Ads of the Weird

JetBlue sells cheap chic to former C-level execs

Allison Linn — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:00:00 GMT

It’s hard to feel sorry for those pre-recession bigwigs, who got used to lavish meals, fancy hotels and private jets before they were brought down by the very financial shenanigans that allowed them to live so high and mighty in the first place.

But it’s easier to make fun of the frugality they are now being forced to embrace, and that’s just what discount airliner JetBlue does well in a new ad campaign.

A simple print ad offers a message to all "Hedge Fund Managers, Big Investment Bankers, Moguls, Tycoons" and others who "might be rethinking that next trip on a private jet … Welcome Aboard."

jetblue.com

The airline's Web site helpfully explains the type of amenities the discount carrier has for those who have seen their assets – and power – dwindle considerably.

These include seats that don’t come with a lot of media scrutiny and public outcry, potato chips that "are not a government bailout and there are no strings attached" and a host of live television stations besides the business channels that can be "complete bummers."

"Just think of it as jetpooling, only we find the other people for you," the Web site asserts cheekily.

JetBlue’s campaign stands out because so few companies have done a good job of addressing the difficult economy in a humorous way -- which, to be fair, is probably because it can be pretty hard to find the funny part about people losing their jobs, houses and any hope for retiring.

JetBlue, however, has hit on the fact that we can all find some humor, albeit tinged with a dose of schadenfreude, in the fate of the newly downscaled executive.

That company also deserves credit for tapping into that in a light-hearted, rather than malicious way, since outrage is certainly not something we are lacking these days.

Click here to see the ad, and click here to check out the Web site.

Boost gets (armpit hair) in your face

Allison Linn — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:00:00 GMT

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

The image of several feet of armpit hair is clearly going to get people’s attention -- if only to make them point at the screen and say, "Eww!" But after grossing people out, it’s not clear how exactly it’s supposed to start getting people to think about cell phone plans.

For one thing, of course people in commercials don’t talk like people in real life, but still, it’s hard to make the logical leap from defending one’s armpit hair to discussing hidden mobile phone fees.

We might have understood the logic a bit better if the company were selling something vaguely related to personal hygiene, or if the dialogue didn’t offer quite as stark of a non sequitur.

As it stands, the woman comes off sounding less like a pitchwoman and more like a vaguely crazy-looking person who you might run into while walking down the street, and who you would naturally try desperately to avoid making eye contact with.

Click here to watch the ad.

Pepsi Max goes one better than ‘I’m good’

Allison Linn — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Pepsi Max, a diet cola marketed toward men, drew both cheers and jeers for its Super Bowl ad featuring guys getting involved in various violent accidents before proclaiming bravely, "I’m good."

To those in favor, the ad was classic slapstick. To those opposed, it was just stereotypical violence for violence’s sake.

Both those who liked and hated the Super Bowl ad might find more humor in another series of Pepsi Max ads, which feature American actors but are currently only running in Europe.

Pepsi (click image to view ad)

In one ad, a guy walks into a job interview, sits down and then, for no apparent reason, starts pretending that his would-be boss is beating him up.

He ends the charade by hurling himself into the waiting room, thus scaring off all the other applicants -- except his buddy, who eventually gets the job.

In another, a guy on a beach is attempting to ask a skeptical girl out when he is interrupted by what looks like a man being attacked by an octopus.

He heroically rescues the victim, gets the date and then limps off into the bushes -- where it’s revealed that his pals set up the fake rescue to impress the girl.

The "I’m good" ads struck us at too obvious and ham-handed to be truly funny. These European ads do a better job of using fake violence as a witty plot point.

Perhaps more importantly, the Pepsi Max drinkers in the European ads come off as smart pranksters plotting gags to help out their buddies. In short, they are the kind of guys many people would wish to be, and they have the kind of friends you’d like to have your back.

In the U.S. ad the guys come off as dolts who are either too dimwitted to avoid being beaned in the head, or are surrounded by friends who can’t seem to avoid maiming their buddies.

The octopus and job interview ads are set to expand into Asian markets, but Pepsi says it has no current plans to air them in the U.S. Click here and here to watch them.

Bad day? Del Taco recommends a wedgie

Allison Linn — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:00:00 GMT

A recent commercial for Del Taco shows your typical office drone standing in line staring at the woman behind the counter in a kind of creepy way.

It turns out he’s angry because Del Taco’s prices are so cheap he realizes that everyone else is ripping him off.

Del Taco’s solution? Send another hapless worker over and let the office drone give him a wedgie.

Del Taco (click image to view ad)

Believe it or not, there are actually tasteful ways to discuss wedgies in commercials – witness Hanes’ witty campaign for underwear guaranteed not to give you a wedgie.

In Del Taco’s hands, however, a wedgie is played for the kind of comic effect that might humor mean-spirited third graders.

What’s worse, the ad implies, albeit in a humorous way, that it’s perfectly OK to beat up on someone else to deal with frustration and anger -- regardless of whether that person has anything to do with why you’re angry.

In this case it is even more nonsensical because the guy on the receiving end of the wedgie works for the company that’s providing a good deal, not the companies that are at fault.

Fast food workers may not be receiving many literal wedgies these days, but we’re guessing they get their fair share of abuse, verbal and otherwise, as people take out their stress over the recession on the person behind the counter.

For Del Taco to play that up shows a disrespect for the company’s workers, since the humor is at their expense.

We’re guessing that won’t do much for employee morale, and we’re not sure how many tacos it’s going to sell, either.

Click here to view the ad.

The Super Bowl ... of advertising

Allison Linn — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:22:00 GMT

With the economy in the doldrums and the nation’s future uncertain, it’s nice to know that some things never change.

Among them: Super Bowl advertisers continue to rely on hot women, violent gags and sophomoric humor to sell their wares.

While this year’s batch of Super Bowl ads offered a lot of the predictable fodder, there were some bright spots. Click here to see Ads of the Weird's take on the best and the worst of this year’s Super Bowl spots.

PETA pulls a lame stunt

Allison Linn — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:45:00 GMT

We have a lot of sympathy for the cause that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals seeks to promote. We don’t have much sympathy for their increasingly goofy attention-seeking antics.

The latest dustup the animal rights nonprofit has created involves their attempt to get NBC to air a completely inappropriate ad during the Super Bowl, and then to complain when the network rejected the softcore porn.

The ad, featuring women in bras and panties getting extremely busy with some vegetables, was rejected after NBC deemed the content too racy, according to an e-mail from NBC that PETA made available to msnbc.com. A network spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

PETA

(Yes, msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, but that doesn’t influence our editorial decisions, about this ad or any other.)

Let’s face it: It’s extremely unlikely a network would air an ad like this during the Super Bowl, unless they wanted every mom and dad in America to blanket them with angry e-mails. Not only that, but most people who created an ad like this would understand that sex with vegetables, while perhaps acceptable for late night television, is not typical midday fodder, even on Super Bowl Sunday.

A spokesman for PETA, Michael McGraw, said the company was surprised the ad was rejected, and that they didn’t think it was more risqué than other commercials that have aired during the Super Bowl. The company has instead put the ad on its Web site, along with documentation about the rejection.

It’s true that Super Bowl advertisers have regularly tried to push the envelope on what is acceptable on Super Bowl Sunday, but this one strikes us as pushing further than most.

It’s one thing for PETA to shock people with videos of people blatantly mistreating animals, to draw attention to the very real cause of animal abuse. It’s another thing to create an extremely steamy video, and then complain about their supposedly unfair treatment.

Instead of making us think about the plight of animals, it made us think that some people will do anything to get attention.

Go to PETA's Web site to watch the ad.

Up with T-Mobile

Allison Linn — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

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

Yes, there are a few people milling around using phones to call, text or take pictures, but that’s pretty much to be expected anywhere you go these days. The only clue that this is a T-Mobile commercial comes when the company’s logo appears at the end, and even the best commercial can’t expect to keep everyone’s attention for more than two minutes.

But despite, or perhaps because, of the indirect approach, the ad goes a long way in engendering goodwill toward the audience. At a time when we seem weighed down by so much bad news, it’s nice to see a simple concept that’s surprising and fun to watch.

The British arm of the company said in a press release that it plans to release shorter versions of the commercial later on, including ads that promote the company’s plan and pricing information. That seems like a smart strategy for actually garnering sales, but we like that this version has been made available on the Web.

(However, don’t expect to see any of those commercials on U.S. television screens any time soon -- as of now, a spokesman said there are no plans to air them here.)

The commercial is similar to the stunts that other people, such as the group Improv Everywhere, have been pulling for a few years now, with the intent of surprising and amusing the surrounding audience. While some might quibble with T-Mobile taking that intent and commercializing it, we thought it was a tasteful, light-hearted takeoff of those efforts.

Click here to watch the ad.

In dark days for job seekers, Monster makes light

Allison Linn — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

In these hard times for job seekers, when unemployment is at its highest level in 16 years and the economy is mired in recession, many of us feel lucky just to have a job.

The online job search site Monster is arguing that there still might be room for improvement.

A new series of light-hearted Monster ads show people who are extremely ill-suited to their line of work, and might benefit from finding a career change -- one that Monster can help with.

Monster

In one ad, a paramedic passes out upon arriving at the scene of an accident. In another, a construction worker clings to a metal beam, as if fearing for his life -- although he is just a few feet from the ground. In a third, a group of musicians gathering to record the score for an epic battle scene are interrupted when one of the musicians decides to do a little solo, in a completely different genre.

The ads are witty, if somewhat predictable. Still, they’d be easier to laugh at in the type of economy where people actually felt like they had the luxury to take a risk on a new career they might enjoy more.

Instead, watching these ads against the backdrop of this very serious recession and mounting jobless woes, one can’t help but think that you could do a lot worse than having a job you don’t particularly like. At least these workers are drawing a paycheck (although perhaps not for long if they keep up that sort of behavior).

The ad showing someone working construction, a field that is bleeding jobs at the moment, seems particularly off target.

It would have been riskier, but perhaps more rewarding, to speak frankly to those millions of people who are reeling from having actually lost their job, and frightened about what the future might hold.

Click here, here and here to watch the ads.

Update: Some readers noticed that earlier versions of the ads we posted were no longer available. The links have been updated now.

Crooning about … Chicken McNuggets

Allison Linn — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

We’ve found plenty not to like about fast food commercials lately, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a new ad for McDonald’s that actually didn’t leave us feeling kind of queasy.

The commercial for Chicken McNuggets looks at first like a standard-issue video for your typical R&B song -- until you start listening closely to the lyrics.

Yes, the singer has that overly emotive, heartbroken look on his face, and yes, he’s making those goofy hand gestures as he sings about desperate, unrequited love. But is he craving a lover … or a piece of breaded, fried chicken?

McDonald's

The latter, it turns out.

The 60-second version of the commercial begins with a man awakening in the middle of the night to find that his significant other has snuck out of their majestic home on a rainy night to indulge in a mysterious mission.

What’s worse, when she finally returns, toting a McDonald’s bag, she’s not willing to share.

"Oh girl I know your secret," the singer croons. "You got that McNuggets loving/loving/It just ain’t fair/why can’t you share your love with me?"

(According to McDonald’s, the singer is played by Don Lee, but the song is sung by Lavish Mikell.)

The tongue-in-cheek tune ends with the earnest singer belting out "Girl you got a 10-piece/please don’t be stingy" while his female companion shoots him down.

Of course, some people might love (or hate) McDonald’s enough to take the song and its sentiment seriously. To us, however, it was a witty parody of more typical R&B fare, which manages to be entertaining even if you don’t like the style of music, or McDonald’s for that matter.

Click here to watch the long version, and click here to watch a shorter version of the ad.

That snoozy Sprint CEO

Allison Linn — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

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

Usually, he’s saying something that is either dull, obvious, or both, such as "Our network is engineered for today, and for tomorrow" or "This could be the only phone you’ll ever need."

Sometimes he’ll also delve into the scintillating details of the cell phone plan, as if assuming that we’re all sitting on our couches with calculators and pencils at the ready, taking notes and comparing prices.

We expect this kind of talk at analysts’ conferences and technology symposiums, when you have an audience of people who are actually looking forward to parsing earnings statements and examining software code. But it’s definitely not the type of stuff that’s likely to keep our attention when we’re relaxing after a long day of work or taking care of kids.

The fact that Sprint would continue to blanket the airwaves with these annoyingly boring ads is especially surprising given the stark contrast with its competition, which has hit on the more entertaining formula of using humor to sell families on their services.

AT&T continues to amuse us with its witty rollover minute series, and we can’t help but chuckle every time we see this commercial about a missed call that wreaks havoc with a child’s birthday party. T-Mobile USA also deserves kudos for this parody of the lengths moms will go to get a good babysitter.

Click here, here and here to watch the Sprint ads.