No, Not Another Poker Show

I saw this ad on on Adrants and thought yes, another poker show I get to watch. Upon taking a closer look I realized that it isn't an ad for a poker show, its an ad for a new show by CNBC titled Demolished. According to the Adrants article its a show on how the American dream became a nightmare. I can only assume that this show will focus on the collapse of the U.S. housing market.

For those of you who don't know, the idea of the American dream is being a success, owning a home with a white picket fence. I thought the ad was for a poker show because of the scattered cards, it reminded of the show titled Poker Superstars Invitational on Fox Sports for some reason. But anyway, way to promote depressing subject matter.

w what the ad is advertising right away doesn't that indicate a weak creative execution? But again, this is just my opinion take it or leave it.

The ad was created by Woods Witt Dealy & Sons.

Best,
A.B.

Viagra in the Mid-East

A couple of days ago I thought of an ad I once saw in Saudi Arabia many years ago (2002, I think). So, trying to be the best ad blogger I could be, I tried to find that particular TV commercial. The commercial I saw was a spot for Viagra but even that I am not sure of. All I know for sure is that it was a commercial promoting some erectile dysfunction medication.

Now before I tell you about the commercial you should know that television in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East in general is highly censored. You should also know that I can’t recall every exact detail of the commercial but I do remember the important points of the spot. The spot involved a vending machine and some Saudi dollars not being accepted by the machine until they get some Viagra.

The main point I am trying to make with this story is that in countries like Saudi Arabia and others in the Mid-East agencies must be very clever and creative to get around cultural taboos. It is not permitted to display affection between the sexes like what is shown in Western media. Therefore, to make people understand the message of the Viagra commercial, the message is often cloaked in metaphor.

Now I could never find the spot involving the dollars and the vending machine but I found another spot involving fast food soda cups and straws. Please remember I saw the vending machine spot many years ago. It’s a similar idea in that Viagra gets its point across without using men or women only inanimate objects.



I Believe the ad agency is Young & Rubicam, Jeddah, but I am not certain how accurate that information is.

Best,
A.B.

Oh, Facebook

I believe I saw the ad above on Facbook's sidebar ads a few weeks ago. It's one of the funniest things I ever saw. Does anyone have that much "Man Hood" to earn up to $9,000 for your donations? Maybe I should change professions. What do you guys think?

These ads, is how Facebbok makes its money I guess. What I think bothered me the most about the ad is that it was tailored to a location close to where I am which seems a little big brother-ish but it makes the ad more relevant to the audience. None-the-less, I thought the ad was hilarious.

Best,
A.B.

A 2nd Arm Wrestling Movie

There have been many movies on basketball, many movies on football, and some could argue even hockey but not so many on arm wrestling besides Sly's "Over the Top." Now there is a second "Pulling John" hitting the big screen in March. I feel the title needs some editing.

Why, you ask, because people will always think of that joke that involves someone named "Johnson." Yea, I know you know the joke I'm talking about. The movie is actually a documentary about arm wrestling. I wonder how it will do? Is arm wrestling very popular still?

Back to the original arm wrestling movie "Over The Top," I didn't think it was all that great to begin with but at least they promoted a title that couldn't be used in jokes so easily. But again that is only my opinion.

Also, I think the movie will only be followed by those who are interested in the subject matter. The movie "Murderball" comes to mind because it was promoted so well yet it only resonated with people that cared about wheelchair sports and the disabled.

I am still trying to find out who is promoting it so please stay tuned.

Best,
A.B.

Gymkhana

The video above is a marketing video to promote the sport of Gymkhana to become larger in the U.S. Gymkhana is the real live version of the movie "Tokyo Drift." The above viral Web-video was apparently watched over 29 million times via various sources.

The video was produced for rally racer Ken Block, DC Shoes and Subaru. The agency the produced the above Web-video is called Mad Media. My question is, will this video actually result in more events taking place in major U.S. cities, higher ticket sales, and major event sponsoring companies?

I realize that viral marketing is one of the best methods to promote your product or service but how will it be measured? How will they determine the success of this viral campaign, is it simply by how many times the video is viewed? I hope that we will see an increase in Gymkhana motorsport events. I would certainly go see it.

Now the video is included in Inside That Ad as well.

Best,
A.B.

To Much Boasting on Boost

I found another commercial I would like to discuss through Adfreak. The spot above was done on behalf of Boost Mobile by Latino marketing agency Inspire. I didn't really understand the point of the message. In the commercial a guy discusses how great his Boost Mobile service while is friend is being mauled by a pack of dogs.

My question is, what was the point of the commercial? Is wasn't funny, it may have been memorable cause we are now all discussing it. Maybe I didn't think it was funny because it was in Spanish and I don't know Spanish. I don't think it would have been funny anywhere, in any language.

I mean what does being mauled by dogs have to do with your mobile service, I can't make the connection.

Best,
A.B.

Good VS Evil

I saw the commercial above on my YouTube landing page and I liked it so I thought I'd share. It's a Nike spot with famous soccer players facing off against demons in a soccer match. I believe its simply a brand awareness spot. I know what your thinking, who is not aware of the Nike brand right? But really what are they promoting in that spot besides the Nike brand name?

I really liked the creative execution, partly because I am a huge soccer fan but also because sport can teach a lot about life's challenges. Evil can be the obstacles you overcome, no?

Anyway, the ad agency is Wieden+Kennedy, I believe.

Best,
A.B.

A 30-Second Mr. Brooks

I don't about you guys but I am a huge movie buff. When I first saw the spot above for The Lustgarten Foundation, a PSA announcement for Pancreatic cancer it reminded me of a movie. A movie that I absolutely love titled Mr. Brooks starring Kevin Costner. In the movie, Costner is a tortured serial killer who views his unnatural desire to kill as a disease. His disease is fueled by a hunger that is personified as a man known as "Marshal." You can see Marshal in the movie but he isn't real, he is only in Mr. Brooks's mind. Marshal is always sitting in the back seat of the car when Brooks goes on his "outings."

The commercial above has Pancreatic cancer personified as a man in the back of a car discussing his victims impending doom. The spot ends with a help find a cure for Pancreatic Cancer message. The message and the rest of the spot, in my opinion didn't go together. But back to the commercial and the movie, the spot had an eerie similarity to the 2007 flick, what do you all think?

In my opinion the spot was great but would others have made the same connection between the movie and the ad? If you haven't seen the movie, what would you think of the commercial's idea? The idea that death personified as a man discussing his victims death in the back of a car seem kind of morbid to me. Also, can you believe the spot is a PSA?

The agency that created this Pancreatic Cancer spot is Gardner Nelson + Partners. This is the first time I've heard of this ad agency. But it's someone new I get to mention so that makes me happy.

Best,
A.B.

Anti-Happiness Drug

When I first saw this news piece in an Adfreak post I couldn't tell if it was real or not. This news piece was discussing a newly approved drug for cheerfulness. Can someone actually be too happy? I don't think that such a thing is humanly possible?

But once the doctor being interviewed about the drug used an "F-bomb" I knew this isn't real news. Yes, I know I'm slow. Shoot me. They even gave the drug a "real" sounding name, Despondex. Wouldn't you have been faked out?

And yes, a news piece can fall under the catagory of advertising.

Best,
A.B.

Absolut Security

I wanted to do a short posting before I went to bed for the night so that I could say I post everyday. The Absolut print ad above was one of my favorite wallpapers for my computer screen in college. Not to Mentin Absolut advertising is what got me interested in advertising in the first place.

I believe the ad agency is TBWA Chiat/Day, New York.

Nest,
A.B.

Absolut Tolerant

On February 8th, a 30-second brand awareness spot for Absolut Vodka ran on prime time television. I believe it ran during the last half of the Grammy Awards. This marks the first time ever a distilled-spirits product has appeared on any CBS-owned TV station. Here is another sign of the changing times. A company like CBS that usually shunned distilled-spirits companies now accept them. I ask you is this due to the troubled economy?

The spot created by TBWA/Chiat/Day is titled “Hugs” the ad presents a universe where the sanctioned currency is kisses on the cheek. The spot ends with the campaigns' tag line "In an Absolut World." This is a significant change in the ad business and I think its for the better.

I have to say the spot isn't funny but it is eye catching and memorable because it is unusual for a distilled-spirits company to produce this type of commercial. Most liquor commercials give a public service announcement, for example the famous "please drink responsibly." The spot is memorable because of the high popularity that the brand has already established

I think this is a great step forward for the famous vodka maker. They have a strong promotional foundation due to their great print ads. Their print ads are what got me interested in advertising in the first place (Just an FYI).

NBC was the first to air liquor ads on its main station. Also, you can read the Brandweek article at your leisure.

Best,
A.B.

Here Comes: Windvertising

I was alerted to this article on the Huffington Post by my boss at work. The article discusses a new form of advertising playfully dubbed Windvertising by the post. It got its name because this new, creative form of advertising employs WePOWER's PacWind turbines. When ads are placed on top of the turbines and they spin, it creates the illusion of animation.

The Huff Post does say that the image is a bit misleading when you first look at it. I thought the logos are simply placed on top of the blades. Obviously, from the image above some logos look better then others. In my opinion the Nike logo looks better then that of the golden arches.

It is certainly a creative idea. It will be interesting to see if this new platform is accepted by advertisers. This hopes to promote the idea of "Green Power"

PS: The image was also taken from the Huffington Post.

Best,
A.B.

A Note on the Superbowl

I was discussing the Superbowl ads with some buddies at work and they thought all of them sucked. Some of the ads they thought were a little funny but not worth the 3 million spent on them. Here are the most obvious reasons why:

1. The ads were over done to the point of annoyance in the eyes of one of my buddies. (The talking baby has been going for a few years.)

2. Most of the ads, my buddies felt didn't take into consideration that our country is in a recession.

3. Most, if not all the ads were not funny. If they were a little funny, my buddies at least couldn't remember the product being advertised.

Finally after thinking about it for a bit maybe the concept of the "Free Doritos" spot was taken from the Sprint 2006 Superbowl Commercial below. Most likely I'm wrong.



But who cares? I thought at least some of the spots were good, which after all, is the case every year.

Best,
A.B.

And The Winner Is

The Doritos spot above was the big winner during this years Superbowl according to two articles I've read. USA Today assembled a panel and YouTube gave stats on what commercials were watched and voted on the most. Both of these sources declared "Free Doritos" as the winning commercial debuting during the Superbowl this year. You can get to the article mentioning the USA today panel (here).

I am a little disappointed in myself because I didn't include the commercial above in my poll on the far right side of this blog. But I guess I didn't watch the ads closely enough the first time around to realize that the ad is pretty good. The "Free Doritos" spot was created by Joe Herbert, Batesville, IN according to Adrants. You can find out more about Joe at his site to encourage voting for the commercial at doritosvote.com.

Speaking of user-generated content, I don't think that Doritos has had any commercials done by professional ad agencies for quite sometime. And I have to say from the response the commercial got, if they never use an agency again I wouldn't blame them. People love user generated content. The Free Doritos spot was funny, memorable, and creative all of which are elements you want in a Superbowl commercial.

Finally, I think people enjoy these types spots more because it gives them a feeling that someone just like them can create an ad featured in the big game.

Best,
A.B.

A Sign of the Times?

Like most Americans, I watched the Superbowl on Sunday February 1st. But unlike most I was more interested in the ads. One of the worst ads shown during the Superbowl in my opinion of course, was the Cah4Gold commercial featuring Ed McMahon and MC Hammer. In the spot the two celebrities tell consumers how Cash4Gold works. For those of you who don’t know, you simply trade-in unwanted gold positions and get cash back. Advertising for this company traditionally appeared direct-response infomercials but in the Superbowl, it seemed a bit out of place.

The “Big Game” has traditionally been for ads that are funny, creative, and from well-known brands that have created other commercials we have seen. The game is a platform for them to showoff their newest and best TV spots. I don’t think anyone expected to see an infomercial turned 30-second spot during the game.

Also, aren't those two particular celebrities struggling financially like the rest of us so are they really a viable authority on making some “extra cash?”

Euro RSCG Edge created the spots, their execution was fine but because of the nature of the spot I don’t think they had much room for “out of the box ideas.” I mean the spots, I believe originated from infomercial concepts as mentioned earlier.

With the current state of our economy, thousands of people losing their jobs, and everyone looking for ways to make some extra cash to get by, maybe having an infomercial during the big game should be expected? But then again maybe it’s just a sign of the times?

But once again, what's on this blog is simply my opinion.

Best,
A.B.

Best Buy

Best Buy must have some truly sarcastic people in their marketing department. I saw this image being discussed on Adfreak. I thought it was one last swing at Best Buy's fallen competitor Circuit City. Then I thought about it for a bit and realized that they weren't trying to take one last shot at all. They were simply stating the facts.

Circuit City won't be around for Best Buy to match or beat its prices. But from looking at the sign on the right, you get the feeling that Best Buy wasn't to broken up about a competitor exiting the marketplace.

I can't seem to confirm who made this sign but it might have been simply their in-house marketing team.

From a few articles I read online which stated BBDO, New York as its agency. But that really doesn't mean anything with respect to this sign. This sign may have been created in-house or by individual stores, I can't really confirm.

Best,
A.B.

Super Bowl XLIII Commercial 2009

Well as most of you know, yesterday was the Superbowl and what comes with it, the multi-million dollar ads. Below are some of my favorites and I was hoping to get some feedback from you guys by having you vote on what ads you thought were the best out of the ones I thought were good. "You can vote by choosing your favorite ad from the poll on the far right. Also, below are the spots and the agencies that created them.

You can see all the Superbowl spots by going to this AdAge article.

E*Trade: Talking Baby

Agency: Grey, New York

Coke: Coke Heist

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy

Coke Zero: Mean Troy

Agency: Crispin Porter & Bogusky

Taco Bell: Speed Date

Agency: Draft FCB, Irvine

GoDaddy.com: Baseball

Agency: In-house

GoDaddy.com: Shower

Agency: In-house

Well enjoy the spots everybody.

Best,
A.B.