Let’s be clear about one thing: I love James Dyson. I love him the same way I love researchers who spend twenty years living in the jungle watching one gibbon family eat bugs and breed. There is something fascinating about such single-minded dedication. Especially when that dedication produces something that’s useful, but not so useful…
Read MoreOld Spice, New Laughs
I was worried nothing could top “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” the first ad in the most recent Old Spice campaign. In addition to catapulting the handsome and deliciously deadpan Isaiah Mustafa into sudden stardom, the ad actually made me consider reconsidering my stance on the brand’s sex appeal. Previously having been mentally…
Read MoreIt’s Good to Be Bad
I know it’s been a little while since I’ve posted, but I’ve been rather busy with my internship (and loving every minute!) I’m not quite energized enough for a mega-post, but I thought I’d stop by and share some of my favorite spots airing right now. From silly to delusional to deadpan, these ads make…
Read MoreSocial Networking (now with s’mores!)
Coleman camping supplies is running a very charming series of ads where they declare themselves to be the “original social networking site.” It’s a refreshing look at how people come together in the real world, augmented in the digital world by the company’s presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Having lived abroad for quite some…
Read MoreUnlikely Celebrity Endorsements
Advertising often utilizes the celebrity voice to push products, and for good reason. These are easily recognizable figures who are larger than life. People who could eat anywhere in the world, but they choose McDonald’s. People who could wear anything, but they choose to shop at Brooks Brothers. Sometimes these endorsements make sense (like getting…
Read MoreThe Advertising Twilight Zone
Now in month 10 of unemployment, I have taken up a new pastime: commercial heckling. I often find myself screaming at television ads, or more specifically, screaming at the creative teams behind the ads. “What the hell were you thinking?” is the most common jeer, but in a close second is the ever-popular, “I could…
Read MoreChildren and Animals
It’s been suggested that a well-placed dose of adorable goes a long way in helping to sell a product. Take, for example, Oscar Mayer hot dogs. Get a kid with a few missing teeth to smile and exclaim that they wish they were a weiner and it’s advertising gold. Get a guy in a grubby…
Read MoreKitty want to get high?
Ever wonder what it would be like if you were a cat on LSD? Me neither. However, Friskies seems to think that taking your cat on a wild dance through fields of baby chickens at each meal is a key selling point. If this looks at all familiar to you, perhaps you recall the extra-trippy…
Read MoreLook with your special eyes
It’s not often that something can make me laugh, without fail, every time I see it. But when he looks with his special eyes and sees ::gasp:: his brand, I nearly pee myself. I can’t get enough of this commercial for 1-800-Contacts. It reminds me a bit of an ad that was done by Publicis…
Read MoreGo with the Flo
She’s quirky, perhaps excessively enthusiastic, and has an unnatural love for insurance. She’s Flo, and I can’t get enough of her. Progressive Insurance has found a blissfully happy medium between strange and annoying with their peppy spokeswoman and her discount crusade. While I pity this actress for what will be a lifetime association with this…
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Positively Natalie 