Motherhood, the Fiat 500L and Commentary

Inside That Ad's first video blog post with commentary discussing the Fiat 500L Motherhood Ad.

Advertising Agency: Krow Communications, London, UK
Client: Fiat

Please give me feedback on what you guys think of video blogging.

Best,
-A.B.

Motherhood and the Fiat 500L

Advertising Agency: Krow Communications, London, UK

ADversaries: Bracket styled ad fight

Description:

Who's the all-time greatest creative man or woman in advertising? Your vote decides in this sweet 16 tournament to determine the Creative King or Queen of Advertising.

Check it out here.

https://sites.google.com/site/mayuradocs/PinIt.png

To Read more go to: http://kissmyblackads.blogspot.com/2012/06/adversaries-bracket-styled-ad-fight.html

Amen, Brother

Craig Brimm, founder of the advertising blog Kiss My Black Ads, created the image above. I had to write about the ad because as a guy on the client service side of advertising. I felt truer words were never spoken.

Plus, I really like the background design that the text lays on.

Best,

-A.B.

TiVo Come TiVo Go

So I have to tell you guys, I got TiVo on May 7st and returned it May 13th. I was all excited about being able to watch all the shows I try to follow throughout the week at anytime. But I quickly realized that it would not be able to serve my needs because my TV runs on a Direct TV cable box. Being on the Direct TV system means I would not be able to record a show on one channel while watching another because the Direct TV box was a single tuner, to me this shortcoming sort of defeated the purpose of having a DVR system. I mean, why have a recorder if you are going to be forced to watch what’s being recorded at the time, right?

In the short time that I had it an interesting ad caught my attention while live TV was on pause. An ad popped-up across the bottom of the screen like the one shown in the image below and it required interaction from me so that it could provide more information. My question is, do these ads ever result in a purchase for the advertiser? It’s a great idea if you are simply going for brand awareness.



Anyway, let me know what you guys think. By the way, the image is not from my TV but it provides you with the main idea of the post.

Best,
A.B.

Beckham, Terminator 5

David Beckham is in another ad, what do you know. This time it isn’t an underwear ad it is for Moterola. I like the ad because its drawing inspiration from the classic Terminator movies. What purpose do these Becham ads serve except for being eye candy for the ladies? The TV spot above barley shows the product.

The ads must have taken some heavy Photoshop work at the semi-comp and comp stage from the people at Ogilvy Advertising, UK. But I am sure they knew they needed to take full advantage of Beckham’s star power. His endorsement of the Aura phone by Motorola gives it tremendous credibility.

I don’t know if the ladies will be cutting the ads out of magazines as much with this campaign as they did with the underwear ads. What do you guys think of the new ad?

Best,
A.B.

PC, Fighting The Good Fight

On March 28th I wrote about the new ads being produced by Crispin Porter + Bogusky for the Windows platform to fight off the Apple marketing assault. The ads are still attacking the fact that Macs are still very expensive and aren’t available to everyone. In the ad above CP+B uses two kids, while in their first attempt they used the naive PC shopper “Lauren” who we found out later, is just an actress and probably not looking for a new PC.

She probably went back home and got right on her top of the line iMac. I honestly don’t think these ads will make much of a difference in the mind of the consumer. If they are price sensitive they’ll go for PC, if they are not and like what Macs can do they will probably buy it.

Best
A.B.

Mac VS PC Ad Wars Continue

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:0bb6a07c-c829-4562-8375-49e6693810c7&amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;from=shared" target="_new" title="Laptop Hunters $1000 &#8211; Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion">Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 &#8211; Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion</a>

So Microsoft has come up with a new advertising tactic in an attempt to combat the beating Apple has given the Microsoft brand with its Mac vs. PC ads. The Redmond company’s new advertising tactic is to point out the significant price increase between Macs and a traditional Windows PC. The price is about the only point that Microsoft can honestly combat the folks down in Cupertino with.

In the ad above the actress proclaims after visiting the Apple Store and not finding a laptop within her price range, she was not cool enough to be a Mac person. She promptly got in her car and headed to a store loaded with many “Windows” options. At the store of course, the young actress found the PC for her. To conclude the commercial the actress declares, “I’m a PC and I got just what I wanted.”

Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the hot Miami ad shop created the spot lovingly dubbed “Laptop Hunters” The Microsoft account is worth approximately 300 million to the agency. Hopefully these ads are more acceptable unlike the Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld spots the agency did previously. Those ads were a flop in my opinion. Also, with the current state of the economy I think people will appreciate the PC’s lower prices.

But I have to say I am a Mac guy myself. By the way I’ve written before on Mac vs. PC ads but from a creative execution point of view as oppose to the message being promoted here with “I’m a PC.”

Best,
A.B.

Spook Recruitment Ads

I can’t believe the CIA is using the mainstream media to recruit future spooks. Now don’t get me wrong; I don’t see anything wrong with using all methods available to spread the word about your needs. But I mean come on your not going to work for Wal-Mart, it’s the C.I. freaking A! The CIA apparently needs a few good men — and women. I wonder can we blame this on the current state of the economy too?

Their ads, both in radio and in print are for the National Clandestine Service (NCS). According to the Wikipedia article about these guys they are the ones that conduct government sponsored secret missions. You know what I’m talking about Chuck Norris — Delta Force type stuff.

All of the agency’s ads use buzzwords such as "patriotism," "adventure" and they also reek of government ambiguity. But, do I have a right to complain if that’s what it takes to keep me safe?

According to one article on a government Web-site the CIA’s recruitment office creates its own ads.

Here are some TV ads that I found via YouTube. The agency’s TV spots usually appear on channels like the Discovery Channel. You can view the T.V. spot here.

Best,
A.B.

Feelin' Sorry for Myself

Last night I was watching the TV show Trust Me, a show that I've previously discussed on this blog. One of their two storylines for last night's episode was about about a guy who was fired because his work was just not very good. Several years later the main characters in the show give him another chance only to discover that he still isn't very good. So now they need to fire him again and the show takes off from there.

So here is my question, when do you realize that you aren't going to make it in the ad business and look for a new line of work? Maybe I should stop thinking that I'll be working for an ad agency anytime soon.

Best,
A.B.

So Jack Isn't Dead?

I am sure that most of you have heard by now that in an effort to engage the audience Jack in the Box debut a spot during the Superbowl where Jack, their mascot, gets hit by a bus. After he is hit he goes into a coma that he was in for a month. Now that Jack is out of the coma, The Hang In There Jack campaign is coming to an end. You can see the campaign at Hang In There Jack.

The famous Jack is announcing plans for a new logo and a new Web-site design. Advancements do help get people out of comas, right? Personally I was turned off of the burger chain a few years ago because of an incident but that's not saying they aren't good. They just aren't what I prefer.

I can't find the ad agency responsible for the Hang In There Jack" campaign but I am working on it. I must say they went all out for this campaign, developing a site where people can visit Jack, Leave well wishes, and even a physical address to send get well cards. Also you can of course see the drasma happening in the hospital.

One of their ad agencies is Secret Weapon Marketing but I am not sure if they are responsible for the Hang In There Jack campaign. But Jack isn't so they can come up with more cheesy campaigns.

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.

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.