if it's to arrange a face meetup). the push to Get Off the Internet is nostalgic (for my gen, anyway!) and cute. it definitely speaks to me, in the same way that Unplug Your Friends functioned.

don't miss a single butterfly.

shitty quality above, but hands down my favourite ad of the Olympics so far.
...and i don't even like AT&T. (in fact i hate AT&T).
so again, they're not getting me to switch from Verizon, but,
i did like the commercial enough to talk about it. i really enjoyed the concept.


[you are summer
slow beautiful
red hot heat and
butterflies <3]

mommy, i want a pony.

Find more videos like this on AdGabber


aaaamazing. found here. though, it doesn't sell me the car. it just makes me want a pony.
...or a littlest pet shop toy. or a my little pony. you get the idea.

awwwwww. ponies.
"it's likin' the mint." hahaha.

you can still scramble an egg.

or hard boil it. or poach it. serve it benedict or sunny-side-up.
...you get the picture. all i mean to say is perhaps the "chicken-and-egg" theory isn't entirely irrelevant with regards to content vs. context, as a recent AgencySpy post discusses.

as for the preliminary topic of whether content or context is more important in advertising--that is, creating engaging stories versus knowing consumer values--i agree with Frank Scherma on that one. or at least, i think i do. a link was not provided to his actual opinion, but i'm told that it lands a mixture of the two. (test tube eggs?)

i think that, in order to be effective, you need to understand and know your audience first. really know them. don't "think" you know them--most likely, you don't. know them again. you need to care about what they care about. love what they love. be intrigued by the same facets and hold similar priorities. at least when considering strategies.

then, taking that understanding, you craft engaging stories to communicate how a good product can be great for them. because no one wants to hear those exact words: "our product is wicked awesome! for all your _____ needs!" yeah, sure. it could be the exact bloody perfect thing i need, but by then i'll have already tuned it out.

as for the argument that ads may become the overbearing father at a malt shop (to mix blog metaphors for a moment), i'm not sure that's entirely true. YES a lot of purchasing now relies on word of mouth and on credible consumer reviews. YES this shifts the way that some products communicate. key word being some.

"clever ad campaigns be damned" only works when i really give a shit about where my money is going. for example, i'm going to research my digital camera, or my wireless mouse, or what flight carrier i choose, or my cell phone, lap top, insert fancy toy of choice here. point being: fancy toy of choice. i will research when i have to. i will take consumers into account when i want the most value for my buck.

but if i'm buying a new food product i've not heard of before, or buy new music i hadn't heard before, i am not researching that. i am looking at packaging (especially for those impulse buys that get me going back for more). i am watching commercials (anyone notice how more and more, commercials will have little paragraphs at the bottom citing song & artist? no joke.). i am remembering that advertisement i had to sit and stare on for an hour on a bus ride. or a billboard in traffic.

because, dammit, i don't need your opinion on my pack of gum.

consumers are willing to be more risky (take less advice) with (relatively) less expensive items. because of this, we are never going to get rid of the context/content part of the advertising show. we just don't want to be bothered researching every little thing. so while an iPod adapter, of relatively significant cost and quality, will be researched, that song on the commercial i heard will not.

i think the propensity to believe that everything will move toward consumer reviews and recommendations is a symptom of the echo chamber of us tech geeks, who like to be in the know and research every bloody thing, right down to whether or not i should purchase a $34 dress from TrashyDiva (i did, by the way). but take a step back.

try asking people how they came to purchase their last new items (new, meaning have not purchased before). i think you'll find the trend. at least, that's how this observation came to me. i do believe alan's "prom king" theory is entirely correct because it relies on what brands we spend money to care about; brands who say something about us when we choose them. but for those products we can afford to care less about, clever commercials still suffice.

people ignore irrelevant advertising. make it relevant (know your audience and apply that knowledge) and people will start to care, too.

ceci n'est pas un oeuf.

relevant ads are relevant?

"If you have an ad that is relevant, you are more likely to pay attention," said Juenger.

really? you think so? you mean ads can be funny... or inspiring... or have a good soundtrack... or generally try and notify us of things we may actually need? ...you mean people haven't entirely lost all interest in trying to spend money? you mean that possibly, just maybe, good advertising is... good? well-targeted? dare i say relevant? nofuckingshit.

but in case you needed a case study to tell you something you could have probably deduced (that the :30 isn't going anywhere, that people watch good advertising, and that like everything else as we move forward, it's about relevancy) then you can read this TiVo study. have fun.

[note: no offense to the blog. studies like this just never cease to amaze me. because what's worse than the deductions is that someone is sitting on a conference room asking for these supportive stats. hello. you watch tv. you are a consumer. what do you do? it slays me when people stop acting like people and become marketers 24/7.]

another epic fail used to totally win at branding.

friendly warning: before you hit play, make sure your volume is at a reasonably low level.

similar to how twitter followers have embraced the Fail Whale, Croc (shoes i hate) are capitalizing on that hatred in an endearing fashion. [i caught this commercial at some point on G4 while watching the Heroes seasons 2 marathon saturday, when i should have been swimming.]

this commercial worked for me because i do really, really bloody hate them. hate hate. Crocs knows this. they know that we hate them. they also know that no amount of advertising is going to make me want to purchase a pair [due to said undying hatred]--but, they did improve their communications, in my eyes, for recognizing and using this to their advantage in a funny way that i can relate to, even as a non-Crocs wearer; moreover, it creates this rebellious subculture among those who do wear them. Yeah, We Wear Those Shoes You Hate. And Eff You, Too.

where it doesn't gain, it reinforces.
it is that culture around a brand--it's accomplishments as well as its shortcomings--that help to make the brand an integral part of your life. when the brand isn't just a word, or a product, but a personal statement. congrats on Crocs achieving a piece of that with this commercial.

weekend observations: tsc, quiznos, facebook.

things i deduced this weekend:

:. TSC advertisers are morons. or perhaps just truthful.

...is that supposed to be an arrow? because its squished nature is more like a something reminiscent of calculus. sorry, but as an insurance company, do you want to advertise as "TSC less than direct"? the things i ponder on the local train... [hook, line, and sinker, tsc]
:. Quiznos is too poor for another 'm.'

...case in point: Beef Brisket. m m m m m. that's five m's, guys. update the ads or make the voiceover guy say one m less. otherwise, it's just weird. [hook, line, and sinker...]

:. things are funnier through 3rd parties.

...what's funnier than writing "i'll stop by at 2:43 am" on your friend's Facebook wall? finding a bumper sticker that says it for you! there's something about the omnipotent third party that enhances humour. it's funny if you and i think it's funny. it's ridiculously funny if someone we don't know agrees so wholeheartedly as to save us from saying it ourselves.

2 spots that i actually remember

unfortunately i can't seem to locate them on youtube. if you can, pass them my way and i'll edit them into this post, <3 just comment. thx.

anyway. i've already been up front about how my memory is a sieve. blame my generation. everyone else does. something about loony tunes and too many frames per second. i don't know. regardless. i have to love--or hate--a spot a lot to be able to remember it. so here are two Mnemosyne Award Winners from this weekend, haha.

Verizon Samsung where the sleeper has his hand come alive like Thing from Addams' family. the isolationism was really well done and i enjoyed the music selected to accompany the spot. it had so much character that at first i thought it was an iPhone commercial, but then i was confused when it didn't have the same brand style. to find out it's from samsung was a surprise, albeit a good one. i think it reached a lot of heavy users in an endearing, amusing way. i sleep next to my phone. i won't lie. someone txts me at 5am, unless i'm deeply gone, i answer. ...sad? you decide.

Jack Daniels had a stand out that i noticed this weekend as well. it's a spot entirely composed of still images. not one is video footage. a really nice touch. it's an artistic rendering of photographs in a montage sort of way that was very reminiscent of a 1920s era feel with modern imagery. it closed up with what i understand is something of a new tagline, which reinforced the feel and, for me, cinched it as a nostalgic, feel-good rebellious spot: "enjoyed in fine establishments and questionable joints everywhere." now where can i get me a pool table to lie on?

and now for something completely different.

okay, that's somewhat of a lie. it's still advertising. it's just different insofar as: i like it. these are two spots i enjoy. more friday viewing. cheers!

[yanked from agencyspy, where i can't comment because i hate registering to do so]

of course it's only airing in europe because our president may pee himself if he ever laid eyes on it. why do i like it? not just because i'm young and 'radical' (though probably that too); i like it because it offers Karis as Karis-the-person, not a story about Karis-as-tranny. it's Karis' voice (we are led to assume) and even if Karis didn't get to write his (pronoun choice based on script identifying himself as a "boy"--if in error, apologies) own material, the first-person voice makes the message more heartfelt, even if the intent was shock value. it even discusses gender issues out loud (like when Karis talks about taking his top off at the end of his routine) and doesn't just stick to a "total queen" talking about how great shaving his legs is and how smooth he feels. in fact, the product isn't even mentioned until the end. thank you, DDB and Tribal London. kudos.

--

another spot i liked... i was watching ESPN Classic last night (don't ask... flipping through, American Gladiator was on, and they were beating one another with those silly oversized cotton swabs. i couldn't help it.) and a spot came on that simply said "these [XX] seconds of silence brought to you by Karako" with some other, limited factual text beneath. it was really effective. definitely made me pause, particularly because i'm not used to hearing silence on the television. enough to make me remember the name of the brand, and, to blog about it. it's likely not the first time someone's done it, but it's the first in a long while that i've seen it. kudos there, as well.

directv, revisited. now, with spot!

thanks to @funincalifweric, i have been supplied with the directv spot that i criti(cized/tiqued?) in this post on monday.

so now, for your friday viewing pleasure, a spot i hate:

but what do i love? conversations. [feed/back]
comment/tweet if you want to tell me why it doesn't suck, or, commiserate with me on its shortcomings.

i liked a commercial how much?

enough to go out of my way to find it on youtube and embed it for you here, just in case you haven't already seen it.

this delivers. it's excellent. it speaks exactly to the target market in memorable and admirable way. how do i know? if i'd gone to grad school, they'd be talking to me. we are those kids who work our asses off to get the grades to get the school to get the bucks to get the (car/land/family/etc).

except for when we sit there in (insert office setting here), look at this well-worn path and say to ourselves, "whoa. where along the line did i agree to that? where did i get lost in here? what part of me is left in my own plans?"

breaking the cycle speaks to that "whoa" moment in the ambitious, determined group. i love it. if i had that kind of money, it might sell me on an audi--or at least get me interested enough to do my research. three cheers for poignant relevance.