AdNausea

I have been MIA for a few days now, huh? The holiday time is always busy and this one was no exception. Not only do I have the joy of Christmas and New Years, but my boyfriend’s birthday is jammed right in there as well. So in lieu of his birthday, I thought we’d dedicated this post to…. Star Wars advertising.

And SB, “the force is strong in this one.”
David Prowse (Darth Vader)

So… let’s kick it off with some outdoor stuff done for Spike TV’s premier of… well, one or more of the movies, apparently. These ones are done very well and then there’s this boring bus banner that just has a freakin’ picture of the bad guy. I won’t show that one. These come from here.

I particularly love the last one. It took me a minute to get it, but that’s because I’m not as big of a fan of the movies. The fluorescent lights seem to be the popular eye catching gimmick (as they should be, who doesn’t know what a light saber is?!) It would definitely stop 90% of the people walking by, fans or not. Here’s another one, but this one is for a Star Wars Exhibition and can be found at one of my favorite sites ever.

Here’s another one for when Star Wars 3 (III) came out. I like how this one differs from the other lit up ones. It’s simple and clean and at first you think it’s just light beams or light sabers. Then you see the “III” and it’s awesome.

These ones are from StarWars.com and make my heart melt - the first because it’s so freakin’ funny and the second because it’s actually a very beautiful image. The first - everyone knows George Lucas likes merchandising. And spreading the Star Wars brand onto everything from cereal to children’s toilet seats, so televisions seem completely rational. But it’s a bit weird - correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that George himself sitting between Chewbacca and holding a little cuddly ewok? And are they riding a dish? Wow… weird.

And some of my very favorites, that I think SB as well as others will find delightful - In 2007, Star Wars Weekends came to Disney MGM Studios in Florida and the following ads were displayed, illuminated, in the Orland Airport. These are great ads because anyone who is familiar with the characters at all will get them, children and adults alike will enjoy them and what’s not great about seeing your favorite characters, in your world? Here ya go! And Happy Birthday!

Viewable here originally.

If anyone started singing that song as they read the header… kudos to you! For sure! Cookies for all who know it!

If you didn’t (or still have no idea what I’m talking about) you must not be home during the day to watch those awesome bits of commercial (although going to work is nice, too.)

The ditties I’m referring to come from the commercials for FreeCreditReport.com and used to annoy the hell out of me, but they’re actually very smart. I sing them all day long after I hear them, and if I ever need to get a free credit report, chances are I’ll remember this song (or one of the many) and go to them to get it. I’ll even remember the website since it’s built right into the catchy tune. (Although I have read the small print and no, it’s not free unless you enroll in a program that charges you).

Either way - the point of a good commercial, the definition of one, is one that makes you remember their brand. It makes you buy their brand. Some of the most annoying commercials have been some of the most successful because sure, they make you rip your hair out and scratch your arms off, but when you need that bandage - which brand are you going to buy?

I also like that they do a commercial in different styles of music and make fun of themselves a little bit. The first commercial is first followed (in no order) by other ones I enjoy. I can sing the bike one all on my own, just ask my boyfriend. And he says I get nothing done during the day! Pshaw!

Pirate Commercial

Dream Girl Commercial (one of my favorites)

Rock Star Commercial (not their best)

And my favorite, the Bike Commercial

There are a few more out there (the Renaissance Fair is the newest one, I think) and they’re all catchy as hell. And the guy is kind of cute, so sue me! But from an advertising standpoint, they are successful, as mentioned above. They’ve gotten a lot of business (probably based on these commercials which started airing over a year ago) and have gotten some complaints as well. I blame those more on the stupidity of some people than on the commercial. People fail to see (throughout the whole commercial at the bottom of the screen) or hear (at the end of each commercial) that you need to enroll with Triple Advantage at a cost to obtain the free credit report.

What do you guys think? Love it? Hate it?

Have you ever seen a commercial (or many) that completely piss you off? Well… these next few do it for me.

Glade has this new thing, apparently, where women are trying to be sneaky and trick people into thinking that the smell they don’t use Glade products. A candle bought from France, fresh baked cookies, etc. Apparently no one wants to admit that they buy Glade. I do, I love it! Not anymore though. I’m banning their new things, due to this following commercials. Does anyone else just want to reach in and slap that woman??

The reason I hate them so much follows each video.

1. Christmas Themed Lies:

Reasons:

• That smug look on her face after she eats the cookie. I hate it!
• The cookie that talks… if you can’t pull it off right, don’t do it at all.
• She doesn’t know how to bake! I’m sure of it.

2. Yoga Time! Lies:

Reasons:

• She “thanks” Glade, but then is embarrassed when they find it.
• Who “plugs in” to their inner self? Connect maybe, but that wouldn’t make for a pun.

3. French Knock-off Lies:

Reasons:

• Again, she thanks Glade and tries to cover it up.
• Who in France would make expensive Apples and Cinnamon candles? You can get those for like $8 in your local mall.

4. Lastly… While the family’s away - Lie!

Reasons:

• She’s a housewife, apparently she’s expected to clean all day and make the home presentable for her husband and children.
• Is this what women do during the day when they’re NOT cleaning? I hope not.
• She’s trying to trick her husband into thinking she stayed home all day. That sounds like the beginnings of an affair, although she certainly can’t cover very well.

As for the real reasons I don’t like these commercials, as opposed to my opinions, the big, bold one that stands out above all else has to do with this questions. You advertise your brand so that people will….. what? Buy your product. Correct? Yes. So there are two things wrong with this commercial for that very reason.

1. The woman is hiding from her friends the fact that she uses Glade. This leads you to believe that she doesn’t want them to know she uses Glade and that leads you to question why. Is it considered cheap? Generic? Not good enough? Will they laugh at her for shopping at Wal-Mart? Any of these excuses do not put the Glade brand in a good light. It’s like their advertisers are saying “Yes, buy our product by all means, but you may not want to let others know you buy it.” And when her friends do find out, they aren’t ashamed of her, but the look on her face certainly is one of  shame. Maybe she should stick to more expensive brands and leave my Glade alone! She is weakening the Glade name and I won’t have it!

Some side information - about the actress. Apparently her name is Dori Kelly. There is speculation as to any other information after that though. Some think she is the actress who starred in (and denied any involvement with) Winterbeast. (That website is enough to make you sick, just so you know before you click.)I watched a trailer for the movie and can’t tell if it’s her or not.

Someone else claims that they did local theater with her, she was an aspiring model that came from southeastern Pennsylvania and was not very good at acting when she was in “Bye Bye Birdie.” Which explains why she’s not good in these commercials.

I am not the only one who hates these things - most of the comments I read at another blog site, 13 Months , seem to back up my opinions and ideas. Although everyone else seems to agree with one more thing that I just can’t see… She’s hot? Everyone wants to bang her. That’s weird… because all I see is… well… not hot. So I’ll ask my loyal readers, have you seen any more commercials with her in them and do you think she’s hot?

“Even in rainy weather, it pours freely.”
Almost Morton’s slogan

Not really catchy, is it? But if you love salt as much as I do (and I know you do!) chances are you have a container of this brand of heavenly goodness in a circular paper package with a little metal spout (that hurts a little to open, yes?) somewhere in your house. Or maybe their rock salt, especially this time of year. Have you ever paid attention to the slogan or the Morton Salt Girl? I mean, really thought about it?

Here’s a bit of history. Way back in the days of yore, we’re talkin’ back in 1910, folks loved salt as much as we do today (probably even more because Monterey Steak Seasoning wasn’t around back then) but had one small problem: every time it got a bit humid outside and started raining, their salt would clump up and turn into a dry little yuck ball. Yes, a “yuck” ball. Who wants that? But along came Morton , in 1911 and their first advertising campaign came around in Good Housekeeping with the basic concept that is still the same today.

Well, Morton started adding magnesium carbonate to their salt and this meant that their salt didn’t clump up or “cake.” Their salt always pours freely, even when it rains. When advertisers brought Morton Salt this idea it was accompanied with the slogan at the top of the page and a logo of a little girl with an umbrella. Morton loved the idea so much they immediately agreed, but of course the slogan needed a bit of tuning. Well… what else gives you the same idea as this? “Always pours,” “never clumps” etc. What did they come up with? Creative genius! “When it rains, it pours.” How simple and catchy is that? It states that no matter the weather, their salt is better than the other guy because you can be sitting there in your house, with your nice bread and butter and bit of dried up meat and when your neighbor starts crying because his steak is bland, with Morton’s you can sit on your high horse and let it snow!

Also worth noting is the evolution of the Morton Salt Girl. Take a look at this:

Sorry it’s not bigger, but you get the general idea. She has been given updated makeovers (in order from left to right) 1914, 1921, 1933, 1941, 1956 and lastly 1968 and has remained the same. They lucked out with such a perfect slogan right off the bat and an idea that stuck through the years. They’ve got a good thing going on.

Of course, there’s more to salt than advertising. Go to their website to answer some trivia, get recipes and household tips and view their product line - amazing how many other types of salt they have. Who knew?

This post came courtesy of a conversation with Jay and John who never knew this information and thought other people would enjoy it as well. Anyone else want to know something about history of slogans, brands, anything - let me know and I’ll do my best.

“I like ads. It’s not that we don’t like ads, we just don’t like ads when they are out of place.” 
Bill Barnes

I was browsing through some online information earlier this morning and came across someone saying that internet advertising is the way to go, that money is wasted unless it is dumped into online advertising.

I beg to differ. Let’s go ahead and look into a bit more, shall we?Yes, more people visit Yellowbook.com instead of actually flipping through their phone book to find a doctor, massage therapist, lock smith, etc. But that is not advertising in the sense that I’m talking about - that, to me, is making your information available to your potention consumer base. There’s nothing creative, targetted or conceptual behind it. So we’ll forget about that aspect of online.

As for true online advertising - pop ups, pop unders, voice-overs, spam mail, junk mail, web banners… does any of that stuff sound exciting? Does it give you good feelings? Do you say “Oh, I hope when I close this window, I’ll have three more underneath it that have absolutely nothing to do with the page I was on!” Probably not.

 Yes, it’s annoying. And the people who produce these ads KNOW it’s annoying. But it’s kind of a necessary evil if a company wants to put money toward online advertising. Think about the facts - lots of people are online every day.
- it can be tailored so your sports store ad is on ESPN.com instead of Cosmo.com.
- people click things - it’s as simple as that.
- this is fast becoming the only way to reach certain target audiences - males between the ages of 16 and 24. (They multi-task more than anyone else, i.e. tv on, radio on, surfing online, texting friends, listening to iPod… that makes them less observant of other media).

But when was the last time you purposly clicked on an internet ad? Or actually read what your pop up said and decided to try that new insurance company? In my opinion, internet advertising (when done wrong like it is 99.9% of the time) only lowers my opinion of your brand / company. How much stock do you put into an insurance company that has you test your strength against George Bush push up style? If they’re running that kind of junk trying to get you to click, I don’t think they’re that serious about their business. Don’t annoy me - catch my attention. Catch me off guard. Captivate me!

As I’m sure you saw this coming, this is the segway into….

Internet based advertising that DOES pass the test.

This web banner is for Tylenol and was found on this website and while it’s not funny and entertaining - it’s perfectly targeted (whether you’re a student researching, a mom surfing, a bored receptionist) to people who use the internet. Also - looking at it, yes, it looks like it’s from Tylenol. It’s not all jokey-joke and loud, because that’s not what the rest of Tylenol’s stuff is like. These are the four still frames from the animated banner.

And one for Apple - who true to their form are still creative geniuses. I did not see this one while it was active (and can’t find it now, although they may be moving it from site to site) so I will explain to the best of my ability. It looks like a normal headline on the top of the page (which is really one piece of a two piece ad). The two guys enter from the right (piece two of the ad) and PC Man climbs the ladder to staple on “NOT” after the “headline.” It works for a few different reasons, as summed up by Brian. It’s humorous, it keeps with the image and attitude of Apple. It surprises you, which is hard to do when things are flashing and talking to you and popping up all over.

There’s a few of them.

I’ve tried finding more - but the truth is there aren’t many good ones to be found. And when there are (like these Apple ones) you just have to be in the right place at the right time and happen to take a screen shot of it. Anyone else have favorites?

Everyone has heard that saying, unless you’ve been living under a rock. Maybe even there. It’s said about advertising, movies, books and music videos. Why the ho shakin’ her butt in hot pink hot pants to a song about growing up in the bad part of town? Because it’s sexy and people will watch it. Why do all of these foreign films in the video store have a cute young woman on them, in tight spandex with a gun and nothing to do with the movie at all? Because, the American audience (not just us, but you know what I mean) will pick it up. So why all of these sexy ads, that are actually a bit more vulgar than you may at first think? Because, vodka, perfume, cars and dog food don’t sell themselves. Well, maybe the last one.You’d think that with our country progressing the way it is (we could have had a female president or a female VP for heaven’s sake) and women standing up and being heard these days that the same stereotypes wouldn’t keep popping up. But they do!

I’m going sum up what can be found here by Alex Leo.

Firstly we have bondage. Yeah, everyone likes a little bit, as made apparent by Remy Martin’s recent campaign. I’m sure the other ads are much more provocative than this one, but I can’t seem to find any more images online. This is the one featured in the article and I’ve added a few more of my own, that I think are better examples. I love that Alex states that these are so popular, even when women are becoming more empowered, because this ad seems to “put us back in our place.” (”Us” being women, our place being…)

These were put on Ketchup bottles - very awesome! They say “Harder” and “hit it again”

Tagline says that saddle pain is now a choice.

Second is… good ol’ fashion rape! (Note: I in no way condone rape, it’s just an introduction.) Alex states that the fashion industry is the most common one to use this route and I have to agree. Fashion is usually just as sexual as alcohol ads and probably more violent. Here’s the image Alex shows first. Although this can certainly be taken that way, I think I’ve seen worse things in the Abercrombie fashion catalogs that feature teens that look like they’re 14 in sexual situations. Following this image is my humorous take on rape in the magazine world. Which looks more like rape to you?

Third is, for lack of a better word, the trend of selling things using sluts. (OH! Sexually promiscuous, that’s a better way to state it.) The first is Alex’s and I have to agree - she sums it up best when she says, “They’re offering you… the ultimate fantasy: a virgin who won’t say no to anything.” The tagline, in case you can’t read it, says “You know you aren’t the first.” This is a great example, but you have to admit - slutty women have been used to sell lots of things - from cars, clothes, alcohol, cigarettes, condoms and even the Young Guns (an advertising award organization.) Again, this are slutty, but are done so well… you still want to take her home afterwards. (Or him, in this case.)

It says “I don’t care if it’s with a girl or boy partner as long as I get my piece in.” How awesome is that?

Then we have Girl on Girl action, which will probably be around until the end of time. This is everywhere too! From the “Double your pleasure” twins for gum to camera ads. Because that’s exactly what you need if you are ever in a situation lucky enough to see this phenomena. You have to admit though - these aren’t nearly as controversial as man on man images. What’s the saying about women being one drink away from lesbianism? I’m sure it’s true. Most women have experimented with another women (one drunken night in college) whether they’re interested or not. Usually it’s just to please a boyfriend (or a group of them.) It’s pretty accepted these days, isn’t it? Even me, a very heterosexual woman who is fairly straight laced… I’m not offended by this type of thing at all. If two women can make men buy a camera, more power to them.

And lastly… this one is a bit R-Rated… the last sexy/sexist thing that sells? Explosions of a sort. You’ll see this everywhere, in seemingly innocently ads - champaign bottles popping in a New Year’s Eve commercial, fireworks exploding, wet t-shirt contests and waves crashing. Here’s one for something fairly normal: perfume! But with a tagline like “I want you all over me” how the hell is that SUBTLE?! It’s not.

So, try as you might, these will probably always be around. When it’s done cleverly, sex can be very successful. It needs to be intelligent, funny and new. When it’s just a beautiful face on a hot body holding your product… you’re underestimating your audience. Will you buy Guitar Hero for the DS just because Heidi Klum is dancing around in a t-shirt? Probably not. If you weren’t interested to begin with, you probably aren’t now. At least… not interested in much besides the commercial.

Send me your questions, people! I need to feel useful! cre8.above.all.else@gmail.com is where you can find me.

“Advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th century”
Marshall McLuhan

I don’t know about you guys, but the weirdest things make me happy. It can be the facial expression of someone who can’t deliver a joke, a funny animal dancing or the “too much booty in the pants” dance.

I saw the first ad in this campaign about… 2 months ago and have been loving each and every one since then. Hotels.com has a whole thing going where they “bribe” guests into leaving good reviews on the website - through means of car buffing, fur robes, suitcases full of money and my favorite, extra shampoo. It’s not so much the premise of the joke - the actually bribing, it’s the acting that does it for me. The small, subtle voice inflections and whatnot. I’ll include three here, but if you want to see the rest, youtube has them. Just make sure you’re watching the full length ones if you can, not the 16 second ones. The second half is always much more funny.

“Got a lil’ Captain in you?”

I am not much of a drinker, but I do love ads for alcohol. Usually the print are a bit bland, but the commercials really stand out. Things like wine coolers, wine in general and the fruity liquor you can guess are targetting women. But men drink this stuff too. And it’s hard for a brand to sell a product that is opposite of it’s normal ones, so the same target without making men seem stupid or without losing respect. In Captain Morgan’s commercials, they’ve done a great job at keeping the attitude they have and still relating to guys - which is difficult to do when you have an FMB (flavored malt beverage) which is normally considered a “chick drink.” This commercial is for Gold.

The good Captain has good sense - this Halloween commercial aired and showed quite a bit before the big holiday. And, I’m not the first to comment this, but who comes to a part dressed like a wall socket? Good metaphor for sex though. (She’s the female part of the socket, he’s the male.)

And a nice little inside view on the support group of men. I guess they stick up for each other just as much as women do. This is the full length version (1 minute) and it’s much funnier than I thought the last two were.

And last commercial, this one isn’t great until the end - I always love seeing how different brands of alcohol and hard liquor conquer the “drink responsibly” part and I think this nailed it.

Well, after searching a bit - I have a few print ads to show you. Let me warn you, they aren’t as fun as the commercials… actually a bit bland, considering the personality the brand has today. But… let’s be fair.This campaign came out in 2003 and was in men’s magazines (This one specifically ran in Honey). Each one features a fun loving group of people with a piece of the Captain. Mostly the women - they had on his boots, his hat and his mustache. These are quite boring… we know the Captain was there, he’s looking right over your shoulder!

This one also came out in 2003 and I’m not sure I like it. At least the previous one has some sort of attitude and fun to it. This one is probably aimed toward people who recognize the poster and does Captain Morgan really do that to your senses? The thing I do like though, is that the rainbow that’s coming out of the prism isn’t your typical ROYGBIV, it’s the main colors of the bottle.

Here’s one that come out in 2004 in a lot of men’s magazines. I love that they’re getting the personality they’re known for into the ads. Granted, the slogan has changed and this probably came out around the same time the first few commercials and sightings of “got a lil’ captain in you” came out. But still, it’s refreshing to see it, eh?

And lastly, I’ll disappoint you with this one. This was in 2006, in women’s magazines like Cosmo, but you’ll be surprised to know that it was also in FHM. It’s awkward to see how differently the brand presents itself to the different genders. Why this toned down, wine-cooler, romance novel approach? Why not show a woman with her leg up and a man washing her car on a leash? Or fanning her with modern day palm leaves? You know what? That would have been better than this. This weakens the brand - you see this and you don’t KNOW it’s from Captain Morgan… with the others, right off the bat, you did. How disappointing indeed.

Let’s end it with this awesome little thing. I, for one, love LOL Cats. And this one brightens my day. Oh you silly, silly uneducated cats, kittens, rodents and sometimes exotic animals. How I love you.

For the credits: The print ads were found from www.camy.org. 

“There’s something wrong with that level of perfection. It needs to be violated. “
Chuck from Gossip Girl

I know the show isn’t really news anymore, but Gossip Girl caught my eye when I first saw the advertisements and when I realized the story behind them. First a bit of back up story.

The show is based off of a series of books written by Cecily von Ziegesar, the first of which is called Gossip Girl. (2002) It was adapted to television and the creator of the O.C. is an executive producer (which shows - then again, all these shows seem a bit similar). It revolves around the lives of socialite teenagers growing up in New York who attend elite schools (where these things always seem to happen) while dealing with sex, drugs, jealousy, and other issues. Namely sex, as the advertisements show.

The criticism of the show (as well as of the book) revolves around whether the events depicted are appropriate for the audience the show targets - teenagers. Now, my opinion on this matter is not what this post (or the blog) are about. So let’s get to the good stuff: ADVERTISEMENTS!

Let me show you the ads first, then discuss why they’re so fucking brilliant.

So, they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity. And any press is good press. There is much truth to these. When the show first was screened, critics, magazines, reviewers and mainly parents went crazy with bad reviews. No one approved of it, especially since it’s featuring young girls having sex so promiscuously.

How did their advertising agency (WONGDOODY in L.A.) use those remarks? Just like you see above. They took the bad things that were said about the show and turned it to their favor. They figured out what most people and already know - if the parents won’t like it, you know the kids will. And it’s true. The Gossip Girl ratings were off the charts for quite awhile and they’re still going strong.

The trouble with us in America isn’t that the poetry of life has turned to prose, but that it has turned to advertising copy.
Louis Kronenberger

A long, long time ago in a land far, far away you’d open a magazine or a newspaper and see something similar to this:

Or more recently, something like this:

Now, is you can’t tell by looking at it, that’s a LOT of words. Lots of copy. Long copy. Whatever you want to call it. This is how copy driven advertisements got a bad rap. Now, who’s to say whether or not that Wispa page is any good? If you had a few minutes to kill (waiting for a bus, getting your nails done, waiting in the doctor’s lounge) you’d surely look through it… wouldn’t you? And doesn’t Wispa sound like a magical, mythical butterfly/horse? That can’t taste very good.

Beside the point. The point is, most people have a preconceived notion about ads with a lot of copy - creatives and consumers alike. A lot of creative directors (the guy/gal above the copywriter and art director team) shy away from this because does it catch your attention? Does it MAKE YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT A WISPA IS RIGHT NOW? No. You just know, from glancing at these ads, that a crudely drawn ear is boring (and a bit confusing) and that some horse candy bar is from a long, long time ago - you know, from the time when cell phones were huge and things were on cassettes. Oh, that was the 80’s? Well, that wasn’t long ago at all, considering.

I digress. Quite a bit! Long copy (or ads based solely on copy to tell the story) have to be done extremely well in order to be successful. You have to do it in a way that grabs people by the short ‘n’ curlies and says, “Hey you reader! Look at me and pay attention, damn it.” I am of the opinion that the following ads do just that (some in a more polite manner.)

Adidas - very awesome ad. You get their attitude, they’re meaning and the way they feel about their competitors, all by a simple, small sentence. No pictures of shoes, athletes or sweaty men necessary.

A nice one from Durex.

A couple from India (where apparently they are much loser with the word “shit” and the general public. These (and ones like these) differ from the previous two, because the words actually turn into the art. It’s called non-font typography and means that it’s usually hand rendered, by someone.

Here are few for the Energizer battery brand. While I don’t think the copy is SUPER interesting to read, I would definitely stop and look at it in a magazine. It looks like doodles and if I had a magic marker, I’d probably start coloring it in.

And this one, which really makes use of the non-font typography idea. Although I think the idea is a little safe (your kid will copy you, so they show it as kid’s writing copying the type) they idea is very smart and it’s hard to show this with an image - hence the awesome copy.

And this isn’t a print ad, but I really want these gloves! So manly and it’s totally all business (as made apparent by the headline!) Watch out mother nature, I’m coming to get you! Maybe I’ll get them for my boyfriend…

Lastly - here’s a piece of spec work (not actually published) that I have grown to love. Nice spread, good use of varying typography. Funny to read. I wish magazines I purchased had ads like these in them.

Not all print ads are this good, especially not all that use only copy. But it takes balls and a great way of thinking to suggest using copy only. These kinds of ads are like billboards in the sense that you see AWESOME ones, but only online. They’re never in the magazine or the highway you happen to be looking at and driving down. Oh well, it’s enough to know they’re out there.