Become A Girl Toy

Really don’t have much to say about the spot above except it was really funny and well executed. The agency, & Co from Denmark made me think it was some sort of PSA to stop violence. But really, Jack & Jones is a jeans store.

Anyway, who wouldn’t become a girl toy?

Best,
-A.B.

Chalupas and Yankees

For the life of me, I can’t find out for sure who the ad agency behind the Taco Bell/ Yankees spot shown above is. I think it’s either TBWA Chiat/Day or DraftFCB but again I am not sure. If anyone knows for sure please leave a comment below. If you’ve watched any preseason baseball on TV then I’m sure you have all seen it at least once.

The whole idea behind the spot is that they use a baseball metaphor to present the joke behind the spot. In the spot the rookie can’t finish the job of eating the whole Chalupa so the manager (Joe Girardi) pulls the rookie out and brings in veteran pitcher Mariano Rivera to finish the job.

Does the spot make you guys wonder why these two wealthy Yankees need to be making Taco Bell commercial appearances? But I guess, make your money while you can, right?

Best,
-A.B.

Shake Weight For Men

The Shake Weight, a dumbbell like piece of exercise equipment has enjoyed tremendous notoriety thanks to the suggestive-way the weight is held. The weight is an arm toning workout product. The way the product is held and used is very sexually suggestive. All you have to do to have a full understanding of what I am saying is watch one or both of the videos.

"We never intended for the women's device ad to have innuendo," says Johann Verheem, the inventor of the Shake Weight according to Adfreak. Verheem goes on to say that if you use the product based on the three exercises provided, it’s not suggestive at all. Later in the same article the inventor goes on to admit that sex sells.

Me personally, I’ve never seen an infomercial that I liked simply because they always sell you things you don’t really need. Not only do you not need the product being sold but they usually are being sold to you by companies you never heard of. But I guess the objective of an informational spot is to inform consumers, although these spots usually come on when people aren’t fully conscious.

The primary ad agency for the Shake Weight is Euro RSCG but I am not 100% confident in my Google search results.



What do you guys think?

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.

Disabled Dancer

Saatchi & Saatchi, London created commercials that feature a disabled dancer for its "Life Flows Better" campaign for Visa. The dancer, Bill Shannon uses his crutches and skateboard to perform his dance routine. I guess they figured that his routine meshes well with the theme of the campaign. Out of all the creative campaigns that they could have done they chose a commercial idea that centers around a disabled dancer? Does visa have an image problem that they are trying to resolve?

I mean I have nothing against the disabled making a living, I am one myself. But I am sure that an agency with Saatchi's reputation could have come up with something more with all of its creative power.

And no I am not jealous of his dance skills I just hope he asked Visa for money. And that he wasn't one of those people that say oh I am so grateful for the opportunity to be in your commercial I'll do it for free.

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 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.