I'm Back! (Super Bowl date is purely Coincidental)

Well, here we go, the best day for advertising of the year... And, I think I'll record my thoughts in between commercials. Besides, as a Packer fan I really do not care to pay attention to the game play itself.

The Pepsi commercial, with Elton John. Yeah, little "respect," from me. Although Flava Flave's inclusion definitely salvaged it. I'm really not sure what target they were going for... I'm sure both Flava and Elton cost a mint, and I fail to see the what demographic those two share. Overheard: "I think that Coke must have paid for that Pepsi ad."

Hyundai keeps driving me absolutely nuts. *Disclaimer. Nothing to do with the Veloster commercial* I really hate the fact that Hyundai's look cool now. I miss the days when driving one was a sort of badge of automotive ineptitude. But, those Korean engineers got their shit together. I'll grudgingly admit the Genesis sedan is a sharp looking car. But if you drive one, I will not respect you.

The Bud Light Platinum spot featuring Avicci- Levels was simple and forgettable.. But anyone who frequents bars and clubs will know that song by heart. I bet at least a few avid partiers in every room were nodding along, and one of those is the guy you want, the guy who stands by the bar and orders, "Lemme get, ah, two Heinekens. Thanks, Baby." That guy will probably try Platinum next time. Because the commercial had that song he likes, Bro.

M&M just made a terrible song and fake nudity somewhat appealing. That's all I''ll say there.

Best Buy. Clever, simple, and the people who actually recognized those faces are the people you want to target. They're the ones who are "Can I see with my hands?" people, which is precisely the advantage that Best Buy: Mobile offers. Great spot.

Coke Polar Bears. Massive Fail.
*I stand corrected* the second spot was MUCH better. Cute, funny, not greatly clever but it leaves you with a happy feeling. Which for a brand like Coke, probably all you'll get. It'd take one hell of a commercial for someone to say, "You know what? Screw Pepsi. I'm a Coke guy now."

Chevy Apocalypse.... Wow. Way to play it guys. Damning anyone who drives a Ford? Not necessarily a great way to convert them into Chevy purchasers. Although, it did garner a moderate chuckle from the crowd I'm watching the game with, probably the best of the night thus far... But we're only a few minutes in.
After some contemplation, I still can't get over the diss, with the mid-size truck market not fully recovered from the economic turmoil, I don't think this is the way to guy in order to convert non-Chevy owners.

Bridgestone's tire-football technology was actually pretty funny. Although, I've never understood what their goal is... Like.. Why a commercial for tires? Who plans tire buying decisions using what they see in a commercial. Who exactly is your target market?

GoDaddy, body paint: These are getting old fast. Really, really fast. Who still thinks that going to that website is sexually productive?

Battleship's spot was a generic movie trailer.. So, if you like it, you like it. Really more of an exposure thing. I do know one thing... I will be seeing that. I'm a sucker for guns, the Navy, and aliens.

Budweiser made a very solid play with their Prohibition theme. I think it gets a good vibe out of everyone.

Doritos got a solid laugh with their bribe spot. Everyone likes dogs. And Doritos. And guys acting like guys. I think the kind of people who enjoyed that kind of humor are the kind who like Doritos. I envision if you did a poll, people with bad senses of humor and an affinity for cats aren't the sort who buy them. They probably buy pita chips or something.

GE and Budweiser... Solid combo.

VW and Star Wars... See above. (Solid combo) Although, they are probably getting to a point where they lose some mass appeal through the use of scenes that not everyone is all that familiar with. Some of the people in the room had no clue what was going on. I think that with the new Beetle debuting and no one really being sure if its a chick car, or if the new styling will enlist a male following, they should have focused on just pushing the car out to consumer's eyes.

Okay. Enough for now... I'm getting hungry.

Oddly, This Works

Marquette, as an institution, isn't really known for great advertisement. But I think the new approach to get students to fill out their course evaluation forms is great.

I have never, in seven semesters, filled out a course evaluation form. They always come at a bad time, and frankly, I saw no reason to. I figure other kids will, so my opinion probably isn't necessary. Marquette has managed to get around the big obstacle of apathy with this clever campaign. You'll see these posters, and many like them, all over campus. They each have a clever catchphrase and are positioned near exits and entrances, with their simple design and big block of color, they draw the eye pretty well, just like these did as I walked out of Olin Hall.

I have to hand it to 'em. These may not quite surpass my apathetic view on class evals, but hey. I might fill them out. If I have time.

Maybe Its Just Me

The galloping of hooves racing through a coastal backdrop. And astride majestic, thundering steeds...

Fruit?

Yeah. Watch this.

Maybe its just me, but when the apple says "We Riiidee!" I lose it. Every single time. My roomie has the same reaction. In fact, in my apartment, much of the spot's dialogue has become common one-liners. When I put my sunglasses on as I walk out the door, my roomie will remark, in a deep voice, "Wear them well." And I don't think its just us.

Fruit Of The Loom makes underwear. I actually prefer Hanes (they debuted the "tagless" tee a while back) but after seeing this, I'm probably going to buy at least a three-pack of these new Fruit of The Looms.

I think that's where FotL wanted this ad to go. Guys are goofy, and we don't really care if our underwear is sexy, especially our undershirts, so they can't use sex appeal the same way Victoria's Secret does. FotL decided to use humor to debut their new cut of tee, and as far as I'm concerned, it works.

My Feelings Exactly

So. I need a new phone, do I finally cave and go Apple? Or, do I carry on with my less "creative," less "impressive," Android?

Let's see what Samsung has to say about this:

Hilarious. "Dude, you're a barista." I think this new campaign captures the people that were on the same fence as I am perfectly. Apple fanboys will buy the 4S, and no one can argue that many of the iPhone exclusive features aren't impressive, but why do people really buy phones? How often will you really use Siri?

This spot pokes fun at all of the drama that people ascribe to new Apple launches, and makes a grab for the people that just need/want a new phone. It is very much a rational ad, fittingly, as Samsung has always been a rational brand. Even among other electronics companies, Samsung has made many of its spots based on the superiority of their product. 

One thing to touch upon here, though, is that it can be dangerous to mention a competitor in an ad, but Samsung tackled this by not mentioning or focusing on the iPhone's features as well as being pretty classy in their dialogue. They poked fun of someone that anyone would have poked fun at, not labeling them as a silly iPhone user, just a silly barista.

Overall, I think this spot works, but I'm still not sure what phone to buy.

Maybe I'm Not the Target Here...

I got my December issue of Gentleman's Quarterly today, and as I flipped through it, I stumbled upon this Dolce and Gabbana ad...

I'm not a really macho guy, but... yeah. He's naked and I'm not sure I'm okay with that. So, this got me thinking, what makes high end fashion go for this kind of thing? DG isn't the only one who has ads with shirtless guys and while this may be an oversimplification, I don't think there's an overwhelming majority of GQ readers who are also gay. I think DG is betting on the fact that people who buy their products are... vain. I am not cheap, and I love quality, but you won't find me wearing anything from Dolce. I find it too showy, which might be a correlation to why I also dislike this ad.

I digress, DG knows that people who buy their products are willing to drop cash to buy into the emotional appeal that DG offers in its "sexy" image. So, I can see their logic here, but I still find it weird. In fact, I'm not even sure what this guy is selling aside from the image. I'm not the target, but again, that's not the point.

Another Reason to Never Grow Up

I've spoken about my closeted love of video games before, and I would be remiss to not blog about the heartache that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has imparted upon me. You see, in a futile effort to grow up and press on with maturity I gave my XBox to my younger brother a month ago, and I am now crestfallen to see just how amazing the new Modern Warfare is.



Now, this is not a blog about my life, so let's bring it back on topic. Watch this ad, and tell me you don't want to go shoot stuff.

Yeah. That was Jonah Hill. Which, is not all that surprising. CoD is known for celebrity cameos, the ads for the previous Call of Duty iteration featured Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel ( CoD:BlackOps )The reasoning, I think, is to appeal to a wider base. You see, based on gameplay alone, your average gamer will buy and play CoD because its just a damn good game. The trick here, is to attract people who might not otherwise play the game. I promise you, if you have any video game experience, you WILL enjoy playing this, especially online where you can match wits against other people

So, Activision, the game's developer, is doing two things with this ad; gamers familiar with the game will recognize the sneak peek at weapons and maps featured in the video, and the non-CoD'r will at least be intrigued enough to spend a little time on it.

The aims of this campaign are to entertain, keep fans intrigued, and attract gamers who might not already be fans of Modern Warfare. In these three goals, I think Activision succeeds.

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Activision Stock Ticker

You-ification

1960's Mini

MINI has been an icon of the automotive world for a long time, over 45 years. Indeed, it is a symbol of the 60's in Britain and stands as a mascot for foreign cars in the US. So, a car company this old and established must have a hard time impressing younger markets, right?

Wrong. MINI has a new campaign that is aimed almost exclusively at young adults. And in none of them will you see anyone behind the wheel over the age of 30. How do they manage? Well, I think that MINI has focused on a few key elements to describe and enamor their younger audience:
-Individuality = Customization
-Adventure = New designs and products

I signed up for MINI's social media network and started seeing just how many ways I can make my MINI my own, and on top of that just look at this ad, and tell me you don't want to have that kind of fun in your life.




MINI's entire campaign focuses almost exclusively on these two ideas, and speaking as one young adult, it works. I'm signed up for a test drive of the new Countryman next week.