I RATE ADS

sjbooher: Nothing all that interesting here, although I guess it succeeds in getting the “plant a seed” idea across, and it’s an overall “feel good” moment. Things that are too sugary sweet (ha, no pun intended) bother me, and I do feel that way about this one. C.

jtherkal: Awww how nice. And boring. And wasteful. How about instead of wasting 3 million dollars on a Super Bowl ad, you use that money to build some fields, you selfish dicks. Oh, we want you to vote where we build them. Shut up. F.

sjbooher: I cringe as these guys talk. There are several ads in this series, all with this trio trying to be funny. Mission failed, in my opinion. I’m sure some people laugh at them, though, so I cannot rule them out entirely. On the positive side, I have never heard of this cereal before, and the description in these ads whets the old’ palette, so they did a good job there. C+.

jtherkal: To put together an entertaining 30-second commercial that spends all 30 seconds talking about the product is a tough task. Here we have spots where people talk about the Raisin Bran Crunch and its benefits for the duration. It’s all raisin bran crunch all the time. The writing is pretty good (”Hmmm, maybe you haven’t heard it, two scroops of crunch…nooo, two scoops of raisins.”), but they failed by trying to make it “extra” funny. The banter between the guy who likes crunch and the guy who likes raisins is a good premise for the campaign. Then they throw in that third little elf-man and try to have him be the punchline. He ruins it for me. But overall, success. “As long as Ms. Flake and Mr. Granola are coming to crunch town, it’s a great time.” A-.

sjbooher: This ad is weird. So she has the power to freeze time, and she uses it to eat cereal? And if you are fat, does it really cause problems with your top button? Wouldn’t it be the button by your stomach? And the way she opens her blouse at the end is odd, too. I don’t get it. At least she’s hot and the cereal looks appetizing. C-.

jtherkal: What are you watching that this is on? Oprah? This is a commercial I would never take notice of, let alone take the time to find on YouTube and write a review about. I’m obviously not the target (although I am getting a bit of a belly), but even if I was, this is pretty bland. I can’t fail it, but there’s nothing good about it–save the suggestive tug at the blouse. D.

sjbooher: The interesting part is, that all of these cereal, yogurt, etc. ads you seeing reviewed came from a broadcast of the World Poker Tour on the GSN. Seems to me they aren’t selling targeted ad space, but instead just general ad space for their network. Unless there is a secret brigade of underground housewife poker players!