Bud Light

Similar to my Pepsi commercial/Coke preference dilemma, not a huge fan of Bud Light but love most of their advertising. Enjoy.

Plus, essentially all of the "Real Men of Genius" ads.

I'm a Coke man

Personally, I prefer Coke. However, I love this commercial. Maybe it's the Haddaway or the celeb appearance by Chris Kattan but I could watch this all day:

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

Not a huge Kevin Bacon fan and I can never remember what the commercial is for (so is it really that good?), but I still laugh:

Where to work, assuming there are still jobs

Even though graduation is much closer than I'd like to acknowledge, I've done very little planning about what I want to do when I get out of school. That being the case, I wasn't surprised when I was unable to immediately identify an agency that I'd like to work for (assuming there'd still be jobs available). At first, I thought, like Corey, that as an avid sports fan it'd be fun to work at Wieden and Kennedy since they do such great work in that market. However, knowing me, I'd need to work something more than sports to keep my interest so I started thinking about some of my favorite ads and came across TBWA. TBWA has done some great work that has really stuck with me for one reason or another and have a current client list that includes many products I use and would have fun creating ads for such as Absolut Vodka, Apple, Pepsi, and Gatorade. Here are some of their ads that I particularly like:

I absolutely love this commercial for Jameson's Irish Whiskey by TBWA. It takes you through a story without trying to sell you anything and at the very end, you find yourself wanting exactly what they "aren't" selling you. I think it's a great ad to target men because for most guys, drinking is almost a way in which to show how "manly" you are and this shows that clearly Jameson is the manliest of drinks.

Even though I'm mad at Gatorade for continuing to change their formula, I think the 'That's G' campaign by TBWA is great. Their ad "What's G?" is really powerful I think and the one above is engaging but the campaign as a whole is great I think because of this play off being 'G'. To be 'G' originally was a shortened term for gangster but has evolved into 'G' meaning cool. In one short phrase, "that's 'G'" or "what's 'G'", they make Gatorade both the thing that you want to be and a way to be that.

I think TBWA would be a great place to work and they have some great campaigns that I'd like to be a part of.

Peyton Manning is the best advertising athlete

Not a commercial, but just another reason he's awesome:

Long Copy and Gorillas

I think this a a fantastic long copy and guerilla ad. This ad on the back of a bus appears to be an excerpt from a longer story but is very intense. If you begin reading, it's kind of difficult to stop because it doesn't read like an ad at all, on the contrary like I said it appears to be a part of a longer story. What you're reading is a very descriptive story of a girl who is apparently being held captive and interrogated. Just as she tries to make a break for it, the story ends and the ad says "If you've had time to read this story this far, you'd better try the train sometime. Dutch Railways." Brilliant. This ad gets you so involved that you don't realize it is an ad, then they hit you with it at the end very poignantly. The message is clear, if you had time to read the ad clearly the bus is slow and makes many stops. Dutch Railways will get you where you need to go quicker. Entertaining and creative.

I thought this was an interesting long copy ad in that it is a long copy ad, but it isn't. This ad shows how you can avoid other advertising, which is kind of interesting in itself, if you follow their ad. Reading only the white words, you learn that you can "watch the latest blockbuster movies and tv series without any disturbing breaks" using their product. Reading the whole ad as is, you realize the rest of the words ARE the disturbing breaks. Interesting.

This is an interesting Crest toothpaste guerilla ad that I think makes it's point very clear. I think choosing the subway was good for the additional reason that many people consider them very dirty in the first place. Showing one white seat, where the toothpaste has apparently leaked to, surrounded by the less appealing tans seats clearly conveys the message of whitening your teeth with Crest.

Ahh Orbit

Funny Orbit Commercial - Watch more Funny Videos

Love-Hate

Basically, I hate that I love this ad:

Word

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/chester_zoo_botanical_gardens_1

I like this words-only ad because it catches you off-guard. You would expect to see lions and bears at a zoo but you then read further and it includes wild flowers. It is comical that the three things to be listed are ferocious lions, savage bears, and oh yeah, wild flowers. It also helps draw attention to the fact that this zoo also has a botanical gardens, which many places may not and this helps set them apart. The fact that it is bold lettering also helps to reduce the chance that the ad will be passed as just another zoo ad since you have the words "wild flower" looking you in the face.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/apple_beer_check

I think this ad is also very funny and I think it does a good job to sell a product that I would imagine is very difficult to sell. Non-alcoholic beer, not exactly a product that I see flying off the shelves. But this ad, which appears to possibly be an outdoor ad on the side of a building, makes you stop and gives a little chuckle. It plays off the fact that normally you would get Id'd and identifies the only instance that would happen with this beverage.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/imax_theatre_gravity

I've seen many comments on similar ads for IMAX but I also like this one. There is a clear exaggeration as to the size of the IMAX screens but it draws attention to this in a way that is cheeky almost. The joke is that many people like the movies and want to be movie stars or follow their favorite stars so they are "drawn to the theater," however IMAX is so large people are literally drawn to the screen because it has it's own gravitational pull.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/mcdonalds_tongue

I've also seen similar ads commented on and I would agree that I very much dislike the ad and the whole series. You start out reading the message and you're not really sure what to do with the picture of the Mickey D's fries. I also don't think the message is as funny as it tries to be.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/wonderbra_wonderbra

Again, many comments on this ad, I just think it is a great ad. Very well done, simple, funny, and effective.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/the_eagle_print_awards_unicorn

This ad has nothing to do with the idea "words-only" but I came across it while looking for ads and I actually laughed aloud.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/outdoor/toronto_academy_of_karate_board

I found this to be an interesting outdoor ad because these type of fold-up signs are usually very boring and plain. Most are usually just whiteboards with words, but I like how this ad is able to employ the show the effect technique. It is also an easily recognizable connection between the broken board and karate lessons so I found it very effective.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/outdoor/calgary_zoo_trashman

This ad for the Calgary Zoo is funny and eye-catching. I don't know how effective the ad actually was, but I would bet the return was pretty good especially considering that this would be very easy to do and spread city-wide. I'm not sure why the zoo would have a dinosaur exhibit unless they recreate Jurassic Park or something, but this ad would definitely pique my interest.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/outdoor/ymca_basketball_billboard

I like this ad for the YMCA for its simplicity. The billboard as a backboard on a basketball hoop pretty clearly, I think, conveys the idea that by helping the "Y" you can help provide basketball hoops and other things for kids to use to help keep them out of trouble. Simple but effective.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/louis_pion_watch_head_3

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/louis_pion_watch_head_2

These two ads are for Louis Pion watches and I do not find them particularly good. Since there are no words, I can't know for sure but I am having trouble deciding if the message is more "you are what you wear" or else "we have a watch to fit anyone's style." Either way, I find the message pretty weak and not likely to make me stop and consider the ad. It's either quite shallow or else the same old sales pitch "we can fit your style." I don't particularly like the graphics either.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/tatra_beer_trees

This is an ad for Tatra beer which forcibly reminds me of Molson's selling idea. Molson is all about the taste of Canada, what ever that means and I'm not sure I want to know what geese, maple syrup, and flannel taste like anyways, except Tatra is all about the taste of Poland. I never understood what scenes like this had to do with beer anyways, is it supposed to convey some kind of natural ruggedness or purity? I'm not sure. The visual is clever, making the pint out the scenery, but personally this isn't going to get me to buy the beer.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/mcdonalds_desire?size=_original

This was probably the best "visual only" print ad I could find. It plays off the saying everyone knows "the shortest distance between Point A and Point B is a straight line." There is literally a Point A and B yet the path goes well out of the way to stop at a McDonalds on the way. This effectively portrays the desire created by Mickey D's that people are willing to go out of their way to get it.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/inalfa_car_sunroofs_drunkard?size=_original

This advertisement for Inalfa Car Sunroofs employs the shock tactics technique. There are a series of similar ads that all display something repulsive or unpleasant that you could potentially see looking out you car window (this was the tamest of the ads I saw). The tag line "Give Your Family A Better View" is meant to imply that if you get an Inalfa sunroof you won't notice these other unappealing views while riding in your car because your family will be too busy looking out the top of your car at the sky, stars, etc. I think these ads would definitely catch your attention, but that's about it. I don't think that even if I had a sunroof, I'd be looking out of it all the time (it's uncomfortable). The ad raised my awareness and piqued some interest, but not in the product. I would have no desire to buy a sunroof because of this, especially since it doesn't benefit the driver, and some people might be really offended by the ads and turned off because of that.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/asonor_baywatch

This ad for Anti-snore Asonor seems to employ a little bit of both metaphor/analogy as well as absurdity. There is another ad that reverses the role, a husband bringing Fabio to his wife, but I thought these ads were really good. The ads play of a little bit of absurdity because the wife, or husband, is bringing a very attractive individual to bed for their spouse. You then see the tag that reads "Give Back His (or Her) Dreams" and the metaphor is immediately clear. The spouse in bed is having trouble sleeping and by using Asonor, you can reduce your snoring and help your spouse sleep thus returning them to their dreams and fantasies. I found the ads very funny and would definitely try the product if this was a problem I had.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/anaesthesia_lingerie_lightning?size=_original

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/anaesthesia_lingerie_exclamation_mark?size=_original

These two ads employ techniques that most closely fall into symbols as well as without words to a certain extent. A quick glance at the page tells very little about what is trying to be advertised which could be problematic, but I think the ads become quite clear as long as they draw the viewer in enough to see what the brand/store is in the bottom right. The brand is Anaesthesia, which it says is a lingerie store. Immediately, the symbols become clear and say much more than words. They are also different from most lingerie ads which tend to display some type of product. These ads however connect more with the exclamation or thought that you assume would be associated when someone sees you wearing this lingerie. The double exclamation point especially leads the viewer to think "wow" or something along those lines which then makes you wonder just how provocative this product is. It creates interest.

(The Asonor ad is definitely my favorite)

Starting Post

This is my first blog, hopefully it doesn't suck.