Another one for the HAYAE

Another candidate for the HAYAE (Heinously Annoying Yet Amazingly Effective) advertising Hall of Fame.

First there was The Clapper, then there was Head On. Saved By Zero carried the torch for a bit, but I’m not sure any of them can hold a candle to our friend Vince and his Shamwow!!!!



You follow me, camera guy? You bet I do! And I don’t even have a camera! I love this spot. I could watch it over and over. It’s cheap, it’s human. Vince is the three-card-Monty guy and Monte Hall charmingly rolled into one. But that’s not even the best part.

Vince knows Spanish! (Warning: This one’s longer)



I don’t know if they sang Saved by Zero en Espanol, but this dude’s the real deal, slinging the lingo as if he were born south of the border.

And of course, you know it’s entered popular culture when people start making parodies. (WARNING: expletives galore)

Well done, Shamwow. I dare anyone out there to tell me it’s not a horribly brilliant ad.

Celebrity endorsing gone horribly wrong, Part 1

In my rush to praise the awful yet buzzworthy Toyota "Saved by Zero" commercials, I did a terrible disservice to another commercial that is nauseatingly deserving of similar recognition.



Emmitt Smith, Clyde Frazier, and Keith Hernandez. Three athletes who have nothing to do with each other, and seemingly nothing in common, other than the fact that they’re older than young people. That, and/or they’re all terrible card players and they gambled away their pride.

And everything they say rhymes. Even the announcer! How awesome is that?

For what it’s worth, using ex-pro athletes for a men’s lose-the-grey-hair product absolutely makes sense. Might make more sense to use someone who is known for having grey hair, like Brett Favre. Maybe he’s too good a card player.

Quit your yappin’: Saved by Zero is brilliant

OK, I’ll pile on. But only to disagree with all of the Saved By Zero haters.



No, it’s not a good ad. Not at all. But it’s not all that different from the local auto advertising drivel, much of which consists of the following: cheap graphics, shiny cars, and a somewhat memorable '70’s or ‘80’s song that illustrates the point of the sale...and is affordable.

What’s different about SBZ is how often it has run on very visible programming and how much negative blogging it’s received. Not just one site, but another and another. People must have been saving up their hatred for a while because there’s been boatloads of it heaved at SBZ.

But in one respect, it’s awesome: You remember it.

And that’s a collective You, not just us highly refined ad watchers, but the real people of America who wouldn’t mind some good ole’ zero APR financing.

I’d put SBZ into a very special category of advertising, along The Clapper, Head-On, and our friend Ron Popiel, and hell, let’s throw in Sales Genie. Strictly based on the usually agreed upon purpose of advertising.

Sell stuff.

I’m not saying they’re good ads. They’re terrible ads. But great ads aren’t always effective, and effective ads often suck. And sometimes, legends are made out of ickiness. It just happens.

So whether you meant to get there or not, welcome, SBZ, to greatness.