Who thought of that?

Commercials have vastly improved since the advent of commercials. Conversely, they’ve also gotten worse. I wonder each day how some marketing ideas get past the brainstorming stage. Someone actually thought they had a good idea and convinced someone else it was good AND to pay for it. How do I get that job?

A few examples:
The creepy Burger King “King”…many people have a fear of masks, or clowns so hey I know! Let’s put one in a commercial. What a *great* idea! And Burger King should definitely fire their advertising agents at this point; the horrifyingly bad Super Bowl commercial is proof positive of that. No one knows who Busby Berkley is anymore.

And what Rocket Scientist came up with the latest Kotex ads and packaging? Anything remotely related to a woman’s hygiene product should NOT…let me say that again…NOT NOT NOT include any red spots, splotches or splashes. What the hell were they thinking? That it’s beautiful? Ummm no. That we’re supposed to look at the mess like Rohrsach tests? Oh Hell No.

I’m not sure what Cat People did to insult the advertising community, but they sure have pissed someone off. There’s no other rational explanation for any number of the cat food commercials. I’ve even heard romantic music in the background…to borrow a line from the movie The Truth About Cats & Dogs… “It’s okay to love your pets but it’s not okay to LOVE your pets.”

Are cars or mattresses ever NOT on sale? And can we turn the volume down? Just a little?

The one that made me yell at the television the most recently is a lotion ad. Something about Freedom is not having dry skin. Um, really? Let’s talk to someone from a Third World country and see if they agree with that thought.

Also, I have noticed that every few years there is a new neurosis that is to be sold to the American people. Right now it’s sleep related: sleeping pills, special mattresses. Last year it was teeth-whitening products. The ongoing hair struggle is always changing. There’s always something to worry about when it’s your hair. I even saw a commercial for darkening a man’s beard, not his hair. His beard. Because that will make all the difference, I’m sure.

However, the use of songs has improved commercials, if only to catch people’s attention. The new Nike ad with Back in Black by AC/DC…I’m not sure of the correlation of the song and the product, but I don’t care. It’s a rocking song. The new Old Navy jingle is fun and happy.

One of the Dodge ads feature a song with the lyric “Now you’re messing with a son-of-a-bitch” Of course, they’ve left that out but anyone who knows the song, hears it. It’s a great little inside joke.

Use of popular music can also go horribly wrong. “Crumbelievable” is an abomination.
One of the commercials uses the song Ina Godda Davida. It’s about retirement funds, I think. How’s that for a gut check? Feeling old now? And what the hell does the song have to do with retirement funds?

I do feel badly for people who are my parents age. The advertisers are marketing to our generation (The X one) and it must be horrifying to the older generations. I’m sure the mute button is the most used button on the remote in homes of the over 70 generation.

Not all commercials are stupid. Some of my faves:
The Geico ads are fabulous. The Gecko is cute, especially the newest version with the Australian accent. The Neanderthals are one of my favorites ever. How they made them look so indignant, a complicated emotion (or so we thought) for a Neanderthal is beyond me. The irony of him ordering the roast duck with the mango salsa, a rather sophisticated dining choice for oh, a Neanderthal makes me giggle as well.

The latest T-Mobile ads make me giggle too. We’ve all known people like the realtor or the little cheerleader. We all know, or ARE, the people cell phone addiction.

Ooh, and one of my new favorites is CareerBuilder.com. It’s a little play off of The Office but with actual monkeys.

One of the local ads that I hope are used elsewhere are for the Credit Union Association. It has a fun little jingle that one finds themselves singing along to.

Another ad we've noticed is an insurance bureau ad with little clay, toy soldier-style people. It begins with a woman coming out from her house while others join her, creating a network. The funny thing about this is that she has what the Mad Genius calls Impressive Cleavage.
It seems like it’s a little inside joke from the creators of this ad who may not have been totally satisfied with it.

Some friendly advice to the Advertising community from my humble self: Entertain us, catch our attention, and make it fun to watch. Don’t patronize or insult us. We’re smarter than that. This is not the generation of dancing aspirins and Queen for a Day.
Think Super Bowl ads (the successful ones, by the way) without the million dollar budgets. You don't have to spend a million dollars to make a good commercial.