Hit me with your best shot

What’s up with gratuitous violence in commercials? We see all kinds of physical abuse in television advertisements in a vain attempt at humor. How has this become mainstream? Are companies and ad agency creative strategists that lacking in imagination and that desperate to get noticed that they take the PR dictum - any publicity is good publicity - and apply it to advertising?

A beer can beans an old man in the head. A soda can (intended for the husband), strikes a woman in the head. A boy nails his dad in the noodle with a baseball as he surfs the net on his cell phone (really?!). A beer bottle knocks a knight out.

Say, um, what’s that taste like?

Chicken. Why? What’s yours taste like?

“WHAP!” = a smack in the face.

That sounds good! Giggle. You got yourself a sandwich sir!

This exchange doesn’t (or shouldn’t) pass the gut check test. Really, it’s downright ridiculous and it’s not funny. Nor is it acceptable behavior; yet, where’s the outcry?

Crickets chirping.

Have you noticed it’s the guy most always taking the beating? Mock, denigrate and humiliate men. A male being bruised and abused is all the rage. Hitting below the belt, figuratively and literally, is common, be it insulting his intelligence, challenging his manhood, or whacking him in the nether regions with a walker, football or a lad’s fist.

This passes for CLIO-worthy advertising? How does an agency and company develop a campaign on this approach? How does any of it sell product? How does this behavior ingratiate a company with its customers and nearly half of the population i.e. men? How does it burnish the corporate and product brands?

I daresay it doesn’t. Descending to such base humor and behavior smacks of an absence of vision, strategy, differentiation, an understanding of your customers, or respect for their intelligence.

It’s a bad trend and it can’t end soon enough.

What’s your take? Do you disagree with me? Present your argument in the comments section. Hit me with your best shot.

del.icio.us Tags: TV commercial,advertising,commercial,television advertising,publicity,focus group,test,gut check,brand affinity,customer retention,ad agency,creative,CLIO,differentiation,strategy,humor

Did Groupon put the dupe on you?

Come on, admit it. You fell for it, and maybe part of your indifferent reaction to special interest groups (SIGs) hammering Groupon is because you were fooled.

It’s a bit of bait and switch, but you don’t feel betrayed. There’s a driblet of cleverness to it. It’s clearly tongue-in-cheek with a splash of humor.

A Super Bowl ad? There was something fishy about this commercial from the start.

The discerning person understands Groupon isn’t trivializing any causes. Almost from the get-go, you can feel and see it in the tone of each commercial that everything isn’t what it seems. Your intuition is rewarded when the scenes change and Tim, Cuba and Elizabeth speak of special deals they earned by acting quickly on a Groupon offer.

I know what you’re thinking: isn’t my position on these commercials contradictory to my take on the HomeAway commercial in my previous post?

Not at all.

Save the money and have a whale of a good time watching leviathans jumping.

Groupon is a different case entirely. I argue that the Groupon commercials passed the tests the HomeAway “Test Baby” ad flunked miserably, and they did so with flying colors. Why? Because nothing in the Groupon commercials startle you or make you wince. The takeaway message is simple and memorable, and the subtle amusement of the ads draw smiles from most viewers. Brand affinity at worst stays neutral, but more likely is enhanced because the public appreciates wit drawn while walking a fine line.

Something else. While many of us may sympathize with the plight of the Tibetan people, few of us are actively involved or support their cause in any way. The same goes for whales and the demise of the Amazon rainforest. We’re too far removed from these important issues and until we feel the pain directly, we’ll stay passively interested. The organizations that stepped up and and buried the HomeAway “Test Baby” commercial represent issues that are far more personal. Probably 99% of us can sympathize with injury to a helpless and completely dependent infant and we all can comprehend the horrific lifelong consequences of a brain injury.

Regrettably, loud voices not of reason won out and Groupon has decided to stop running the commercials.

I suggest Groupon missed an opportunity to seize the upper hand and gain the support of those sympathizing the state of the Tibetan people, the Amazon rainforest and whales. All they had to do was promote a well-known organization that is aids each cause. Add a message at the bottom of each commercial with a web URL to donate, and, a promise that Groupon will match donations up to a total of, oh, I don’t know, something non-trivial, like, say, $1,000,000.

Problem solved.

Wax philosophical as you wonder….

Sidebar
Most evocative line in the series: “But not all deforestation is bad.” When Ms. Hurley reveals the Groupon savings is for a Brazilian wax at Completely Bare, the naked truth of its inference is quite titillating and elicits all kinds of emotions and reactions from both sexes.

Is she, or isn’t she? Or have we all been duped?

del.icio.us Tags: TV commercial,television advertising,advertising commercial,advertising,publicity,focus group,test,brand affinity,Groupon,Tibet,Tibetan people,Timothy Hutton,Tibetan steak,China,whales,whaling,Whalewatch,Greenpeace,Sea Shephard,Cuba Gooding Jr.,Amazon Rain Forest,deforestation,Brazil,Brazilian wax,Elizabeth Hurley,HomeAway,Test Baby,Sarah Jane Brain Foundation,Prevent Child Abuse Organization,Save the Amazon Rainforest,Amazon International Rainforest Reserve,special interest groups,SIGs

Don’t try this at Home(Away)

I get it. I understand the mindset that any publicity is good publicity. Brands are desperate to be in the conversation, and any conversation, good or bad, is better than no one talking about you. Celebrities, publicists, athletes, agents, politicians, advisors, CEOs, ad agencies. There is a certain segment of these populations that fear not being in the public consciousness. It’s a bit of desperation. An innate and insatiable insecurity that feeds on their soul. Sometimes, it drives them to make unwise decisions.

HomeAway’s Test Baby commercial is one of them.

Now don’t jump to conclusions. My objection has nothing to do with the notion that some morons delight in child abuse. Nor does it have anything to do with the horrific consequences of brain injuries. It’s not because I’m miserable or morose. On the contrary, I have a glass half full mentality and a keen sense of humor.

My fundamental dislike for the commercial lies in the obvious. It fails to meet some fundamentals of advertising. I’m going to focus on one: test.

Test Baby are the two most important words spoken in this commercial. I expect that the advertisement underwent a rigor of tests within the agency and client arenas. Whether or not there was much debate is immaterial. There were plenty of red flags ignored.

What about the common sense test, baby? I mean come on, did the test baby face plant visual pass anyone’s gut check test? Seriously? Even for the person with the most warped sense of humor, there had to be that gnawing feeling that this was distasteful, or at least a recognition that it was a bad idea.

What about the focus group test, baby? How many viewers flinched when the test baby hit the glass, then smiled or giggled in embarrassed relief when they remembered that the baby wasn’t real? How animated was the conversation amongst focus group participants and were the passions strongly divided?

What about the message test, baby? How many members of the test groups effectively articulated the intended key takeaways?

What about the brand affinity test, baby? Affinity is defined as a natural attraction, liking, or feeling of kinship. What do you think? How does the commercial on a whole make the target audience feel about the HomeAway brand? Did you take pause? Did HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples take pause?

FAIL: Test Baby face plant incites public passions.

Tests have a purpose and the results are not to be ignored or rationalized. A go decision should come back to how the commercial initiates the prospect to take a desired action. In this case, that would be to make a reservation with a property on the HomeAway website.

Somehow, I don’t think Test Baby drove folks to HomeAway.com to make a reservation. To express serious reservations with the commercial? More than likely, yes.

There’s plenty of conversation about this commercial, but it’s for all of the wrong reasons. Sorry HomeAway, but you flunked the test, baby.

del.icio.us Tags: TV commercial,television advertising,commercial,advertising,publicity,focus group,test,brand affinity,vacation home,Test Baby,HomeAway,CEO Brian Sharples,vacation home rental

Super Bowl adstravaganza™

Does anyone question that the advertising industry’s biggest day happens to coincide with the grandest sporting event on the planet? The 2011 Super Bowl enjoyed the largest viewing audience in television history according to the Nielson ratings. Advertisers and their agencies couldn’t be giddier. It’s the Super Bowl adstravanza™ and it’s become as anticipated and celebrated as the sports spectacular it funds.

Social media was abuzz with chatter about ads as they were airing. Mainstream and internet media hyped the commercials and many wrote extensive critiques along with links to advertiser’s YouTube sites.

I listened to sports and talk radio on Monday and heard as much banter about the ads as I did about the game.

It’s truly awesome and I love it.

For the big game, I parked myself on the sofa, laptop on my lap (where else?), and wrote briefs on most every commercial as it aired. Here’s my take on a few advertisements:

Stella Artois “Crying Jean” is a lovely commercial. A French male singer in a dusty bar croons a jazz love song. Haunting trumpet. Beautiful women moved to tears as he lays out his passion for her. "When I open my eyes, you were gone” as we see a visual of an empty Stella Artois glass. Expressions of agony and regret. Head drops down, then slowly lifts as he next whispers…“When I open my eyes,” cut to a full glass of Stella Artois being placed on a table, “we’re together” he picks up the full glass of Stella Artois and looks at it longingly, “again.” Applause. “Merci.” Stella Artois logo and tagline: She is a thing of beauty. The commercial? Yes, she is a thing of beauty.

Eminem may have stolen the evening serving as the spokesperson for Lipton and Chrysler. Who ever expected the rap artist to be a puppet for anyone, but that he is in the Lipton Brisk Ice Tea commercial. We hear the puppet Eminem explain his demands for being a spokesperson (hot chicks, video shot at his house, he writes and performs the music, he must actually like the product and the product must be renamed to include his moniker) as he strolls through a rolling change of scenery that depicts each demand. The visuals effects are sweet and the crisp humor keeps you engaged.

Eminem with a Brisk attitude about doing commercials

The Chrysler 200 commercial is breathtaking. Masterfully written, beautifully envisioned and superbly edited, the two minute commercial hails Detroit as anything but what you’ve heard and read. Eminem evokes one simple sentence, “This is the Motor City, and this is what we do.” Chills flowed from the base of my spine to the crown of my head. It’s a wow moment. The tagline: The Chrysler 200 has arrived. Imported from Detroit.

Wonderful video testimony to the spirit of Detroit. The iconic images of the Motor City rock.

The ad inspires the viewer to reconsider perceptions and understandings of the country’s most beleaguered city. Powerful.

CareerBuilder revived the “Working with Monkeys” campaign starring Griffin Creech with a new installment titled “Parking Lot”. You can’t lose when you put monkeys in suits in a commercial. Check out this short on how the commercial was pieced together. Mighty interesting.

The E*TRADE baby commercials were excellent, as usual.

The Bud Light spots didn’t do anything for me, but I found the Budweiser “Wild West” commercial entertaining.

Doritos. Are they so good a guy will lick another man’s fingers and rip a male co-worker’s pants off to inhale the crumbs off them? This commercial just did not work for me. The comedic intent fell flat, and as I heard someone else express, once you’ve seen the gag, it’s no longer funny. What a colossal waste of money IMHO.

Chevy Cruze. I loved the goodnight kiss commercial. As the guy drives home he fires up OnStar and requests a news feed to find out what his date, Jennifer French, just posted as her Facebook status. “Best first date ever” brings a smile to everyone’s face. Who amongst the social media generation doesn’t covet a Chevy Cruze with OnStar now?

The NFL Best Fans Ever commercial is a cruise down sitcom memory lane with a few currently airing shows sprinkled in. How much work went into inserting NFL team softwear, schwag and references throughout? Celebrating your audience. Simply brilliant.

Hey! We can’t miss the commercials!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a local advertiser props.  “You Can’t Spell Texas Without H-E-B”. Jack Ingram extolling the virtues of the Lone Star State may rank as one of the best local commercials of the Super Bowl adtravaganza.

There are so many other commercials worthy of mention, but alas, this post is long enough. To view all of the Super Bowl commercials in one convenient location, go here. Then come back and tell me which which ad is your favorite and why.

del.icio.us Tags: Super Bowl commercials,Nielson,YouTube,Stella Artois,E*TRADE,Chevrolet,Chevy Cruze,OnStar,Facebook,social media,CareerBuilder,monkeys,Griffin Creech,Lipton Brisk Ice Tea,Eminem,puppets,Detroit,Motor City,luxury automobiles,Chrysler 200,Bud Light,Budweiser,Pepsi Max,Pepsi Zero,NFL,Southpark

In harmoney with the environment

It may be one of the more bizarre creative executions ever in television advertising. The Toyota Prius “Harmony” commercial evokes memories of the Land of Oz with its use of people as metaphors of nature.

A white Prius drives the countryside. As it moves through the scenery, the sky brightens, grasses shimmer, and plants, flowers and trees blossom and presumably breathe easier - along with the butterflies - thanks to the environment-friendly Prius. The water flows clearer and the sky is a vibrant blue, all due to the cleaner emissions from the Prius tailpipe.

The visuals are striking. You can clearly see the link between humans and nature with the use of human beings (many appear to be children, and what is more precious than a child) outfitted as grass, plants, flowers, trees, butterflies, clouds and even the sun. The message is driven home: humans and nature are one and the same when it comes to the environment. We are all dependent on clean air, water and earth to thrive.

The song “Let Your Love Flow”, a #1 hit by the Bellamy Brothers back in the year of the U.S. bicentennial, is an inspired choice. It is performed by Petra Haden. Lifted from a Toyota tweet: She sings it acapella; every sound you hear, even the instruments are her.

The lyrics in this wonderful song impart a powerful message Toyota wisely wants associated with the Prius: if you let your love bind you to all living things, you’ll choose the Toyota Prius and help Mother Nature breathe easier.

“You get more power, and more space. The world gets fewer smog-forming emissions. The third generation Prius. It’s harmony between man, nature and machine.”

Have you, or will you purchase a Prius and let your cash, I mean, love flow to Toyota?

del.icio.us Tags: Toyota,Prius,Harmony TV commercial,tv advertising,Let Your Love Flow,Bellamy Brothers,Petra Haden,lower emissions,cleaner environment,Mother Nature

That’s a goat

Do you have to go all out to go all natural? It’s a provocative question that’s posed in a Hormel Natural Choice sandwich meat commercial currently airing.

The commercial opens with John’s wife shooing him over to the shared property line to ask his neighbor what’s up with his property. Doug pops up amongst a vast array of grains and vegetation, responds to John’s greeting and answers his question about the bizarre overgrowth.  “Joan is on this all natural kick,” Doug explains. John is astounded, taking in the bucolic scene in his suburban neighborhood.

“That’s a goat,” he exclaims, pointing at Doug’s roof. Sure enough, there’s a goat eating vegetation that’s inexplicably sprawling across the shingles. “Yea,” Doug sheepishly acknowledges. In the background, Joan pops up and greets her neighbor. “Hi John,” she brays in a sweet voice as she waves, revealing that she doesn’t shave under her arms and that she’s apparently unclothed, taking au naturel to an unexpected extreme. Clearly taken aback by the sight of her, John weakly returns the greeting.

Cut to a view of the house from across the street. In the blue sky above Doug’s house pops the question:

Q: Do you have to go all out to go all natural?

Up to this point I love the commercial. What a fabulous idea! True, we’ve glided through two-thirds of the 30-second spot and we have no idea what product or service is being promoted, but our attention is rapt. We can’t wait to find out.

Cut to a beauty shot of a package of Hormel Natural Choice sandwich meat on a white plate with an olive green background.

“Not with Hormel Natural Choice sandwich meat.”

Say what?! Hormel sandwich meat? Are you kidding me?

What a misfit. Did the Hormel advertising agency, BBDO, have this concept pretty well baked, sitting on the shelf waiting for a client to bite? Hormel needed a commercial to promote its Natural Choice sandwich meats that have no preservatives. All natural = No preservatives. The equation isn’t perfect for me, but the folks at Hormel loved it, or were too seduced by the creative to make a rationale decision.

I see it as a huge disconnect. The narrative doesn’t lend itself to home-made deli sandwiches. I expected it to be for a home and garden business or related product.

Exacerbate the disconnect by showing the wrong character – Doug – enjoying the all natural sandwich. Weren’t you expecting to see Joan? Didn’t you get the sense Doug was exasperated with Joan’s nature kick: that he had had about all he could stomach? I did.

“Great taste. No preservatives. Hormel. Life better served.”

Huh!

“That’s a goat!” is correct. The goat is whoever green lighted this concept for sandwich meat.

del.icio.us Tags: advertising,TV commercial,television advertising,au naturel,BBDO,Hormel All Natural sandwich meats,no preservatives,that's a goat

15 percent of fame

There are so many Geico commercials airing it’s almost too much, even for me. I must be square in the center of their target demographic because I see their commercials most every time I watch television. These days, I mostly tune in sporting events (I’m watching Dallas Stars hockey and the Gecko “technical difficulties disco ball” commercial is airing as I type this) and Geico is ubiquitous as an advertiser. What’s striking is I notice their logo at many sports venues while watching a game. Talk about branding.

Geico always seems to have three distinct campaigns airing simultaneously with several installments running in each. For the longest time, they had the Caveman series. Many good advertisements comprised that effort. Googly-eyes didn’t enjoy a long life, but somehow, the creative folks from The Martin Agency developed quite a few superb TV ads. The Gecko and his boss, the stately company spokesperson, have been teaming on Geico commercials for a nice stretch. Seems like it been about two years, I’d estimate. New installments keep appearing and all are very fresh. The Mistaken Identity commercial is hilarious:

Woman: “You! Oh, don’t act like you don’t recognize me. Toledo? '03?”

Gecko: No…it’s, uh…

Woman: “It’s too late, Stanley.”

Gecko: “Actually, miss, my, my name’s not Stanley.”

Woman: “Oh. Oh, I’m so sorry. From behind you look just like him. I’m just….”

Gecko: “I’d hate to be Stanley.”

No kidding.

The third series features actor Mike McGlone delivering his best Robert Stack impression, asking, “Can Geico really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance?” Here are two of my faves from this series:

Can woodchucks really chuck wood? Apparently. The commercial delivers a rather clever twist on the rhetorical question, but it’s the woodchuck’s laugh that makes the commercial a winner. It just tickles your funny bone. So does the line “Hey you dang woodchucks, quit chucking my wood!”

You either love or hate Piggy. Crying “Wee! Wee-wee-wee!” incessantly all the way home can grate on one’s nerves. Just look at Mrs. A. Clearly, she’s frazzled when Maxwell finally exits the vehicle. Many viewers probably respond the same way. To them, this commercial couldn’t end soon enough.

The pinwheels are priceless. Do you think we could get them from Geico for 15 percent off?

Why three advertising campaigns airing at the same time? Because each delivers on their powerful brand message: “Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance” in a clean and memorable fashion. The Mike McGlone as Robert Stack commercials ask if the fifteen percent savings claim is true, and answer the question with a rhetorical question that is answered in a video snippet (Yes, Abe Lincoln was honest). The Gecko commercials reinforce the savings message, but from a completely different creative angle. The Gecko and his boss talk about the various insurance products Geico offers for boats, RVs and motorcycles and the kinds of discounts customers can receive. Googly-eyes cleverly showed prospects the stack of money they could save with Geico, and boy was that stack of money appealing. The Caveman commercials conveyed how easy it is to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance from Geico; “So simple, even a caveman…” you know how it finishes.

The brilliance in Geico’s strategy is that they don’t try to give you ten, five or even three compelling reasons to buy their insurance products. Rather, they drive home one simple and memorable selling point everyone can understand and they do it better than most anyone else.

Which is your favorite Geico commercial? Check out their YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/user/GEICO and cast your vote here in my Comment section.

del.icio.us Tags: advertising,TV commercial,television advertising,Geico,The Martin Agency,Gecko,Mistaken Identity,Stanley,Woodchucks,Piggy,Maxwell,Mrs. A.,Mike McGlone,Robert Stack