I have one thing and one thing only to say about the Super Bowl advertising because I’ve heard and talked and read enough about it.
Bravo to the nobodies from nowhere, the unemployed Herbert brothers from Batesville, Ohio, who bested the behemoths of advertising to capture the coveted top prize in the USA Today Ad Meter. Bob Lachky may jokingly say that he wants a recount, but with Bud’s streak being broken at 10, you know he’s not a happy guy. Same with the bosses at Pepsi who expected to come out on top and be showered with all of the bonus PR.
And their agencies aren't feeling too hot either.
For good measure, let’s watch again, and enjoy the never-gets-old comedic power of a crystal ball in the nuts. Watch and learn, ad guys. Watch and learn.
Showing posts with label super bowl advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label super bowl advertising. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
This is Bigger than the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl pre-game adverganza is in full swing. I’m fairly unimpressed with this set of ads (although both the dude in the speedo picking his nails and “I’m good” made me laugh), not to mention just a bit bored with all of the early hype. It all acts as a bit of a buzzkill for Sunday and makes me less interested in joining the horde writing about them.
I'm going to write about the world's biggest Slurpee instead.
In my mind, the Slurpee is one of the great American icons. I would put it up there with Super Rope and Smarties and Razzles and all of the great candy and munchies with fun names that have been around forever. Things that aren’t exactly food but are incredibly satisfying.
Thinking of Slurpees conjures up images of riding bikes to 7-11 on hot days after baseball games. Kids have been doing it for decades and still are. What’s better than a Coke Slurpee on a 90˚ day with the hopes of getting a brain freeze?
Slurpee has always done interesting ads—crazy, even—so it’s no surprise to see them doing something fun and different. What is surprising is to see it in Australia. They love it down there. They should. It's brilliant marketing because people are talking about it around the world and it's impossible not to know who it's for. Those Aussies do Slurpees proud. A lot more buzz than what most of the Super Bowl ads will get, and a lot less expensive than $3 million.
Hail Slurpee.
I'm going to write about the world's biggest Slurpee instead.
In my mind, the Slurpee is one of the great American icons. I would put it up there with Super Rope and Smarties and Razzles and all of the great candy and munchies with fun names that have been around forever. Things that aren’t exactly food but are incredibly satisfying.
Thinking of Slurpees conjures up images of riding bikes to 7-11 on hot days after baseball games. Kids have been doing it for decades and still are. What’s better than a Coke Slurpee on a 90˚ day with the hopes of getting a brain freeze?
Slurpee has always done interesting ads—crazy, even—so it’s no surprise to see them doing something fun and different. What is surprising is to see it in Australia. They love it down there. They should. It's brilliant marketing because people are talking about it around the world and it's impossible not to know who it's for. Those Aussies do Slurpees proud. A lot more buzz than what most of the Super Bowl ads will get, and a lot less expensive than $3 million.
Hail Slurpee.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The hype before the hype
The Super Bowl advertising hype is ramping up. Not only will brands be duking it out for the best ads on the game telecast, they’re going head to head before the game even starts to get the early buzz. It’s kind of like the red carpet on steroids.
My favorite clash of the titans is between Pepsi and Coke. As always, they’re looking for an edge vs the other, and the delicious irony is that without knowing it, they’ve spent the past several months developing new campaigns that are mirror images of each other, featuring relentless optimism and unbridled happiness. It almost feels like there are sliding doors between the two agencies and the same creatives are going back and forth doing all the work.
Both sides are claiming they were first, but I’d file this one in the there-are-only-seven-original-ideas-in-the-whole-world department, especially in this year of Hope.
There are the usual differences; like last year’s Charlie Brown spot, Coke goes the way of warm and “ohh…nice…”
And like Pepsi Max’s bobbing heads spot from the past, they go the slapstick route again.
Both fun, with many more memorable ads to come. This one won’t be among them.
I know it's for PETA, but it might be a way to get a whole generation of boys to eat their vegetables...
My favorite clash of the titans is between Pepsi and Coke. As always, they’re looking for an edge vs the other, and the delicious irony is that without knowing it, they’ve spent the past several months developing new campaigns that are mirror images of each other, featuring relentless optimism and unbridled happiness. It almost feels like there are sliding doors between the two agencies and the same creatives are going back and forth doing all the work.
Both sides are claiming they were first, but I’d file this one in the there-are-only-seven-original-ideas-in-the-whole-world department, especially in this year of Hope.
There are the usual differences; like last year’s Charlie Brown spot, Coke goes the way of warm and “ohh…nice…”
And like Pepsi Max’s bobbing heads spot from the past, they go the slapstick route again.
Both fun, with many more memorable ads to come. This one won’t be among them.
I know it's for PETA, but it might be a way to get a whole generation of boys to eat their vegetables...
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Hey Pepsi: You forgot something
Yay, Pepsi! They’re full of happy, joy and love! Despite the economic woes, the renewed fighting in the Middle East, and the moon-crater-size potholes springing up across our fair land, Pepsi is debuting their happy-or-bust act in Times Square to bring their new marketing platform of no-holds-barred optimism to the world.
Seems right, right? Obama is coming, and it’s the perfect time to change to the good side. They just forgot one thing:
They forgot the humanity. The part where we’re human beings and we don’t like being TOLD to feel a certain way. Especially being SCREAMED at to embrace the optimistic side of life.
We far prefer to be told a story that makes us feel something. The Coke Macy’s day parade commercial immediately springs to mind.
Not humans, but endless humanity. Makes you feel good.
Yesterday, I went to see a restored 70 MM print of West Side Story at the Music Box Theatre, a slightly run down but still wonderfully gemlike anachronism of a movie palace in the times of 18-theatre megaplexes.
For all of you showtune dissers, I will acknowledge that a bunch of pirouetting, knife wielding gang members is a bit silly, especially in our times of special effects violence. But c’mon, this is West Side Story. Best Picture, 1961. A ridiculous number of smile-inducing showstoppers. How could you not beam for 5 minutes watching this:
With the new print, the sound was massive, and the colors were spectacular. But most important: the movie was huge! It’s over forty years old, so I’ve never seen it in a theatre. On the big screen, the story was so much more powerful. You couldn’t help but feel the love and frustration and grief from these trapped kids. Powerful stuff.
Everyone in the Music Box yesterday felt it.
So when you go on Pepsi’s related site and are told to be happy, you probably just move on. Because you can’t tell someone how to feel. You can tell them a story that might make them feel something. You can appeal to their human being-ness. Pepsi's new campaign is admirably eager to make us feel the happy, but in their eagerness, they forgot to tell us why.
Seems right, right? Obama is coming, and it’s the perfect time to change to the good side. They just forgot one thing:
They forgot the humanity. The part where we’re human beings and we don’t like being TOLD to feel a certain way. Especially being SCREAMED at to embrace the optimistic side of life.
We far prefer to be told a story that makes us feel something. The Coke Macy’s day parade commercial immediately springs to mind.
Not humans, but endless humanity. Makes you feel good.
Yesterday, I went to see a restored 70 MM print of West Side Story at the Music Box Theatre, a slightly run down but still wonderfully gemlike anachronism of a movie palace in the times of 18-theatre megaplexes.
For all of you showtune dissers, I will acknowledge that a bunch of pirouetting, knife wielding gang members is a bit silly, especially in our times of special effects violence. But c’mon, this is West Side Story. Best Picture, 1961. A ridiculous number of smile-inducing showstoppers. How could you not beam for 5 minutes watching this:
With the new print, the sound was massive, and the colors were spectacular. But most important: the movie was huge! It’s over forty years old, so I’ve never seen it in a theatre. On the big screen, the story was so much more powerful. You couldn’t help but feel the love and frustration and grief from these trapped kids. Powerful stuff.
Everyone in the Music Box yesterday felt it.
So when you go on Pepsi’s related site and are told to be happy, you probably just move on. Because you can’t tell someone how to feel. You can tell them a story that might make them feel something. You can appeal to their human being-ness. Pepsi's new campaign is admirably eager to make us feel the happy, but in their eagerness, they forgot to tell us why.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Real stories are the best stories
Get ready for the hype...!!!!
The NFL playoffs start soon. So after weeks and weeks of preparation, and in some cases, last minute scrambles to be ready for the Big Game, all eyes and ears will hone in on the most important event of the year: the Super Bowl commercials.
Sure, they’ll play a game, too. But except in rare instances, the lion’s share of the post-game debates is around the ads.
The regulars will almost all be there, even at a starting price tag of $3 million, the highest ever. FedEx, who consistently ranks in the Top Ten in USA Today’s Admeter and hit #2 last year, is taking a pass. The logic is logical, but it’s too bad. They make great ads.
Speaking of which, this was just about my favorite from last year.
It’s so smart for the Super Bowl. A human story to break through the clutter of beer humor and animal jokes. An ode to friendship and teammates. And it’s all true, which made it even better.
The NFL is hoping lightning will strike twice this year. Their site is split in half, with players stories’ on one side and fans’ stories on the other. Again, real stories, and they hope they turn up another diamond. We get to vote for the best ones, with the winner appearing on the Super Bowl. Fun promo. Check it out.
I'll tell you what: some of those fans are awesome. They should get them into a broader audience, whether it's pre or post game, or at the stadium, or in movie theatres...wherever they can get a lot of people to see it. It's what football fandom is all about.
Ironic, how real people are way more interesting than the professional athletes they idolize.
The NFL playoffs start soon. So after weeks and weeks of preparation, and in some cases, last minute scrambles to be ready for the Big Game, all eyes and ears will hone in on the most important event of the year: the Super Bowl commercials.
Sure, they’ll play a game, too. But except in rare instances, the lion’s share of the post-game debates is around the ads.
The regulars will almost all be there, even at a starting price tag of $3 million, the highest ever. FedEx, who consistently ranks in the Top Ten in USA Today’s Admeter and hit #2 last year, is taking a pass. The logic is logical, but it’s too bad. They make great ads.
Speaking of which, this was just about my favorite from last year.
It’s so smart for the Super Bowl. A human story to break through the clutter of beer humor and animal jokes. An ode to friendship and teammates. And it’s all true, which made it even better.
The NFL is hoping lightning will strike twice this year. Their site is split in half, with players stories’ on one side and fans’ stories on the other. Again, real stories, and they hope they turn up another diamond. We get to vote for the best ones, with the winner appearing on the Super Bowl. Fun promo. Check it out.
I'll tell you what: some of those fans are awesome. They should get them into a broader audience, whether it's pre or post game, or at the stadium, or in movie theatres...wherever they can get a lot of people to see it. It's what football fandom is all about.
Ironic, how real people are way more interesting than the professional athletes they idolize.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
How much Thrilliciousness can we handle?
Overheard on Madison Avenue sometime in mid to late 2007...
"Hey! What should we do for the new Sobe LifeWater TV commercial? We have time on the Super Bowl. Let's make a big splash!"
"Hmm...what if we got a supermodel who isn't all that super any more and has no dancing ability to dance with some animated lizards with blinged out teeth?"
"Cool! But we'd need a famous piece of music that would be prohibitively expensive for any other ad at any other time, but we could justify buying it for 5 or 10 million because waters are the new sodas and this is Pepsi's big bet."
"Awesome! As long as the commercial has no real strategic foundation whatsoever."
"Wouldn't have it any other way! Let's do it."
And the rest is history.
Regularly chastised, sure. Lacking a strategic backbone, absolutely.
BUT...it was a cultural phenomenon. Over 5 million viewings on Youtube, youbetcha. The most viewed Super Bowl spot of '08. Inspired a series of wonderfully goofy claymated thrilliciousness. Like this.
Times Square video billboard blizzards, plush toys, the list goes on.
I hated the spots. But while I can present a pretty decent argument about Ms. Campbell's lack of talent on the dance floor, I can't argue with the spot's infectiousness.
So what do you do for an encore?
Early reports have NFL players Justin Tuck, Matt Light, and Ray Lewis taking Naomi Campbell's place as the lizards' new dance partners for this year's super bowl. I'm sure it'll be even less strategic and even more expensive. What moves will those krazy lizards pull off this year?
I lay awake just thinking about what funny gag they'll do with their teeth!
"Hey! What should we do for the new Sobe LifeWater TV commercial? We have time on the Super Bowl. Let's make a big splash!"
"Hmm...what if we got a supermodel who isn't all that super any more and has no dancing ability to dance with some animated lizards with blinged out teeth?"
"Cool! But we'd need a famous piece of music that would be prohibitively expensive for any other ad at any other time, but we could justify buying it for 5 or 10 million because waters are the new sodas and this is Pepsi's big bet."
"Awesome! As long as the commercial has no real strategic foundation whatsoever."
"Wouldn't have it any other way! Let's do it."
And the rest is history.
Regularly chastised, sure. Lacking a strategic backbone, absolutely.
BUT...it was a cultural phenomenon. Over 5 million viewings on Youtube, youbetcha. The most viewed Super Bowl spot of '08. Inspired a series of wonderfully goofy claymated thrilliciousness. Like this.
Times Square video billboard blizzards, plush toys, the list goes on.
I hated the spots. But while I can present a pretty decent argument about Ms. Campbell's lack of talent on the dance floor, I can't argue with the spot's infectiousness.
So what do you do for an encore?
Early reports have NFL players Justin Tuck, Matt Light, and Ray Lewis taking Naomi Campbell's place as the lizards' new dance partners for this year's super bowl. I'm sure it'll be even less strategic and even more expensive. What moves will those krazy lizards pull off this year?
I lay awake just thinking about what funny gag they'll do with their teeth!
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