Ads of the Weird

Dr. Scholl’s gets way too sexy for itself

Allison Linn — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:30:00 GMT

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.

Dr. Scholl’s

After performing in bare feet, she jumps off -- and right into a pair of sky-high red heels, then breaks into the dance again. Apparently, this is an effort to show that using Dr. Scholl’s For Her makes dancing in towering heels more comfortable.

The ad is so wrong in so many ways that it’s hard to know where to begin. First of all, if this is a commercial aiming to tout how much more comfortable heels are thanks to Dr. Scholl’s products, why does it show a woman dancing barefoot for so much longer than it shows her dancing with the shoes on?

Second, why didn’t they bother to hire a woman who could actually dance well?

DaCosta is beautiful, but her moves are jerky and inconsistent. More to the point, she often looks strained and uncomfortable, although that may be because her movement is limited by those skin-tight leather pants. Still, we’re guessing the shoes get so little air time because she just couldn’t dance well in them.

The entire effect is unappealing, made worse by the fact that the whole concept -- dancing on a platform in bright red heels -- is more crass than cute.

We’re all for foot products that make walking, and dancing, in high heels more comfortable, but please spare us the table-dancing subtext.

Click here to watch the ad.

Honda's new pitch: Old naked guys

Allison Linn — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

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.

Honda

The punch line is that the driver is able to use a rear-view camera mounted on the dashboard to back up, saving him the embarrassment of looking over his shoulder at the group of nudists. It’s a cute trick because it makes the technology memorable without having to tout it as a safety feature, a tactic that often leaves car makers looking staid and preachy.

The gaggle of men also serves to remind viewers that the car is roomy enough for a crowd, without overtly bragging about that type of feature.

The ad really works because Honda resists the urge to overdo it. The sparse dialogue is witty, and the flummoxed expression on the driver’s face pretty much says it all. While a lot of car commercials fail for being too in-your-face, this one is subtle and surprising enough to make you want to pay attention.

Still, in an age of $4 (if not $5) per gallon gas, it’s not clear that even the wittiest commercial will be enough to sell Americans on a big vehicle like the Pilot.

Click here to watch the commercial.

BMW bores us, then lies about it

Allison Linn — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

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.

BMW

The elaborate ruse -- much of which is in German, with English subtitles -- follows a fake filmmaker’s effort to understand the existence of a large ramp that has been built at the outskirts of town. Since this is a car promotion, no one should be surprised to find out that the idea is to launch a car off of it.

The problem is that the joke is on the company, not us. “The Ramp” feels too much like an actual boring, meandering documentary, right down to the moody shots of farmers at work and extraneous asides not related to the subject at all.

BMW gets the details right: the dialect and feel of the small German town is spot-on, the translations are accurate and the mockumentarian even does a pretty good job speaking German. But getting everything right just serves to make the whole thing feel more boring, not more amusing.

BMW does have a shortened version of the mockumentary; it’s still not that interesting, but at least you get through it quicker.

And that’s really the rub about “The Ramp.” An elaborate joke is all well and good, as long as it sells cars. “The Ramp” doesn’t do much to make you care about the ramp, much less the car it’s seeking to promote.

That’s not all. After releasing the film this spring, BMW denied for months that it was behind it, only confirming it a few weeks ago in an article in The Wall Street Journal.

The Internet does allow advertisers to come up with new rules of engagement, and one can argue that there was little harm done in lying about this. Still, we’d like to hope that top-tier companies like BMW would adhere to a higher standard than blatantly misleading customers.

Click here to watch the full-length version of “The Ramp.” Click here to watch the condensed version.

Gatorade scores a surprise home run

Allison Linn — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

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, Spider-Man-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.

Gatorade

Stranger still, the makers of Gatorade insist that although they did make the viral video, they didn’t intend to distribute it and they aren't even sure how it got out to the public. The company said they are pleased that it appears to be getting tons of views, and have no plans to put a stop to it.

“This has all been a pleasant surprise, so why not let it happen?” spokeswoman Jill Kinney said.

As more viewers adopt technology that allows them to fast-forward through television ads, the Internet has become a prime new medium for companies to ply their wares.

Unfortunately, most of the efforts have been weak, ranging from companies who can’t even be bothered to put their traditional ads on the Web to those who build elaborate Web sites that require way too much time and effort on the part of the user.

Gatorade’s viral ad is much better than that -- it gets your attention, doesn’t take much time to watch and provokes your curiosity. Also, it’s easy enough to share with friends.

Kinney said the sports drink maker originally thought about using the video as a starting point for a more traditional ad campaign, but those plans have been scrapped for now.

That’s too bad, because it seems like this would have been a great launching pad for a pairing between old mediums and new ones -- another area where many companies are still struggling.

On the other hand, at this point Gatorade may feel like it doesn’t need to expend the money and energy required to expand the campaign. Thanks to the mysterious leak, the promotion is out there and it’s garnering Gatorade a lot of attention.

Click here to watch the ad.

When penguins fly

Allison Linn — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:10:00 GMT

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.

Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images file

The ad shows a penguin, a chicken and even an emu being strapped into hang gliders and, with human companions to guide them, given the experience of swooping through the air.

Remarkably, none of them looks that freaked out -- although that is likely because, according to the state lottery, these are trained birds working with professionals. The penguin even flaps its little wings a bit, as if testing out what it would be like to really fly, as it surveys its surroundings.

(The need for professional trainers is one reason a Washington lottery spokeswoman said the ad actually was filmed in California, although the gray weather does remind us of Washington state’s version of “summer.”)

The commercial has a quiet beauty and humor that gets your attention in part because it is the antithesis of so many other lottery commercials that play on greed or garish shock value. The light-hearted feel also is refreshing amid the myriad worries many Americans are dealing with these days -- meant, perhaps, to be reminiscent of how a person might feel if he or she won the lottery and didn’t have to deal with money woes again.

Still, the most cynical among us can’t help but wonder if this is really the dream of a lifetime for these birds. Perhaps the penguin would prefer that its habitat not be impacted by climate change, and the chicken would just like to not become someone’s dinner.

The commercial had a short run on Washington state television. Click here to watch it.

Update: An astute reader pointed out that the large flightless bird is an emu, not an ostrich. The post has been corrected.

Sex, the City … and the Marines?

Allison Linn — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:00:00 GMT

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 military.

Staff Sergeant Brian J. Griffin / U.S. Marines

But even the “Sex and the City” women would (begrudgingly) admit that looks aren’t everything, and one has to wonder whether the commercial, which likely cost a fair bit of money and took an enormous amount of logistical planning, will actually get people to join the Marines.

The stereotypical military ad focuses on the adrenaline rush of serving your country -- the allure of physical feats of greatness and the sheer power of using advanced fighting machinery -- or tout benefits such as opportunities and education. Those approaches allow the military to accentuate the upsides of service while also acknowledging a sobering truth: this is a country that has been involved in a major, complex conflict for five years, and joining up these days is very literally an agreement to risk your life for your country.

“America’s Marines,” is lovely, but its beauty risks being disingenuous. Certainly there are people who will join the Marines because they love this country, and the ad reminds us of how much there is to love about this country. But these days it takes more than patriotism to agree to serve -- it also takes the guts to know that you will likely be facing a messy battlefield. Anyone who is seriously considering joining the Marines has likely given that a fair amount of thought.

The past few years have generated in us all an enormous amount of respect for the troops, and we certainly mean no disrespect here. One simply wonders whether those who choose to make that sacrifice would feel turned off, or even pandered to, by the contradiction between what this commercial presents, and what reality has to offer.

Click here to watch the ad online.

The truth will set you humming

Allison Linn — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:00:00 GMT

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.

American Legacy Foundation

In the most recent installment, an announcer informs us that a tobacco executive once remarked, after being told that smoking can lead to underweight babies, that some people might prefer small babies. At that, the announcer breaks into a banjo ditty, sharing the stage with a cartoon stork and cartoon babies.

In keeping with the campaign’s trademark format, the ad is filmed in a public place, and it frequently cuts to flummoxed bystanders looking on. (In this case, they may be most puzzled because they can’t see the cartoon characters that are integral to the final product.)

The lyrics (“healthy babies are just no fun/eat too much and they weigh a ton”) are catchy but could be wittier. Still, The Disney musical-esque entreaty is so unlike anything viewers are used to seeing in a public service announcement that it just might capture the attention of the target teen demographic.

However, that also could be the campaign’s biggest drawback: The goofy song and characters are cute, but one wonders whether young viewers will be too distracted by cartoon babies and the like to understand the irony, and hear the anti-smoking message in the lyrics.

Also, let’s hope that most people between the ages of 12 and 17 don’t yet have to worry about whether their babies will be normal birth weight, but perhaps that’s an issue for the groups trying to stop teen pregnancy to tackle.

The other ads in the cartoon series include a song-and-dance number about “the magical amount” of nicotine needed to keep smokers addicted, and another that ponders whether the annual worldwide death toll from tobacco, put at 5 million, is a “typo.”

As with previous “truth” ads, the series does a good job of resisting the urge to talk down to kids. Let’s just hope the kids are paying attention.

Click here to see the campaign.

Update: Our colleague Gael Fashingbauer Cooper over at msnbc.com's Test Pattern has launched her annual summer TV Commercial Contest. Click here to help her choose the best and worst ads of the year.

Random acts of meanness

Allison Linn — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:00:00 GMT

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.

Cheetos

There are lots of examples of slightly malevolent high jinks being used for legitimate laughs, but usually those jokes work because the viewer – and even the target – knows they are meant to be in good fun. These commercials show people being so blatantly mean, and with little or no provocation, that it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

What’s more, the random acts of meanness aren’t even original. Messing up someone’s desk? Putting something up someone’s nose? It sounds like the type of things a third grader would come up with.

The makers of Cheetos apparently also thought it would be funny if the public engaged in similar pranks. A Web site offers tips for how to use Cheetos to spread some real-life badwill, as part of a campaign dubbed "Random Acts of Cheetos." Suggestions include dumping Cheetos in your boss’s car and making "itching powder" out of Cheetos and other ingredients. Instead of coming off as edgy and funny, the whole thing smacks of middle-aged marketers trying too hard to appeal to the "Grand Theft Auto" demographic.

Another link encourages people to post their own Cheetos-related videos, which some users have done. Sure, that makes for free publicity, but sometimes you get what you pay for.

Click here to go to the site and see the ads.

You are now free to hate flying even more

Allison Linn — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT

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.

JetBlue

While the legacy airlines try to convince us we should keep flying with them despite what seems like a weekly service downgrade, the discounters are having a field day trying to argue that they offer a better experience. That may be true, but it pays to remember that the bar is extremely low.

JetBlue claims that when you use its airline you’re not flying, you’re jetting. The airline’s advertising campaign touts the now-familiar differentiators -- leather seats, entertainment, snacks.

Snacks, you ask? Yes, that’s what it has come to -- an airline can now make a selling point out of that small plastic bag of processed carbs they toss your way as they make their way down the aisle. What’s next, a campaign touting that they pressurize their cabins? Provide seat belts?

Southwest Airlines also makes fun of its competition in an ad in which everything -- including pushing the call button -- costs flyers money. It’s a cute ad, although not quite cute enough to distract us from the flap over missed safety inspections that prompted tons of flight delays earlier this year.

The fact is, the cost of fuel is going through the roof and the economy is in the doldrums, so airlines are increasingly going to have to make an ugly choice: cheap tickets or good service. That’s not a very alluring advertising message, so here’s a thought: why don’t airlines dump the commercials altogether and put that money toward making our flights just slightly more endurable?

The walk of no shame

Allison Linn — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT

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."

AMP Energy

AMP knows it takes two to tango, so "Walk of No Shame" also includes a few anecdotes that women can relate to. For example:

"Oh how I’ll push through the day/ through the day/ in my tiny ruffled miniskirt/and some guy’s extra-large T-shirt/oh I will not be ashamed."

If you think this commercial is headed for sleazeville -- or, worse yet, the great abyss of cheesy, tasteless commercials -- you might be surprised.

With "Walk of No Shame," the commercial’s creators manage to pull off something kind of remarkable: they’ve written an ode to an often regrettable experience that is actually pretty cute, and a lot catchier than you might imagine.

Also, unlike a lot of commercials, which feel like they were rushed out to make someone’s lean budget demands, this one takes time to get the humorous details right: the comic sigh from the other party in the one-night stand, the woman limping proudly down the street with only one shoe, even the hint of flirtation between two walk-of-no-shamers who meet up at the end of the commercial.

The entire commercial plays like a mini-musical, enacting little dramas as each slightly disheveled character appears to offer a pithy comment on their mental and physical state after a night of debauchery.

One can argue about whether this ad is very effective at selling energy drinks -- shuffling home with fuzzy memories of the night before, no one seems very energized, or even inclined to be energized. Still, we’ll take that over the ridiculous, testosterone-laden goofiness that is the hallmark of most energy drink ads, including others produced for AMP Energy itself.

Click here to watch the made-for-TV version of "Walk of No Shame" or click here to watch the slightly racier, Web-only version.