I RATE ADS

jtherkal: Not long ago we rated a Dove shampoo ad, and we rated it poorly. Most advertising targeting females, especially in the beauty industry, is entirely forgettable. This one is not. It delivers the message in a funny, memorable way. Someone out there understands that girls are smart enough to get jokes and that when people laugh, they remember. This may suffer from a slight case of “forget what product it’s for,” but overall I think we’ll start seeing more and more ads that target girls in this way. In my opinion, it’s smart. A-.

sjbooher: Hahahahahahahaha. Very funny, like TBS! “No she did not just do the crazy head twirl, girlfriend! Hell-to-the-naw!” Everything he just said, but downgraded a little more because of the lack of product focus. B.

jtherkal:
Every year you get at least one advertiser during the Super Bowl who thinks, “No one else is targeting women, this is my chance to have them all to myself.” I have no idea if this works or not, but I like the thinking–millions of women stuck on couches, forced to watch football, diddling with their hair wishing someone would pay attention to them. Perfect time for a shampoo ad! Unfortunately, this year’s woman ad kind of sucks. It didn’t feel “big” or “fresh” enough to compete with the other ads around it. I guess it has star power, but I don’t think you can ever clearly see their hair. And isn’t that what you want to show off with shampoo? I mean, if life was reduced to three colors and desaturated, we’d all look awesome. D+.

sjbooher:
Yeah, it felt like they spent all of their money on the placement and on the stars and then just threw the rest together. And is that second picture really Shakira? The other two were recognizable, but Shakira is known for her curly hair, which does not come across at all in that portrait. I’m also never a fan of “hiding” the product until the end. C-.