Say the name Dr. Scholl’s and most people think of sensible shoes, somewhat embarrassing foot ailments and other not-so-sexy connotations. That’s a hard reputation to beat, but evoking table dancing may be taking things too far.
A recent ad for the foot comfort company shows model Yaya DaCosta, a contestant from "America’s Next Top Model," doing what appears to be some sort of sexy dance (although it may be the chicken dance gone awry) on something that looks like a cross between a desk and a stage.
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| Dr. Scholl’s |
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When it comes to selling cars and trucks, most people are familiar with usual bag of tricks: beautiful scenery, beautiful women and brawny vehicles. A recent commercial for Honda’s Pilot takes things in the exact opposite direction, and it’s a refreshing change.
In "Ballooning," a middle-aged man and his teenage son are driving down the road when they come across an older man peeking out of a grounded hot air balloon, apparently in need of a ride.
Only after inviting the balloonist to hop in does the driver realize that there are actually a group of men in the balloon’s basket -- and they’re all nudists. While the ad is remarkably tasteful, it’s safe to say this is a group most people aren’t interested in seeing naked.
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| Honda |
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Here’s the thing about people living in the age of the DVR, the Internet and the cell phone: They don’t have much patience.
Why take two minutes to make a phone call when you can text in about 10 seconds, and save yourself some pleasantries? A 30-second TV commercial? Sorry, many people would rather pay extra to fast-forward through it. This article? We’ll try to keep it short and snappy, because we know that, at this moment, you are being distracted by all manner of other bright and shiny technology.
The makers of BMW apparently think that we have time for them, and lots of it. A promotion for the company’s BMW 1 Series takes the form of a meandering “mockumentary” about the German town of Oberpfaffelbachen’s attempt to help promote the new car.
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The video circulating the Internet these days looks at first like any other snippet of a minor league baseball game, right down to the announcer’s play-by-play banter.
Then comes a hit to left field and, out of nowhere, the ball girl executes an amazing, Spiderman-like move up the wall to catch the foul ball, tossing it nonchalantly back to a flabbergasted player before taking her seat again.
At this point, the 39-second video seems more like one of those outtakes you might see replayed endlessly on the big screen between innings. In fact, the video in question is an ad for Gatorade, although your only hint that that’s the case is a bottle of the sports drink that the ball girl sips upon taking her seat again.
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When most people think about winning the lottery, they think about what they could do for themselves with the money: buy a new house or a flashy car, perhaps, or quit that dead-end job.
A new commercial for the Washington state lottery poses the more altruistic question: “Whose world could you change?”
In their quirky universe, the answer is that you could offer a little joy ride to birds that can’t fly well, or at all, on their own.
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| Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images file |
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When we recently attended a screening of the “Sex and the City” movie, we expected having to sit through the requisite commercials before the main feature. Especially for a film so product-placement-fashion-spread heavy. We did not, however, expect an ad for the U.S. Marine Corps.
That fact gets to the heart of what is right and wrong with “America’s Marines,” currently running in movie theaters and on television. The commercial features U.S. Marines in dress uniform performing a complex rifle drill in some of America’s most beloved and beautiful places: against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, amid the bright lights of New York City, at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge and, most strikingly, along the edge of the Grand Canyon.
The lush music, deep-voiced announcer and stunning cinematography make it a natural fit for the big screen. In fact, it’s hard to appreciate the commercial if you don’t see it on a movie-sized screen, and it’s so eye-catching that you can enjoy it even if you are the target demographic for a movie about thirty- and fortysomethings living in New York City rather than twentysomethings considering a career in the Marines.
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| Staff Sergeant Brian J. Griffin / U.S. Marines |
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In an age when teens are inundated with images of sex and violence, one has to wonder, is anything shocking anymore?
The makers of the “truth” anti-smoking ads, who for years have been trying to scare would-be smokers straight with startling images such as masses of body bags and people posing as “dead” smokers, think they have hit on something: shocking the kids by not being so shocking at all.
The American Legacy Foundation’s latest anti-smoking campaign juxtaposes joyful cartoon characters and upbeat musical numbers with troubling anecdotes about smoking, in the hopes that a little sardonic humor will keep the attention of famously fickle 12- to 17-year-olds.
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| American Legacy Foundation |
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We’ve heard a lot of talk lately about how young people in this country want to feel inspired. The makers of Cheetos apparently think that they want to be inspired to do mean things to other people.
The company’s ad campaign, dubbed Orange Underground, consists of a series of commercials in which a cartoon Cheetos mascot goads people to use the orange squiggly snack for evil.
In one commercial, an office worker passes by the desk of a "neat freak," and smashes Cheetos into his computer and ear phones. In another, a woman upset by another patron at a Laundromat drops some Cheetos into her load of whites. In yet another, a woman sticks Cheetos up the nose of a snoring seatmate on an airplane.
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It’s no secret that air travel isn’t what it used to be before 9/11. Heck, it isn’t even what it used to be a week ago, when airlines had the decency to let you check a bag without paying for it. These days, getting on an airplane is all about being nickel-and-dimed, from the time you make the reservation to the moment you straggle over to baggage claim. If you run an airline, how can you spin that in your favor?
American Airlines, which took a beating last week when it announced plans to charge $15 for checking just one piece of luggage, has long claimed in its ad campaign that, "We know why you fly."
But for the most part, the airline seems to think you fly for all the not-very-original reasons you’d expect, such as to get home early from a lame business trip or to take a vacation using frequent flyer miles. What’s more, they largely fail to give any indication of why you should choose American over the competition.
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| JetBlue |
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So you went out for a few drinks with friends and ended up in a stranger’s bed. The makers of the AMP Energy drink want you to know that there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
In fact, they feel so strongly about it that they’ve gone ahead and written a song for you. It goes, in part:
"Oh I will not be ashamed/be ashamed/to walk the crowded streets alone/in yesterday’s outfit and cologne."
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| AMP Energy |
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