jtherkal: I can’t wait until Lost starts again. Sawyer is the hottest shit on the streets. Whatever he does, I want to do. It says don’t dive, but he dives! Then he does some sort of leaping butterfly stroke. No one actually swims like that! Except for Sawyer. He defies convention. If I ever wore cologne, I would wear this brand, simply because Sawyer wants me to. A.
sjbooher: This ad is absolutely brilliant. For years I’ve seen Cool Water ads in Sports Illustrated, forever imprinting their brand in my head. Blue. Beefcake. Cool. Sex. Water. When the bigwigs over at Davidoff first saw Sawyer in the water during some random Lost episode, they probably couldn’t get his agent on the phone quick enough. He IS Cool Water. Amazing. Few times in life do the stars align so perfectly. The best part for Josh Holloway is he probably did not even have to leave the Lost set. Hell, he may not have even done any special filming for this joint. They easily could have found some “lost” footage from the show, gave it the ol’ cut and splice, and BAM — done. A+.
jtherkal: In what will become a growing series as November nears, we’re going to tackle political ads. For years, political ads have been a stain on our society, littering the airwaves with slanderous accusations, boredom and just plain terribleness. You’d think that candidates would hire professionals to pump out some ads that don’t feel like your typical political BS. But to date, few have. We’ll start with this gem, which has been a bit of a lightning rod as of late.
It’s for John McCain, Republican candidate for president (for the super uninformed). My guess is he has hired some professionals, and those professionals talked him into this outstanding ad. The conversation probably went a little like this:
Ad Guy: So John, the difference between you and Obama is that you’re old and crusty. He’s young, beloved and hip. Trying to make you seem hip, or Obama seem crusty is a near impossible task. So our angle is this: play up your crustiness and make his popularity seem like a fault.
McCain: Interesting. Can’t we just say “McCain is white and will take over the fucking world with guns?”
Ad Guy: No, there’s been a bit of a backlash due to all this war crap.
McCain: Oh, continue.
Ad Guy: Well, we start with ominous music. Then we show people chanting “O BA MA! O BA MA!”
McCain: Wait, won’t that make him seem popular?
Ad Guy: That’s the point, you old bastard. Now shut it and wait for the punchline.
McCain: Sorry.
Ad Guy: So while people are chanting, we show images of celebrities that are idiots. Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears, etc. Then people will think “Obama is a celebrity, Paris is a celebrity, Obama is the same as Paris.”
McCain: I like your logic.
Ad Guy: Then we say some of the political bullshit you insist on cramming in my ads, followed by that image of you looking into the light while you say you approve this message.
McCain: Doesn’t that clip of me looking into the light make people think of me being old and dying?
Ad Guy: That’s the point! We want people to think about how old you are. You’re the anti-young. You have so much experience that you’re almost dead.
McCain: Brilliant.
Ad Guy: That’s why you hired me.
I guess if I have to rate this, I give it a F. The backlash on this has been nothing short of sensational. Paris has even responded with this:
sjbooher: That’s it, I’m voting for Paris. That is awesome. How does Paris Hilton have a better campaign ad than McCain? And it also sounds like she already has a better handle on her running mate (Rihanna, potentially) than either of the real candidates! Ha. McCain’s ad was lazy and scatterbrained at the same time. FOCUS, MAAAAAAAN. Not to mention he just saved Obama millions of dollars as the backlash is campaign advertising in and of itself. F to the McCain ad, A+ to the Paris ad.
jtherkal: SMASH! Everyone dreams of watching people in their office get crushed by a linebacker. Bringing the wondrous violence of football from the field to the office makes for gooood watching. When Terry throws that guy into the cube, smash! What are they selling? Who cares. I remember it’s Reebok and I still, to this day, go back and watch these every once in awhile. Say what you like, but in my book that’s effective advertising. Except that as an adult, I’ve never bought a pair of Reeboks. Mostly because they make ugly shoes. Advertising can’t fix that. A.
sjbooher: Agreed. Highly entertaining. One of my favorite sounds in the world is that of a good, solid tackle. They did a great job with the sound effects and dialogue on this one, making it a classic. “That ain’t new, baby!”. A+.
jtherkal: It’s love. It’s love. It’s la la la la love. I don’t really like this commercial, but I like the song. To me, it sounds sort of like the South Park guys singing it. Here’s where this ad fails: It’s about giving someone a beer. That’s what a waitress does. The only part of sharing beer I care about is GETTING one. Save your altruistic sharing message for something un-beer-related, like pumpkin pie or something. Ad: D. Song: A. Overall: C+
sjbooher: Guess I just landed myself in CrazyTown! Are you crazy, jtherkal? This ad is awesome. You can horde your beer in the corner of your studio apartment all day and all night and drink it alone. I’ll be with my friends and non-friends alike, sharing the love. My favorite part, other than the song, is the maniacal laughter into which some of the beer recipients break, especially the old guy in the snow cabin. A+
P.S. — Can someone please put the Heineken “liquid gold” mini-keg ad on YouTube?
Hip hop duo Atmosphere recently launched a website promoting their new album, When Life Gives You Lemons. The site, paintthatshitgold.com uses a simple, but very well executed idea to get at their target audience. The site lets you “tag” any website. You simply enter the address and paintthatshitgold.com goes and gets a screen grab of the page.
Then, using their simple tools, you can paint over the page. Choose spraypaint, markers, stencils, colors, thickness, etc. It’s easy to use and fun.
When you’re finished, you can upload your image into their gallery, which has some pretty impressive work in it.
jtherkal: Bullseye. This site is fun to use and I think people generally spend some time playing around with it, all the while listening to Atmosphere’s sample tracks, which aren’t bad. I’d never head of them before, but now I bet I’ve spent almost an hour listening to their music while I paint over other sites. The kids they’re trying to reach look at graffiti as a form of art and I’d wager it’s pretty damned popular. It’s a form of rebellion, a way to make a statement and just plain fun to do. Paintthatshitgold.com does exactly what it’s designed to: Gets you to listen to Atmosphere. The fact that you can paint a mustache on an image of Hillary Clinton from a CNN page, or paint crybaby tears streaming from Kobe Bryant’s eyes is just an added bonus. Tremendous effort. A+.
sjbooher: I love Atmosphere. So rather than ranting on-and-on with a biased opinion, I’ll just hand out an A+ and keep it moving. P.S — I also love painting crybaby tears on Kobe Cryant.
sjbooher: I first heard about this on Hip-Hop news site, nahright.com. I don’t know anything about Roy Black — apparently he is famous in Germany — and I don’t even know what this is advertising. Perhaps Snoop is singing about it in German? No matter — this is awesome. Snoop coming out of a fridge? Hot girls coming out of a dishwasher and dancing around? Fabulous. A+.
jtherkal: My associate seems to ignore his own rules whenever he sees fit. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t understand German advertising and is giving them the benefit of the doubt. I don’t deny the greatness this 40 seconds of films brings to this world, but you need to tell me what it’s for. Maybe this is just some sort of incomplete YouTube clip. I can’t give this better than a C without knowing what it’s for.
sjbooher: You are sort of right… I was just making the assumption that if I knew German, I would know what the product was.
jtherkal: First, A+ for the entire Truth campaign. After years of corny, terrible anti-smoking advertising that kids and adults alike dismissed as over-the-top failures, they found a way to really reach people. There’ve been countless great Truth ads; they never fail to get your attention or deliver a relevant, important point about the harms of smoking and the calculating callousness of big tobacco. After a few years of brilliant ads, it’s probably had to come up with the next one without feeling like you’re really forcing it. While I don’t necessarily love this one, in recent focus groups with teens, they almost always mention this as one of their favorites. You can’t argue with the truth. A.
sjbooher: Agree, agree, and agree. After learning that this ad really gets the attention of teens, I’m even going to have to the up the grade. Stopping people smoking before it they start is the most important time. A+.
sjbooher:Previously, we gave this ad a mediocre rating. Well, the people have spoken (and my stomach), and this must be revised. Here is the evidence:
a) This ad has the internet going nuts, like Paul Wall. It is by far the most popular on our YouTube channel, with 24k+ views as of this writing.
b) People all around me are talking about it, and are addicted to the jingle. I got a random text from a friend, that simply read “$5.00 footlong!!!!!!” My wife’s 8th grade students sing the jingle and talk about it incessantly. This past Friday, a large number of them even purchased $5 footlongs before they arrived at school, to save for lunch. A comedy radio talk show that I listen to, Two Jacks In The Hole, had an entire segment about it, and even mentioned their propensity to wake up in the morning singing the jingle and craving the food.
c) Finally, this ad is the first to make the IRATEADS.com, “Ads That Work”, list. Yes, playas and playettes, I myself, spurred on by the ad, purchased and ate a $5 Footlong on Friday. In fact, how about that for their next promotion? $5 Footlong Fridays?
sjbooher: Remember how I mentioned that the dialog in the NBA split-head ads seemed scripted and forced? This is the exact opposite. Did MJ write this script while smoking a stogie and playing cards at the 19th Hole? I wouldn’t put it past him… but probably not. Does it sound like it could be an inspirational, from the heart speech he might give at the end of some camp for high schoolers? Definitely. Jordan Brand gets it right over and over again. They convey an image of superiority… of greatness… that you just want to be a part of. A+.
jtherkal: It’s hard to go wrong when Jordan is the voice of your brand. And your brand is actually his brand. He’s a proven winner and you instantly associate greatness with the product (except for Hanes, which somehow has managed to develop a “silly underwear” personality with Jordan and Cuba). It’s a good reminder that behind every great player is determination and drive and hard work. I sort of understand using the imagery they used, with no footage of him actually playing, but couldn’t they have found some training footage? Shooting free throws after hours in the gym? Anything? We want to see Jordan in action. A-.
sjbooher: I do not have the facts on this, but I am fairly certain these ads could not run while the awful Cavemen tv show was airing. Not only was that show’s cancellation a sign of Allah’s enduring love, but a nice little bonus is that we once again get to see the phenomenon that started it all. This was one of the later ads in the campaign, but it might be the best. I love it. The song is awesome, with a subtle comedic aspect to the lyrics, and it makes me want to see this one over-and-over again. The ad takes advantage of the viewer already being familiar with the “So Easy A Caveman Can Do It” tagline, as it gets creative, while still incorporating the big picture. Love it. In the ultimate advertising victory, I will be moving soon and in need of a new renter’s insurance policy. I’m checking with Geico first. All-time favorite, and that really goes for this entire campaign. I am glad they started making new ads. Ad guys 1, Sitcom writers nothing. A+.
jtherkal: I can’t argue here. They did a good job. Geiko is a good client to have. They buy smart, subtle work. And they don’t limit themselves to one campaign. They have 3-4 campaigns running at once, so they blanket the world with different Geico messaging. Have a campaign with a lizard? Good. And cavemen? Bring it on. If it’s good, they make it. I will say that because of the gecko lizard, which I spell “gekko” in my head, I can’t ever spell Geico properly. Geiko. A.
