Kevin Costner's Apple Ad

Did you guys know that the famous Kevin Costner was in a Apple commercial? Not only was he in an Apple commercial, he was in commercial promoting the Apple Lisa II. Yes, the machine that was originally named for Steve Jobs’s daughter Lisa

As you all know, TBWA Chiat/Day designs most of Apples’ commercials.

Best,

-A.B.

Mac Hits Back

Apple has shot back at PC's bargain Hunter ads with new ones like the one shown above. I'd have to say that it is probably funnier then most. Again, Apple's ad agency is TBWA Chiat/Day.

Best,
A.B.

Pepsi’s I’m Good

I saw the above Pepsi Max spot during last night’s Laker game against the Jazz and must admit I fell out of my chair because of laughing so hard. The ad is more of a slapstick comedy routine versus true promotion of a product. Several guys from the commercial would have severe brain damage if the ad was “real.” I should probably feel bad for finding humor in grown men hurting themselves and then quickly proclaiming, “I’m good.” But doesn’t our culture condone watching people hurt themselves for our amusement? I mean that why the ad above is so funny, right?

The ad agency is once again TBWA Chiat/Day, I seem to be discussing ads for clients they work on a lot the past few weeks. The spot apparently appeared during this years’ Superbowl but I don’t remember seeing it at all. The ad barely shows the product until the last two seconds of the commercial. Pepsi must think that they will be in the forefront of the consumer’s mind simply by being funny. Never mind that they won’t recall what product was being advertised.

As stated earlier, I seem to be discussing Chiat/Day’s work quite a bit the past few weeks. And I know that there is some great advertising out there with agencies that deserve some recognition. So if you have some campaigns or ads that you would like me to discuss please let me know.

Best,
A.B.

Absolut Hugs

Several months ago, on February 10^th to be exact I wrote about Absolut and how it became the first distilled spirits company to have a commercial appear on prime time CBS owned station. The above spot is another commercial in the “Absolut World” campaign. In an “Absolut World” hugs and kisses are the currency of choice traded for real world items. The spot above is the UK version of the ad.

To me, the spot seemed a bit “loving” which is not usually a word you would use to describe anything related to vodka. The song in the spot is “Money makes the World go Around” goes well with the spot. The creative idea is communicated very well through the images and the song in the background.

The spot actually made me feel good, is that weird or what?

Anyway, the ad agency is once again TBWA/Chiat/Day

Best,
A.B.

A Make-Believe Language?

I read the advertising section of the New York Times a featured article by Stuart Elliot where he discusses the new ad campaign by Mars which is the parent company of Snickers. The Snickers folks are at it again. There campaign this time is centered around the a make-believe language called Snacklish.

According to the Times article Snacklish is a humorous way of speaking everyday phrases into the Snicker-centric language. For example, the phrase Patrick Ewing becomes "Patrick Chewing" according to the Times piece. The site Snickers.com will soon have a translator where people can translate their own phrases.

My question is, who are you kidding? Are they really targeting the correct audience in this situation? Are males 18-34 really going to engage on a campaign that focuses on make-believe language. To me a make-believe language is more suitable for girls ages 9-15 not adult males. But really what do I know. Men that old are not going to want to speak in their own "special" language with their friends. I think inherently it lacks masculinity.

The campaign by TBWA Chiat/Day, New York will be introduced in stages according to the Times. The campaign will appear through several media TV, online, and outdoor. This campagin follows some that were considered inapproperate or homophobic. Lets hope the candy maker does better with this one.

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.

Better Results

Yes this is another Mac VS PC commercial. In this Mac ad, the Mac compares its and PC's movie making abilities. They demonstrate the Mac's movie making superiority by presenting the movie as a beautiful woman while PC has a man dressed as an ugly woman as the movie they produced.

Mac commercials are some of the greatest creative execution I've ever seen. But everything has to come to an end. I feel that the execution above insults the intelligence of the audience. Why you ask, because it says that all you have to do is show a beautiful woman in a commercial and the dumb consumers will buy our product. And I strongly believe that consumers are a lot smarter then this ad gives them credit for. Don't get me wrong, Mac seem to be the current "hip" trend but did Chiat/Day run out of ideas so they decided lets put a pretty woman in our spot, that will sell. The ad might as well have been a car commercial.

This is probably common knowledge but TBWA/Chiat/Day are Apple's agency. They have been doing Apple's ads for many years. they were responsible for the famous 1984 spot. Honestly I don't believe spot will result into "Better Results."

Let me know what you all think?

Best,
A.B.

PC vs MAC: Transformer Style

I found this video, initially on creativebits.org an Apple oriented design community but it is a YouTube video. This piece of creative was created by Nick Greenlee, a digital media designer. The piece is an absolute mastery of digital computer-generated imagery.

The reason I feel the need to talk about it here is because it combines the Mac vs PC ads with the 2007 Transformers movie very well. I actually thought it was a brand new commercial created by TBWA Chiat/Day. This short movie not only combines the Mac commercials with the Transformers movie— it also has a little Terminator thrown in there. It gives you a literal demonstration of how Macs kick PCs' asses.

What do you all think?

Nick, you are an absolute master and I salute you.

Best,
A.B.