All posts tagged Commercials

the surface

I’m not sure whether the new Windows tablet, The Surface, will live up to the hype or not. Either way, I really like this TV. spot for it.

I’m usually the biggest hater on Microsoft and most things Windows (lack of innovation is my largest complaint), but I have to give this ad high-marks in the following categories:

Music – I do not know who is responsible for this, but the music in this ad is perfect. It comes on strong, rises when needed, and sets an evolving mood better than 99% off the other ads out there.

Timeliness- This spot fits the current vibe of a large segment of “the cool kids.” I am not one of these kids, but I see them around and they are going to love this ad.

Eye-Candy – This thing looks smooth, clean, and crisp. Microsoft is normally the opposite, so I am impressed doubly in this area.

 

We’ll see very soon if The Surface is a passable computing device pretty soon, but until then I am happy to applaud this commercial for being anti-Microsoft in all of the best ways.

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by Jeff Osborn on October 22, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Marketing, Television Commercials
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on October 22, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/10/22/the-surface/

i do not dig, i do not scoop

 

I was really digging this commercial until the end.

No matter what Tostitos or anyone else says, they picked an African-American guy and had him act a certain way on purpose.

Usually I am the first person to shoot down touchy-feely arguments like this one, but I do not see why the dude at the end had to say “Boo-Ya!” over and over quite like that. Not funny, not cool, and certainly not thoughtful.

From me, this commercial gets only a simple, “Boo!”

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by Jeff Osborn on August 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Marketing, Television Commercials
Tagged , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on August 1, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/08/01/i-do-not-dig-i-do-not-scoop/

away on business

I regret to write that my Killer Heat post from earlier today will be my last (excluding this one, smart ass) until the beginning of August.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

I expect that the random post will bubble up from time to time.

I appreciate every reader I have ever had and especially those who follow and interact. I do not want to lose interest by letting my site stagnate, but I am planning to put a hold on consistent posts until summer work, travel, and volunteer roles calm down a little bit.

Here is a little farewell gift, from me to you:

I didn’t make it, but you can go here to check out the folks who did. They also have a cool post with more “new era” advertising examples.

Peace and love until August!

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by Jeff Osborn on June 22, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in About don'tadvertisetome, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Print Ads
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Posted by Jeff Osborn on June 22, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/06/22/away-on-business/

prometheus + coors light tv spot

All tie-ins are not created equal.

Try as the marketers behind this awkward spot may, human-killing aliens and Coors Light just do not work well together here.

Over the years marketers have successfully and seamlessly tied thousands of products in with one another. The best marketers sell you something (Coke, Budweiser, or a BMW perhaps) without you even knowing by building an emotional connection between you and the product while you think you are simply watching your favorite madcap group of tele-friends ham it up while you sit on your couch or the newest romantic comedy in the theaters.

This ad, unfortunately, is clumsy, overt, and more awkward than me in eighth grade.

Tie-ins do not work if the audience notices them. I am not the only one who knows this. I promise the folks behind this ad know it, which is what makes a fumble like this so confusing. Television ads are not cheap. Producing them is not especially inexpensive either. To me, the biggest problem with this ad is the waste and disconnection from the current situation of potential consumers.

How far could those same marketing dollars have taken either company if spent on a new, vibrant, creative social media push?

Ads like this make me question how much marketers have really learned over the past decade. This spot smacks of the lazy, money-blowing old guard. Companies cannot afford to treat their marketing like this anymore.

The American auto industry collapse provides constant examples of what not to do while your business model evaporates around you, and one of those lessons is “Do Not Waste What Money You Have on Television Ads Just For The Sake of Having Them.”

Hollywood is definite offender. The American film industry can complain about how nobody goes out to see movies anymore, but Avengers and fine films like Midnight In Paris are proof that audiences will still spend money on GOOD movies. The extra cash to toss away on crappy films has gone away, which means that it is more important than ever to put a thoughtful marketing push behind any given film. This ad is proof that at least one person hanging around the upper strata of Hollywood still does not get it.

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by Jeff Osborn on June 20, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Internet Marketing, Marketing
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on June 20, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/06/20/prometheus-coors-light-tv-spot/

lobster and seafood salad subs

Subway and and Quiznos must be trying to outdo each other in a self-imposed “disgusting looking sandwich” competition.

Until a few days ago, it was difficult to imagine a more revolting sandwich to look at than Subway’s new line of avocado disasters.

Quiznos obviously saw those sandwiches as more than a series of unappetizing poor-judgement calls. The big Q saw them as a challenge, one they could not let slide by without responding to.

One reason I did not include the T.V. ad I first saw is that it might make you vomit on your keyboard, ruining it forever. These images, I hope, will get across the horror that is Quiznos’ newest sub. Just know that the T.V. spots are only more effective in that after viewing, you will want to eat one of these sandwiches even less than you do right now.

I am not just disappointed by two fast-food chains I used sink a lot of money into making menu and marketing decisions bad enough to be indicators of a total lack of understanding of what (eternally hungry) people would like to eat. I am disappointed even more by the fact that the companies that made Jared and fuzzballs with teeth household names are now producing marketing this out of touch.

Since Subway and Quiznos have apparently abandoned the age-old, battle-tested marketing stance of “trying making your product look good” for the less-traditional approach of “trying to make your product look as terrible and as undesirable as possible,” here are better T.V. spots from both:

Final Comment: I don’t always complain about the marketing direction taken with sub sandwiches, but when I do I harp on the same point tirelessly.

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by Jeff Osborn on June 18, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Television Commercials, Marketing
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on June 18, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/06/18/lobster-and-seafood-salad-subs/

movie trailer tuesday – money ball

 

Did this trailer make me want to see the movie?

Actually, yes.

What could be more boring than baseball for most folks? Watching a film about baseball.

And, if you want to kick the boring equation up a notch, make the film be about a low scoring, low-paid, low-star power team.

Yet the trailer makes the viewer want to see what Brad Pitt is doing in this Baseball flick.

Even more importantly, the trailer makes the story seem compelling to different types of viewers – folks familiar with the book and story want to see how the film handles it; Baseball buffs want to see how history is handled by Hollywood; And casual passers by are sucked in because of the clever dialogue and created interest through thoughtful, careful use of film footage.

Was the trailer effective as a commercial?

Yes.

Simply because it highlighted the right parts of the product (the film): Brad Pitt, The theory of Money Ball, Aaron Sorkin’s witty writing, and the previously mentioned baseball historical context.

Unlike most film trailers, Money Ball‘s trailer did not tell the entire story. It gave a hint, a taste.

Like great commercials for any product, this trailer gave a look at the interesting, emotional, touching, compelling pieces of the product, without going to far.

Two Bonus Questions (and Two Bonus Answers):

1. Why is Brad Pitt always around the best actor award, and never goes home with it?

He has been a good actor for a long time and has become under-appreciated for that reason, along with his fame and frequent tabloid appearances. He might try waiting a year or two for his next film, then taking another roles like Tree of Life or Money Ball. I bet if we had not seen him for a few years he could have one for either one (or both) of those roles.

2.Will Movie Trailer Tuesday End Now That You Have Analyzed All Nine Oscar-Nominated Films?

Not a chance!

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by Jeff Osborn on June 12, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Movie Trailer Tuesday, Marketing
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on June 12, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/06/12/movie-trailer-tuesday-money-ball/

movie trailer tuesday – tree of life

 

 

Did this trailer make me want to see the movie?

Absolutely!

Tree of Life‘s trailer is an exception to the rule I have been beating like a dead horse every Tuesday.

I did not know many people who had seen this film when I saw it, but I found the trailer irresistible. It is mysterious, thought provoking, even inspirational.

The quick clips, their organization, and the absence of dialogue or narration make it difficult for the viewer to ever really figure out what is happening. There is something aggravatingly fascinating about the lack of a clear story arc and any semblance of a traditional trailer formula.

The emotional, epic music acts as a bed underneath the perplexing and compelling imagery.

The viewer sees faces he or she knows, but a few quick glimpses of Brad Pitt looking stern or Sean Penn looking really tired is the extent of the use of the familiar here. Everything else feels foreign, exciting, and maybe even a little dangerous.

Was the trailer effective as a commercial?

Yes!

Terrence Malick is a one of a kind filmmaker, so it only makes sense that a trailer for one of his films should stand out as being unlike any trailer in recent memory.

And this brings me to an important point about movie trailers: Much like the films they sell, movie trailers are almost all pretty much the same. Unfortunately, trailers for films that are more creative than the average still follow standard trailer formulas. Advertisers that work with many different products (the good ones, at least) seem to push the accepted standard far more often than whoever is making all of these stale film trailers. The trailer for Tree of Life is not overly complicated or mind blowing. It is simply different from the 99% of the trailers around it. Sure, the film being marketed is different than 99% of the films being made (making it easier to make a new feeling trailer), but  I am not proposing anything outlandish here. Instead of telling the audience the entire plot and story in 2 minutes, how about taking a little extra planning time with the material and using the same film footage to confuse and delight the audience?
Why more studios do not work to create trailers that stand out from the crowd is beyond me. But Tree of Life is proof that an unconventional trailer can get people into theaters to see your film.

 

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by Jeff Osborn on June 5, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Movie Trailer Tuesday, Marketing
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on June 5, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/06/05/movie-trailer-tuesday-tree-of-life/

why advertise here?

I was flipping through an old Money magazine the other day looking for print ads to write about and I noticed that the most interesting thing about the ads in the magazine was not what they were selling individually but what they were pushing as a whole.

An important part of understanding marketing is understanding why certain advertisements appear where they do.

I would say 95% of the ads in my Money magazines are for travel (automobiles, tires, hotels, airlines, or similar products and services) or financial products (banks, money managers and other financial institutions). The latter makes a lot of sense to me, but the former is where you will find the proof that Money and the companies that purchase advertising space within the magazine both understand the people who read the publication very well. Much effort, time and money go into gathering data on and breaking-down the folks that read Money, and any other magazine.

Publications like Money might serve other purposes as well, but the number one reason why it still exists is because the people who run it have gotten (really) good at understanding the people who read them.

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by Jeff Osborn on June 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Internet Marketing, Marketing, Online Marketing, Political Ads, Print Ads, Television Commercials
Tagged , , , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on June 1, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/06/01/why-advertise-here/

mayhem is everywhere

On Friday I posted a piece trashing Geico’s gecko ad campaign, which, by the way, has been running for over ten years (!).

On the other end of the “humor-for-branding” spectrum lives Allstate’s Mayhem is Everywhere campaign.

 

I really enjoy most of their Mayhem commercials, though cheap laughs are sometimes still the goal.

The two big differences to me between an ad campaign I despise, like the gecko’s, and one I find nearly perfect, like mayhem’s, are originality and execution. I use the word “lazy” a lot in my blog, but it really is the right word to describe the gecko campaign.

Mayhem, on the other hand, started from a new (and fundamentally difficult) idea and somehow made it through the gauntlet of misguided Allstate executives and creativity-killing marketing industry obstacles to emerge as one of the most constantly entertaining and productive ad campaigns of the last few decades.

None of the Mayhem ads are independently the best commercials ever made, but the campaign as a whole is as strong as I’ve seen in sometime.

Allstate/Mayhem Facebook page.

Allstate’s official “Mayhem is Everywhere” webpage.

 

 

 

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by Jeff Osborn on May 30, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Marketing, Television Commercials
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on May 30, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/05/30/mayhem-is-everywhere/

movie trailer tuesday – midnight in paris

Midnight in Paris is the best movie I have seen in a long time, so this post might be a little biased. I will do my best to treat the trailer as though I do not have a huge crush on the film itself.

Did this trailer make me want to see the movie?

Not really.

Was the trailer effective as a commercial?

No.

Like so many films I discuss on Movie Trailer Tuesday, the main reason I saw Midnight in Paris was word of mouth from people I know who’s opinions I trust.

A film as original and exceptional as this one is hard to make into a trailer.

Woody Allen is used to handling films like this, but Hollywood is not. Hollywood is accustomed to making trailers for formulaic movies with predictable plots, mainly sequels and novel-based pieces without an original idea within the entire project.

This trailer is better than many of those made for 2012 Best Film nominees, but it really does not convey the wondrous experience the film delivers.

Quick side note:

The best decision Woody Allen ever made just might be putting Owen Wilson in this film (especially if Allen himself was the other option). Had Midnight been made 20 years ago, it might have been an inferior film because of Wilson’s absence. Wilson is entertaining, energetic, and funny throughout. The “Holy-shit” face he pulls several times during his midnight adventures is one of the best film faces I have ever seen. That one expression conveys more than most actors can put forth with over-animated monologue deliveries and melodramatic emotional breakdowns. As my wife often says, “The best actors convey emotion with their faces and movements, not their words.”

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by Jeff Osborn on May 29, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Movie Trailer Tuesday, Marketing
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Jeff Osborn on May 29, 2012

http://dontadvertisetome.com/2012/05/29/movie-trailer-tuesday-midnight-in-paris/

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