CUTENESS OVERPOWERS MESSAGE

CUTENESS OVERPOWERS MESSAGE.

When you have an important message, emphasize it. Don’t bury it in cuteness, so that it’s not what’s remembered in your spot. The door wasn’t needed overnight. 2 or 3-day delivery would have been OK. He probably sleeps in the house overnight anyway. He’s so cute, he distracts from the message. (this spot is about overnight delivery).

"I'm No Doll"

“I’m No Doll”

In the days when women are now involved in every aspect of our armed forces, including combat, it’s a time when a young, attractive woman declares : “I’m no doll”.

Deluth Trading Co.’s  commercial declares that a woman who does the same outdoor stuff as a man, deserves clothes that are just as functional. 

How To Make Your Product Look Bad

How To Make Your Product Look Bad.

Making your product look like its zits on someone’s face, and then having someone take one off and eat it is disgusting to watch. The next time I see a skittles package, I’ll think of this image. Nice going ad manager. In your next job interview, don’t include this spot on your reel.

And Progressive. Watching the staff encourage someone they know has lactose intolerance chug-a-lug milk is cruel and mean, especially if he’s too dumb to know that milk contains lactose. This speaks to the intelligence of who answers their phones. And from the customer complaints I’ve read, it happens in real life. I’d fire not only the agencies that come up with crap, but the ad managers who pay good money for it. Your money, that you pay for their products. 

A Bunch Of Nuts Have A Party

A Bunch Of Nuts Have A Party

When a bunch of nuts throw a party, the last person they want to show up is the nutcracker. But in the spirit of the season, they welcome him with one precaution. Prevent his mouth from closing. 

WHO DO YOU THANK?

Who do you thank?

When you discover a product you really like, who do you thank? The manufacturer? The distributor? Or maybe the store?

Why not thank the originator? In the case of Yoplait yogurt, the cow who gave fresh milk. A clean fresh approach to the solution. 

A Forrest Of Weasels

A Forrest Of Weasels                                                                    

I’ve spoken before about weasels and how they are there to protect an advertiser from lawsuits. Some are written in mouse-sized type, but some are in large type. Here’s an example.

This ad is about a non-prescription drug or supplement (which is a red flag to be aware). It means the food and drug guys haven’t given an opinion on its ingredients or safety. Take at your own risk. To begin, it isn’t "FREE!"   (You just pay shipping and handling. See how much that is. You just bought the stuff.)   

I have always said to read all the small print at the bottom of the ad. It’s put there by the lawyers. Stop the picture and read it. Here’s a typical example: This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease.  

It’s a real warning. The weasel here is the word “disease”. Prostate problems haven’t been classified as a disease. This problem is real, but not a “disease”. So they are free to sell this product for treating the “problem”.  

Other weasels are in the claims:

“less urges to urinate” (less than what?), “More sleep” (more than what?),“easier bladder emptying” (easier than what?), or just hinting at a sexual remedy. “healthier romantic life”. You get the technique.

 Their proof of effectiveness is how many they “shipped across the world.”(not sold to customers. Shipped. Probably a carload from China)  and their “guarantee”, which they don’t even mention in the ad. (probably to send it back if it doesn’t work for your money back. They will, to prevent a charge of false advertising, knowing very few will actually do that.) 

This is the case in a lot of the medically related products sold, but occurs in many other situations. You must be aware of these tricks of the trade to be a wise consumer.                                                          

                                                                    

Theater Of Cruelty

Theater Of Cruelty

Most people, when they have mice, want to get rid of them as quickly and humanely as possible. The Dead Mouse Theater takes pleasure in finding cruel ways to demonstrate how they think it should be done.

From incinerating them on a “Rocket Ship To Heaven” explosion, From a “Death Bullet”, shooting them out of an exhaust pipe head-first into a tombstone and dropping into a grave. I once commented on their use of dead mice in a Viking play where a friend shows no mercy to his friend and kills him with a mace. They even give advice about killing moles. “It’s easy to make a mountain out of a molehill when you have moles.” what sensitivity! It sounds like the atrocities in a concentration camp.

I would question anyone’s violence potential who actually would be stimulated to call this company. Or use whatever they’re selling. 

"they're Out There" sighting

“ They’re Out There” sighting.

A clever introduction of a new product. A take-off on the “bigfoot” sightings, where someone sees something they can’t explain, and no-one believes them. Honda Pioneer 1000 4-wheel vehicle.

EVEN DEER KNOW BETTER

EVEN DEER KNOW BETTER

Putting a twist on an obvious expectation is a surprise technique used to create memorability.

The public safety ad that turns this trick does so to make the point about texting and not paying attention, whether you are driving or walking. Instead of a deer being caught in the headlights, it is a boy walking in front of a car. It’s the deer who can’t believe how foolish it is.

COURAGE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE

       

COURAGE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE

When everyone wants a job, and you have one, you become very susceptible to the threat of being replaced. Some employers take full advantage of this fear by pushing their workers to work long and hard just to show their “loyalty”. If you have confidence in your worth with your skills, you can resist this coercion. A spot by Hyundai features this courage with their “The official car of living” theme, where an employee leaves work at 6:01. His bosses look on with scorn (and secret envy). Fellow workers look on with fearful envy. They follow him driving away, from the window. I admire this spot personally, since I had been in the position of Creative Director in advertising agencies for 12 years, when the industry was notorious for demanding their workers stay long hours after hours as well as coming in on weekends. Sometimes working around the clock. During my tenure, I never, ever, asked anyone to stay even one hour overtime. Never had anyone come in on weekends, or work around the clock. I knew each had a personal life that needed to be given attention. My philosophy was that eight hours was plenty of time to solve the day’s problems. And creativity doesn’t thrive on exhaustion, but on insight. That requires a sharp, clear mind. I’d say :”Go home, see a movie, relax, come in refreshed.” Creative work never suffered. In fact, it excelled.

Does This Stimulate Your Appetite?

Does This Stimulate Your Appetite?

What’s worse than being bloated is to try to sell a product that looks a lot like the cause of the bloating. A commercial with the bathroom right in the work area, an old man who spends a long time in it, and a woman who faints at the smell. Now show us your product. Time to change agencies.

CUTENESS CAN MAKE YOU DEAF

BELSOMRA COMMERCIALS ARE DESIGNED TO ENCHANT YOU WITH HOW LIFELIKE IN THEIR MOVEMENTS THE CAT AND DOG ANIMATED WORDS ARE. THEY ARE ALSO DESIGNED TO DISTRACT YOU FROM HOW DANGEROUS THIS MEDICINE REALLY IS.  WATCH THE COMMERCIAL, BUT NEXT TIME LISTEN TO IT. IT MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Why was this TV spot removed by the advertiser?

Why was this TV spot removed by the advertiser?

After laboring over piles of research, a woman found the car she wanted, and then promptly took it out and ran it into a tree. Her insurance company raised her rates. This spokeswoman then states maybe she should have researched the insurance company instead.

I say, maybe she should have researched how to drive before buying a car. Insurance companies raise rates to encourage drivers to drive carefully. If she’s such a bad driver, I personally don’t want her on the road with my family in another car.

This is a really bad example of this company’s policy of not penalizing a first accident. Some first accidents tell a lot about a person’s ability to drive. We’re not talking about wrinkled metal, this could have been a tragic first accident on a superhighway.

What Can I Say?!!

What Can I Say?!!

Two guys in towels in a locker room chewing gum as if it’s orgasmic, making fart noises to each other. Actually described as “tasteful way to say they cheated”. What can I say? I’ll tell you what I’d say if I was the Creative Director on the account to the people presenting it to me. How does this promote the product? After they give me their BS, I’d say “You’re fired!! Or if I was the ad manager for Juicy Fruit, I’d also ask how it would promote the brand, and then I’d say to the agency who created it:”Get out of my office, you’re fired!!” And speaking of agency, Bill Bernbach is turning over in his grave to see his name on the Chicago branch that created the ad.

Is It Fraud, Bargain Or Deception?

Is It Fraud, Bargain Or Deception?

A good example of what’s being done in TV advertising is what follows the phrase “But wait!” The offer is then made to “double the amount, free.” Just pay a separate processing and handling fee.

This sounds good at first until you see what the P&H really is. Eggtastic is a typical example. The egg cup and other supplies costs $10 with a P&H fee of $5, totaling to $15.

The extra “free” cup (value $10), comes with a P&H fee of $5. The $15 with the extra $5 totals to $20.

Now, is this a bargain, or fraud, or deception?

You are getting $20 in value (the 2 cups) and you are paying $20, so you’re getting what you paid for. It’s no fraud (eggtastic, to its credit even includes a chart spelling this out in its online ad). So it’s no bargain. Nothing is “free” here. The deception comes from giving the impression that you are somehow getting a bargain. If you have no use for two of what’s being offered, it isn’t worth it.

So next time you hear “But wait!”, take it literally. Wait and calculate.

Birds Who Fly Away

Birds Who Fly Away

An Analogy, meaning people who leave Verizon. The copy tells about birds looking for a better existence , but finding they got unreliable cell phone service and buffering videos, so they decide to come back to Verizon (for a $300 reward). My question is why the $300 lure if they are coming back for better quality? This makes me suspicious that the client wasn’t so sure.