jtherkal: A co-worker sent me this. I’m not sure the color is correct, but you get the idea. An under-from-behind shot of a girl’s crotch, with the line “coming soon” on it. Wow. On one level, I think it’s cheap and almost too vulgar. On another level, I have a boner. B+.
jtherkal: This billboard is across the street from an American Apparel store right near my house. When I’m walking home from the subway, it’s all I can see. It’s a wonder I don’t get hit by cars in the stare-at-ass-trance this puts me in. The only bad thing is that the model is probably 14. But as my grandpa says, “It doesn’t matter how old you get, a good looking gal is still a good looking gal.” The truth. A.
sjbooher: I cannot really “ad” anything to that! A couple quick comments… American Apparel always has odd articles of clothing that make me think: “What is that for?”. Now I know — it is for laying around on weird couches with your dog, of course. Also, I love that this appears right above the “Sugar Cafe”… that could almost be part of the ad. Ha.
(image by GVD)
In honor of Brett Favre’s retirement from professional football, we here at irateads.com are taking a moment to remember him and thank him for all the years of hatred and joy he has brought us by rating every Brett Favre ad we can find on YouTube. I grew up a Lions fan, so for most of my life I hated Brett Favre with the intensity of 1000 suns. Then he got old and flawed and gristled. And I grew to love him for his passion and the way he played the game of football. Just a good ol’ boy out there having some fun on a Sunday. It’s a shame no one every harnessed his pure goodness in the perfect advertising campaign–some came close…
Mastercard Ad
jtherkal: The Priceless campaign seems to always have pretty good work and this is no exception. Monday morning quarterback, get it? You know Brett would’ve double bagged it. Brett: A. Mastercard: B+.
sjbooher: Love it. What he said. And I love consistent campaigns that work and brand your product… although I still don’t understand credit card advertising in general, really. Brett: A+. Mastercard: A+.
Rayovac Batteries
jtherkal: You’re Brett Favre, you are America, you are football. And you choose to endorse Rayovac? If you’re Rayovac, every endorsement wet dream you’ve ever had is coming true as Brett reads your shitty tag line to the camera. If you’re Brett, you have to be thinking: where’s Energizer? Brett: F Rayovac: C-
sjbooher: Ho-hum. It’s a good effort by Rayovac to get their name out there, and I like the football-themed, “Laaaaaaabeau Fiiieeeeld”-esque voiceover guy that’s really just an employee. And it’s true, Brett is simply a pretty face, in this one. I have to ask this, though. Do people really get suckered in by moneyback guarantees? Is any consumer buying Energizers and Rayovacs then taking them home to see which one powers their flashlight longer? If it makes people buy your product, it’s genius, as probably about 0% of people ever pull your card. The jury (meaning my opinion) is still out on that aspect of this one. Brett: C-. Rayovac: C+.
Nike
jtherkal: I guess it’s from 1997, so the fact that the music feels all wrong might not be accurate. Maybe in 1997 it was perfect. The fact that this was from over 10 years ago and would still work as an ad today is a testament to Brett Favre and to Nike. Brett: A Nike: A-
sjbooher: To me, this would still work because it’s boring as hell. Maybe that’s because it’s been drilled into my head over and over again how much of a loose cannon Favre is on the field. Maybe this worked better during that time, but I hated Brett Favre then, so I probably would have liked it even less. And what is Nike even advertising? Are they selling Brett Favre figurines? Just the overall brand, I guess, but it’s more of a Favre ad than a Nike ad. Brett: C-. Nike: D.
Bergstrom
jtherkal: Ugh. I guess Brett is a hometown hero, so you’re bound to get some of these. This was played at Lambeau field during a game. I’m sure thousands of drunk Packer fans stopped in their tracks to watch Brett deliver this boring-ass endorsement. But fresh cookies? That’s worth something. Brett: D Bergstrom: D
sjbooher: The fresh cookies alone makes this a great ad. In a town like Green Bay, I’m not even sure if the consumers have much of a choice, when it comes to auto dealerships, and they definitely do not after this ad. Maybe it’s preaching to the choir, but it’s a slam dunk. Brett: B. Bergstrom: A+.
Bergstrom — Smart Car
jtherkal: 16 years? Well, Brett, that’s a commitment to your sponsors. That’s the kind of All-American leadership and dedication we like to see. But Smart Cars? In Wisconsin? I can’t think of a worse place to have a smart car. I’m sure those handle great in a foot of snow. What, did the dealership accidentally fill check the wrong box on their order form? Brett Favre is not the man to be selling Smart Cars. Brett sells trucks, idiots. Brett: D Bergstrom: F
sjbooher: Yeah, this is just plain weird. Brett puts in a fine effort though, as we works with what they give him, just like he did every Sunday for the Packers. While I question Bergstrom’s decision to sell this car in the first place, I’m here to rate the ad, and it’s pretty good. It’s informative and they use their ace-in-the-hole, Brett Favre, in an attempt to sell a possibly unsellable product. And that jingle is quality work — Berrrrg-strooooom They can give a great deal more!. Brett: B. Bergstrom B.
Prilosec
jtherkal: Brett driving some sort of bulldozer? Brett walking in the woods with his dogs, Brett sawing logs! Brett cookin’ crawfish for the boys Brett chillin’ on the dock with his daughter (I assume) Brett throwin’ the pigskin. Yup. That’s just Brett being Brett. Prilosec understands, Brett Favre IS AMERICA! It doesn’t really matter what the product is. Brett: A Prilosec: A
sjbooher: Chalk this up to an ad that worked for at least one consumer. This ad aired right around the time I figured out that I have acid problems and, thanks to Brett, I went out and gave it a whirl. So I guess I can’t too critical, but I do have some issues with this one. While it’s awesome to have Brett doing all that stuff… WHAT THE HELL DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH HEARTBURN? Only one activity is relevant — the crawlfish eating. “Day 5, I just chilled”. And you can’t do that with heartburn? Weird. Brett: A+. Prilosec: C+.
Edge Pro Gel
jtherkal: If you can shave Brett’s man-face, you can shave anything. That’s the selling point here. Edge missed it, you still have Brett shaving. Brett: A Edge: C+
sjbooher: Now that way know “5 o’clock shadow” Brett so well, it’s hard to think of it as a good thing he’s shaving. Also, maybe Reggie forgot to look in the mirror, because he has a goatee, so he sorta didn’t shave either! Anyway, this a fun, playful ad that gets the point across, although it is a bit dated now. Brett: C. Edge: C+.
3-A-Day Dairy
jtherkal: Can we even count this? Was that Brett we saw at 00:28? I think it was. So let me say this: shame on you 3-A-Day. Brett Favre is the face of Wisconsin, the home of cheese. And all you can do is slip him in at the end? No one even cares about those other people. Unless they’re somehow famous people with strong bones and healthy bodies from states known for their diary products, why even bother? Brett: A 3-A-Day: F
sjbooher: It’s not completely Brett-centric, but good nonetheless. Look at those tasty dairy treats. What my cohort may be forgetting is that Favre was not always the picture of wholesome goodness. He went through some painkiller and alcohol addiction days when companies may have shied away from him a bit. Brett: Incomplete. 3-A-Day: B.
Wrangler
jtherkal: I can’t even begin to explain how disappointed I was to not find Brett’s Wrangler commercial anywhere. This is the best I could do. In its original form, the Wrangler commercial is the 100% correct usage of Brett Favre. You walk away with a crystal clear message: Brett Favre is America, Wrangler Jeans are America. For some reason the ridiculousness of pairing this with Mims makes me laugh. Hilarious. Someone spent an afternoon cutting that together. Wild. Strange Video: B- Brett: A+ Wrangler: A+
sjbooher: This is easily my favorite all-time Brett Favre ad. It nails the Wrangler brand image 100%. Perfect. Brett: A+. Wrangler: A+
NFL
jtherkal: How apropos. It is hard to say goodbye. We’ll miss you Brett, even though we sometimes hated you. Brett: A NFL: A
sjbooher: Every cloud has a silver-lining. Now we won’t have to endure another year of “Will he retire? Will he comeback?” debates. Brett: A. NFL: A+
This campaign for JCPenny’s new brand, American Living, launched during the Oscars. There was a little bit of hype for it in the ad world, though I’m not sure why. I did watch some of the Oscars, and I did see a few of these commercials. They had such an impact that I didn’t think of them again until about ten minutes ago.
jtherkal: Hey, look America, it’s you! Look at how well we know who you are. Doesn’t that look like your little daughter stepping in cake? Now that we’ve established this bond, perhaps you’d like to buy some of our things that we designed for you.
jtherkal: America, it’s me again. And I think I’ve really captured the essence of your living. It’s children playing in the woods. Then it’s children sitting on a bed in the woods. Buy some stuff. A polo shirt maybe, one with stripes.
jtherkal: Come on, America, you didn’t think I would forget about your crazy marching band thing with people on skateboards and stuff, did you? I even changed my song. Now will you buy my clothes? How about some sheets?
I think you get the idea. I don’t know if I love it or hate it. After watching these a bunch of times, I definitely start to associate a certain warm feeling with the American Living brand–which is perhaps all this launch campaign needed to accomplish. No matter what, I’m always going to think of JCPenney as a shitty department store in the mall. I like it, I hate it, I can’t decide. C+.
sjbooher: I’ll be blunt. This is a bunch of b.s. NO ONE featured in these commercials shops at JCPenney — they are all wearing Polo and Nautica. As my associate so very aptly stated, Penney’s is a shitty department store in the mall that attracts working class folk. Does anyone really WANT to shop there? Probably night. On a related noted, as a kid, I always wanted the clothes JCPenney sold that you matched based on the animal tags. So there’d be a shirt and a pair of pants, both with a rhino tag. Awesome.
Also, are these ads for a train company? Were they designed by the Mad Men for a 50s demographic? Are these to be used as a form of sleep therapy? F.
jtherkal: This is exactly where Victoria’s Secret should be. Once again in front of millions of grown men who spent their formative years conducting one-on-one study sessions with the catalog. And now we’re old enough to have real ladies. And yes, if we’ve behaved, they will be waiting for us after the game. Great concept, great line(let the real games begin), great placement (near the end of the game), great ad. My only criticism is this: why not show more ladies? I mean, maybe some of us like blonds. Or redheads or Latinas or black girls or Asians or girls with buzz cuts or girls with big, fake knockers. Splash up a little variety for us. We’re a melting pot. A-.
sjbooher: An amazingly beautiful lingerie model twirling a football. Perfection. Oh, and all that intelligent ad stuff my cohort said. A+.
Yes, I am reviewing a Dolce and Gabbana ad.
First, when that robot person at the beginning says “dance music for people who want tomorrow’s music today,” I pay attention, because I think maybe I want that. But then the alarm music begins, which makes me realize I don’t want that.
It must be interesting to work on an account like this. Sitting around, eating mushrooms, trying to think of ways to make people want expensive clothing. Can you imagine going to a client with this as your pitch: So these two people are walking through the city in a hurry…we lead you to believe they’re going to meet one another and there’s a real urgency. But then at the last second…we reveal they’re each meeting themselves! And then they make out with themselves. Girl on girl, guy on guy. Then we just put up your logo and the word “time.”
Why? Because D&G is for people who love themselves. That might actually make sense. When I started writing this, I was going to give this spot a D. Then I realized I’m not the target audience and that there might actually be some logic to it. I also noticed that in the background of the spot, other people are making out with themselves. I guess that makes it somehow better.
sjbooher: C, I guess. I also don’t know enough about the target audience, probably. If this made gay men like the product, it probably deserves a higher grade. I do like the stylistic and musical choices.
Really? This is supposed to make me want Hanes? There are two major things wrong with this commercial. First, why would Michael Jordan send anyone a basket of boxers? If I was Jordan and I read this script, I would immediately fire my agent for even bringing it to the table. He doesn’t need that money, he’s Jordan. Which leads me to my next, more important point: you’re Hanes, you have Michael Jordan endorsing your product and THIS is the best you can do? With perhaps the world’s most famous, powerful athlete? With the man every man would give his left nut to be or have been? Shame on you Hanes, shame on you.