Technology
In a recent ad for Boost Mobile, a man and a woman are heading down a sunny street on a bicycle built for two, her in front and him in back.
The setup is giving her a clear view of the street ahead, and him a face full of her flowing armpit hair.
"You think this is wrong?" she says, lifting her arm to give the viewer a better look at the under-arm mane. "It’s a little gift from Mother Nature. I’ll tell you what’s wrong – it’s cell phone companies charging hidden fees."
 |
| Boost Mobile |
CONTINUED >>
You’d be forgiven for not realizing that a new commercial for the British arm of T-Mobile is indeed meant to sell mobile phone plans, or anything at all for that matter.
The commercial opens with an overview shot of what looks like a normal day at Liverpool Street station in London. Within a few seconds, however, music is blaring and the travelers are breaking into dance. As the ad progresses, more people start dancing, the music changing rapidly, as confused and bemused bystanders look on.
At the finale, 350 professional dancers fill the station, dancing wildly and even drawing some of the bystanders in as the company captures the scene on hidden cameras. The full-length version of the commercial, which has aired in the U.K. and is available on YouTube, makes virtually no connection between the dancers and the cell phone provider, and that’s part of its charm.
 |
| T-Mobile |
CONTINUED >>
As business journalists, we’ve spent what feels like a lifetime listening to mind-numbingly boring executive speeches. And we’re reminded of those every time Dan Hesse appears on our television screen.
For those of you who haven’t turned on a television in recent months, Hesse is chief executive of wireless phone provider Sprint. Perhaps that job leaves him with a bit of spare time, or maybe as chief executive he wanted to save the company a few bucks, so he’s also apparently decided to make himself the company’s pitchman.
There are several Hesse commercials, but they all follow the same formula: energetic classical music, moody black-and-white background and then Hesse himself, "casually" walking through the streets or sitting at a diner.
 |
| Sprint |
CONTINUED >>
The economy is in the doldrums, and that means it’s even more important that parents, grandparents and other out-of-touch grown-ups don’t waste their hard-earned money on holiday gifts a teenager will never use.
But in trying to suss out that perfect gift, it’s best to avoid the porn said teenager has hidden under the bed.
A new commercial for the videogame retailer GameStop shows the unfortunate unintended consequences that could occur if a parent goes rooting around a teen’s room looking for hints of what he or she might want for the holidays.
CONTINUED >>
Apple has the Mac guy and the PC guy. Now Microsoft has Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld.
A new ad, apparently meant to promote Microsoft’s Windows operating system franchise, features Gates, Microsoft’s chairman and one of the world’s richest men, trying on shoes in a faux shoe store with Seinfeld, the comedian best known for his eponymous TV show.
In trademark Seinfeld style, the two banter mostly about nothing (or nothing that makes much sense anyway), share a meaningful look about the word "leather" and barely mention the product the company is seeking to promote. The 90-second spot -- the first volley what is promised to be a broad and pricey campaign -- ends with Gates wiggling his behind as the two walk through a mall parking lot.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
 |
| Microsoft Corp. |
CONTINUED >>
This is how bad things have gotten for Microsoft Corp.: The software behemoth has a virtual monopoly in computer operating systems, and yet it still can’t get people to buy the latest version of its flagship product, Windows.
In fact, things are so bleak for Windows Vista that customers have actually launched campaigns aimed at saving Vista’s stiffest competition -- the previous version of Windows, XP, which is now so old in technology years that it should qualify for Social Security.
To Microsoft’s credit, the company knows it has a problem, and it has decided to address it directly with an ad campaign arguing that the product isn’t as bad as people think it is. To their detriment, they’ve fumbled that, too.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
 |
| Microsoft |
CONTINUED >>
In a new commercial for Duracell batteries, a mom is at the park, unbuckling one child from a stroller, when suddenly she realizes that her other child has gone missing.
As she looks around, the camera cuts to a white van pulling away. Has the child been kidnapped? Run over?
No, it turns out he’s just walked away. But Mom, instead of doing the usual parent thing -- yelling for your kid in that voice that says, "I love you but I’m really mad at you" -- pulls out an electronic tracking device and uses it to locate her son.
 |
| Duracell |
CONTINUED >>
We’re really not that big of fans of holiday-themed commercials (yes, we remember what we wrote last week). Most of them have way too many jingle bells and soft-focus shots of houses in a perfect blanket of snow for our taste.
But given the crush of cookies and sweets in the office this week (our dentist will not love our workplace), we were pleased to see some treats that weren’t going to add to our gluttony.
Even if, sigh, they do work for AT&T.
 |
| AT&T |
CONTINUED >>
Though we have yet to hear “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” the bourbon and fruitcake bloat has put us in a holiday frame of mind. Not soon enough to complete all our shopping of course, but hey, we’ve got till Tuesday (possibly a commonly held sentiment).
Taking a quick spin through our inbox this morning, AdRants points out possibly our favorite seasonal commercial so far this year. It’s Canadian. Because heaven knows you can’t have fun with anyone’s holiday in this country. (Why are we so thin-skinned?)
Looks like Jesus got his groove on.
 |
| Virgin Mobile |
CONTINUED >>
Despite (wise) comments to the contrary, we actually had training in advertising – one survey course in college to be exact.
Our fondest memory: The professor tried to convince us that grubby, crowded U.S. 101 through California’s Bay Area Peninsula was superior to the sprawling, open and scenic U.S. 280 (on the Pacific side) because the former had billboards (lots of ‘em) and the latter didn’t, thus was “boring.”
So if you think we don’t know anything about advertising, we submit we were obviously taught by fools. And we still hate billboards. With the exception of this South African one.
CONTINUED >>
