Jimmy Dean Entertains, but Will it Sell?

I'd been looking for this spot for a few days now. Finally it popped up on Adpulp. I love the quirky, "I Heart Huckabees" atmosphere they're creating with this campaign:



But then Adpulp has to come along and point out that the above spot sells the category, not the specific product.

Well shit. I have to admit they've got a point there. But it's just so damn entertaining to me. Let's look at another spot from the campaign:



Ok, now we're getting somewhere. We've got a benefit, albeit a vague one, but Jimmy Dean will make you full. That's at least something they can lay their claim to.

Now here's another spot:



Ohhhh. So now Jimmy Dean makes you happy. Happy Breakfast. Maybe that's a new saying, sorta like "Happy New Year." In any case, it's all coming together for me now. Jimmy dean fills you up, keeps you full, and gives you a happy breakfast. That sounds pretty good.

And the campaign continues with lots of similar commercials.

I like that there are so many variations on this one concept of the sun and cloud / planet / moon cast. It's great. So few brands have big coherent campaigns like this anymore. So many are doing a little something here then jumping to something else over there and then to something different.

There's also a few webisodes of interviews with the sun, moon, cloud, etc. Looks like they were added a couple years ago. Is this campaign really that old? Maybe I'm just out of the loop.

Adidas Knows How to Party

In the US, sitting through a two minute commercial means having to watch a hooker-beating douchebag peddle some miracle cloth that can soak up all the shit you're constantly spilling on your floor. In some places, some mystical, magical, advertising wonderland, a two minute ad is revered and respected by advertisers and viewers alike. This is the result: something beautiful, something I want to watch.



(via Dear Jane Sample)

Super or Not-So-Super Bowl?

Usually the Super Bowl glues me to my seat. Even if the game isn't that good I never want to miss a play or a commercial break. This year, things were a little different. First off, the game was great complete with momentum swings and a nail biting finish. In between the action on the field, however, there was little to get excited about.

Considering that advertisers paid a record high $3 million per 30 seconds you'd think this would be the best or the best. Instead it felt like they justified the $3 million media buy by only putting about $3 into the concepting and production of the spots. Of course, there were still some winners and losers, here's my take:

The Best:

1. Careerbuilder with it's repeating montage of reasons you hate your job. The lady riding the dolphin had myself and everyone in the room rolling on the floor laughing every time it was shown. Oh, and punching Koala bears is always a recipe for success. Always.



2. Denny's Mobsters commercial was not only a good commercial but did anyone see the news coverage yesterday of the free grand slams? Talk about ROI. Denny's took their commercial beyond just the Super Bowl and created an event out of them. People weren't talking about what the best commercial was at work on Monday, they were making plans to sneak out on Tuesday for a free meal. The question is, did Denny's impress all those customers that flooded into it's stores? We'll have to wait and see.



3. Doritos Crystal Ball - Can you believe this was made by two unemployed brothers for $2,000? And that they won $1 million for it? Doritos has continued with their user generated commercials for the Super Bowl and this might be the best one yet. It combines all the classic Super Bowl ad tricks: office setting, crotch shots, sophomoric humor but yet does it better than some of the major brands that pull out those same tricks year after year (looking at you, Budweiser.)




The Worst

1. Go Daddy - Ok, we get it. Go Daddy is the domain register site for dudes who like boobs. And most dudes like boobs, so it's great right? Wrong. You could try to class it up a bit, like the classic boob, uh I mean, beer commercials of the past. Remember the cat fight in the fountain commercial? Gets to the same point, but with a little (and I do mean a little) more class. Why not just save some money and offer an alternative to the Super Bowl by showing a live webcam of Danica Patrick's boobs during the game?



2. Budweiser Clydesdale's - Sometimes a brand will just take a concept and stretch it too far. The Bud Lizards had a great story and could survive beyond the Super Bowl into many, many commercials. The Bud Clydesdale's, while a favorite last year with the Rocky inspired spot, don't really have that same power. I really don't care about the horse's great grandfather. Or about the horse playing fetch. It doesn't make me laugh, think, cry, or want to buy / use anything. And therefore fails.



3. Sobe 3-D - Does anyone at Sobe know what 3-D is all about? It's supposed to add another dimension to a normally 2-D medium. Therefore, things should be created with that in mind, i.e. having something flying towards the user or showing the depth of something. Really anything other than a bunch of dancing lizards and humans. That's about as flat as it can get. Sure, the lizards did look more "rounded" and 3-D like, but that didn't really add anything to it all.

The Toss-Up
Miller 1-second spot - I was the only one in the room who saw it. Everyone else thought it was a glitch. Granted, I then had to talk to everyone and explain what just happened, but I think they would have been better off putting 10 seconds of porn on the air.

Mac vs PC: The new Cola Wars?

Counter punch.

That's what it's called when your opponent lures you in and then quickly snaps back with a devastating punch. And that's what happened here when Mac responded (without necessarily directly responding) to the new Windows ads. Mac just keeps on rolling. I'd love to see this continue to escalate into a clash of the titans with TBWA and Apple on one side and Microsoft and CP+B on the other.

Don't tell me copy is dead

Last week I declared copy dead. Now it's back.
It makes you wonder why you didn't think of it which is usually the mark of something good.
(via Coloribus)

Amensty International: See no Evil

Step 1: Read these instructions
Step 2: Click on image to make it larger
Step 3: Focus on red cross on Bush's nose for 30 seconds
Step 4: Look at ceiling
Step 5: Wonder how long that image is going to be burned into your eyes (about 2 minutes for me)

(via Coloribus)

Sonic: Food Math

I think these are the best commercials running on TV right now. Sonic hits home run after home run with this series. From what I’ve read all of these commercials are improvised. If that’s true these guys are comedy genius. If they’re written, then some copywriter out there needs some recognition. What’s your favorite sonic commercial?

Olympic Commercials Medal Count

The NYT chimes in with it's medal count on commercials from the Olympics and I've got a few bones to pick with their choices. Chime in with your thoughts in the comments.

First, a glaring mistake: They forgot to include Nike, which in my opinion had some of the best commercials that aired.

My favorite is "Courage"


There's also this one with Marvin Gaye's national anthem and the USA Basketball Team:


So on to the other companies:

Anheuser-Bush:
Justin's score: 2 (of 10) NYT "Tin" (as in worse than bronze, but not as bad as lead)
I don't want to see old Superbowl commercials eight months later. I'm also sick of the re-branding of Michelob. First it was low carbs, now it's craft brew. I still don't care.

AT&T:
Justin's score: 3, NYT: Tin
Mundane, ordinary ads. Nothing to remember. At least they were new, though.

Coca-Cola:
Justin's score: 8, NYT: Gold
The Coke side of life animated ads continue to impress me. I agree with the NYT on this one.



Exxon Mobil:
Justin's score: 0, NYT: Tin
I'm sorry, but corporations like this need to put their money where their mouth is before I'm going to listen to this crap. You know what would work better than these commercials? How about actually donating $1billion or more to curing diseases or how about developing an alternative to oil. Obsolete yourself before someone else does. There's a lesson to be learned there (look at Kodak if you need proof).

GE:
Justin's score: 5, NYT: Gold
This is a mixed bag. I hated the discus tossing Greek commercial (for the execution, not the message) and liked the clumsy Chinese romance spot.

GM:
Justin's score: 4, NYT: Gold
Without sidetracking onto a rant, I'll just say this: it's great that the Chevy Volt is coming out in 2010, but wouldn't it have been even better if GM had the foresight to push alternative vehicles before we demanded them? (*cough* Prius)

Lenovo:
Justin's score: 8, NYT: Gold
Funny stuff. And not re-run 500 million times. Good work.



McDonalds:
Justin's score: 0, NYT: Lead
Olympic athletes do not eat McDonalds on a regular basis. Find a new message or STFU.

United Airlines:
Justin's score: 4, NYT: Gold
Frickin' bizzare. I had no idea what I was watching the first time I saw the sea orchestra one. The commercials are OK, but honestly United is a shit airline. I'd be happier if they put that money to use reducing asinine fees.

Visa:
Justin's score: 9, NYT: Gold
These were great. A common gold-tint, fantastic VO by Morgan Freeman and a message we can get behind (Go World). Outside of the Nike ads (which really struck a chord with me) these were my favorite.


On a side note, why did the NYT only hand out gold, tin and lead medals? Why not stick with silver and bronze? At first I thought they added those two onto the existing Olympic medal progression, but no, they just changed them up.

Spicy Work for Tabasco

Every time I see another Tabasco ad I'm not sure whether I love it or hate it. They seem so obvious, but yet smart in a way. Maybe that's what makes 'em great. (via Coloribus)

Lasik Before and After

Smart.

(via Coloribus)

The biggest glass of Guinness ever

The biggest glass of Guinness is truly alive inside. See the commercial here. There's probably about a million more applications of this idea for Guinness and just like I enjoy a good pint, I'm enjoying theses ads.

Sukle Blows Everyone Else out of the Water

It's just one great idea after another for Denver water over at Sukle. Their latest is the shirt pictured below that reminds you that every drop counts. You can get one free (if you get your water from Denver water at useonlywhatyouneed.org) See even more great ads from this campaign over at Sukle's blog: Lunchmeat Underpants

Nike Football: Take it to the Next Level Directors Cut

See the original here, then be just as tickled when this one rocks your socks for a full three minutes.



(via Adverganza)

The Payoff

A lesson in payoff:



(via Adverbox)

Pure, Powerful Copy

Gold Lion @ Cannes in the Press Category. From Contract India, Mumbai. (via The Denver Egotist)

How much of advertising is really just chance?

Why do some great ads go unnoticed and other seemingly lesser ads win gold the world over?

That's the question posed by Lunar BBDO as they try to figure out why this ad didn't get much notice at all:



While another one (which is so basic and mundane I don't even feel like posting it) wins big.

It's an interesting thought, and makes you wonder just how much of this whole advertising thing is really just chance.

See their full take on these ad at: If this is a blog then what's Christmas?

More great VW advertising not happening in the US

From South Africa: "Dreaming of a GTI" (via AdPulp)

Comcast Rabbit. With Turbines. On Ice. With a Tailwind.

Comcast may leave something to be desired from a customer service standpoint (see Comcast Must Die), but this commercial is downright awesome. It leaves the slowsky's behind. Way behind. (via Adrants)

This has been stuck in my head lately

Every time I hear this song I think of this commercial. To me it's probably my most memorable commercial of, well, recent memory. One problem though: I was sure that it was for DHL. Then I thought it was for FedEx. The I just searched for the name of the song and the word commercial and I found it. It's for Nextel. Maybe it's just me, but that seems like problem for this ad. It's super memorable, but the brand isn't. Oh well, it's Saturday so just enjoy:

Fill Your Lungs with Cigarettes...Literally

In London these ashtrays also serve as a reminder to quit smoking. As smokers deposit their butts the lungs fill up. This is an absolutely brilliant idea. See more pictures at Adland.