Commercial Appeal

I love good commercials. They can be 30 seconds of pure brilliance. Bad commercials can warp time to where you can't wait another 20 seconds to see them gone. Everyone has different tastes, but it seems that more than a few people I know agree with me that certain ad campaigns suck and others are good. I wonder how much focus group testing some of these campaigns get, since I often wonder "Why don't they hire the ad agency that did that other spot"

You mention Alaska Airlines and the first thing that comes into my head is the commercial with the guy hopping around looking for change to get into the bathroom. Alaska had a great ad campaign and it still resonates. Other's that have had solid ad campaigns include Anheuser-Busch, Jack-In-The-Box, Nike and Pepsi and Coke have had their moments. Crappy ad campaigns include McDonald's, Carl's Jr., Old Navy and oh so many others.

Aspects that make a good commercial for me? Some restraint in pushing how great their product is. In-N-Out Burgers can bite me, their radio ads are incredibly lame. They violate the first rule by having people want to drive through several states, leave their spouses, etc for a fucking hamburger. And it's done in a simplistic manner that has zero personality. Companies that can be a bit self deprecating like Jack-In-The-Box are so fun since they are a change of pace from the usual bloated self important ad most people throw at you. Throwing the product in the middle of a ridiculous situation works well if doneright which is what Anheuser-Busch has gone for with most of their Budweiser ads.

Commercials I don't like include the aforementioned overly self important type, big dick mentality ads, the Artist ad and the something for everyone ad.

Some of the other self important ads that piss me off are those commonly seen for men's razors, hair products and cologne. Use our razor or our cologne (generally cheap one) and buddy, she's going to go down on you before you can say Gillette. Just For Men hair color makes the same type of boast but it's a sad little product that you just can't take seriously. Oh, and it's not just for men.. Herbal Essence.. the shampoo that will make her uncontrollably orgasm. Yea, if it was that good it would be doing double duty as lube

Carl's Jr. falls into the big dick mentality ad. Their ads have often had this overly macho tone to them. It's as if they are shoving this testosterone fueled attitude in your face to divert your attention from some inadequacies elsewhere. These ads are always self important but separate themselves from the pack by being especially obnoxious.

The artist ad is an overly mannered production that aspires to deliver a visual sense of the wonders that their product will bring you although it's going to be take a really elliptical approach. Calvin Klein and some of the other big name fragrance manufacturers have made a variety of artistic commercials that give you zero indication of what they are selling until they announce the product at the end. It's funn that now if I see one of these pieces of work, I assume fragrance immediately.

Finally we have the something for everyone ad. These ads are usually really safe ads designed to appeal to all types of consumers or at least try not to piss any off. McDonald's have long been an expert practitioner of ths type. These ads are so white bread that any attempt at humor comes off as it was modeled off of a 70's sitcom. McDonald's now having their brand stomped on by Supersize Me is making a big push for Hispanic, African-American and youth since they figured those groups haven't quite jumped on the diet train with Upwardly mobile Anglos. Old Navy tried a campy approach that figred to get everyone from the boomers through the hipsters. Camp works for a while gang, afterwards it's just flat annoying.

The last bit with commercials is music. A good use of music can really enhance a commercial. Andrea Bocelli may not have envisioned helping to sell Bellagio with Con Te Partirò, but the spot was dead on and it helped his sales too. Most songs are more in the background establishing a successful vibe. Often these songs are not well known to the general public but hit the spot. Ween's Ocean Man for a Honda commercial, The Shining by Badly Drawn Boy for The Gap and I have just seen them use one of my favorite 80's songs This Is TheDay by The The for I believe Dockers. Check out http://adtunes.com/ for a good site to locate songs used in commercials. More than a few people are interested.

We now interrupt this commercial post to resume my previously scheduled life.