Ads of the Weird : Technology

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.

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.

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.

GameStop hints at something naughty

Allison Linn — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:00:00 GMT

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.

GameStop (Click image to view ad.)

The point of the ad is to promote GameStop’s "hint or else" Web site, which gives people a forum for sending an e-mail hint of what they might like for the holidays.

The ad resists the urge to overplay the message, instead relying on the image of shocked and slightly sickened Mom, distraught Dad and a pile of blurred magazines to get the point across. It’s a clever concept that also addresses a real problem -- finding just the right gifts for finicky teenagers.

Of course, some people will be offended by the fact that a teenager has naughty magazines to begin with. Conversely, some will be offended that the parents would invade the teen’s privacy.

And on a broader level, it’s naturally a bit selfish to request holiday gifts unprompted, and perhaps GameStop will get some chiding for promoting that kind of thing. But as anyone who’s every stood helplessly at the mall on Dec. 24 knows, sometimes a little unsolicited help is better than a disastrous and costly impulse buy.

As a (rare) bonus, the "hint or else" Web site is actually pretty well done, mostly because it largely resists the urge to be snarky or obnoxious. A neat little "hint generator" offers users the option of picking a greeting (i.e. "best mom who ever lived" or "best-looking girlfriend ever"). Users then move along to the set up (options include "I just heard December is this crazy, worldwide gift-giving month") before selecting the games or other items they want to put on their wish list. The system will e-mail the request for you, in a bid to get the sale.

Of course, between a weak economy and a highly competitive marketplace, there’s no guaranteeing GameStop will get the business even if the gift giver gets the hint.

Another downside: When we tried to send ourselves a hint, the image-laden e-mail from "postmaster@smacktalkmail.com" looked so much like spam we almost deleted it.

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

Microsoft’s small screen of bore

Allison Linn — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:00:00 GMT

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. (Click image to watch)

There’s been a lot of buzz about how the commercial is odd, confusing and difficult to follow. All that is true, but those concerns pale in comparison to the major problem with the ad -- it’s boring.

Gates, who recently stepped down from day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft, may have great wealth in common with Seinfeld, but that doesn’t mean the two of them have much natural rapport. As for Seinfeld, there’s no question he’s a comic genius, but you wouldn’t know that from this commercial’s musings about things like when computers might taste like cake.

It would be one thing if those musings were quirky and funny, but they’re not. That’s surprising because Seinfeld proved to be a pretty good pitchman, doing a pretty similar shtick, years ago for American Express.

Rather than getting our attention and making us wonder what those wacky Microsoft advertising folks might think of next, we found our mind wandering to other questions like, "When will this commercial end?"

The ad falls especially flat when compared to the obvious thorn in Microsoft’s side -- rival Apple’s widely successful series of spots that have poked fun at Microsoft’s staid image.

The "I’m a Mac/I’m a PC" ads work because they are quick, funny and, most important, they entertain us while actually promoting the product in question.

Microsoft’s ad, by contrast, doesn’t lay out any clear advertising strategy. Rather than taking on Apple’s franchise, it risks reinforcing the very things that Apple makes fun of Microsoft for.

Click here to watch the ad.

Microsoft’s new advertising Vista

Allison Linn — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:00:00 GMT

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

A new campaign, called the "Mojave Experiment," shows a series of regular users who seem to like Windows Vista a lot -- as long as they don’t think it’s Windows Vista. Instead, the users have been told that they are seeing a demonstration of "Mojave," an even newer version of the operating system.

The campaign also includes many of the negative things people have heard about Vista, to get a sense of why so many people think they won’t like it.

The idea behind that is apparently to show that there is little context behind these suppositions. But here’s the problem: there’s also little context to this campaign.

We don’t actually see much footage of people trying Windows Vista, so we don’t know how much they actually did themselves, versus how much they were shown by an experienced marketer.

That’s important because it’s one thing for a paid expert to walk people through a demonstration on a high-powered computer, with all the bells and whistles installed and the latest components added. It’s quite another to try to play your favorite, 5-year-old computer game on the machine, import your family photos or hook up that ancient printer without the benefit of tech support.

We also don’t know whether the subjects were able to directly address the issues users have complained about, such as sluggishness with older or cheaper computers, or incompatibility with existing products.

Plus, we don’t know whether the people they show are a representative sample of the public. Microsoft says it polled 140 people, and most of them liked "Mojave" better than they thought they’d like Vista. But the company doesn’t say who conducted the interviews or offer other evidence of whether this was an unbiased experiment.

In short, we feel manipulated, not convinced.

Elsewhere in the campaign, Microsoft takes a page from movie promoters and pulls a one-liner from a long review of Vista. The company boasts that The New York Times "raved" about the operating system when it first came out, writing "Windows Vista is beautiful."

In fact, the Times was talking about the actual physical appearance of Vista, not the compatibility issues and other problems users have complained about. The actual article’s headline reads: "Vista Wins on Looks. As for Lacks …"

Faced with an unpopular operating system, Microsoft is right to face its detractors head on. It’s just taken the wrong approach.

Click here to view the campaign.

Trust Duracell to scare the *$#%! out of you

Allison Linn — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:30:00 GMT

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

The ad is clearly meant to substantiate Duracell’s long-running claim that people should trust its batteries in even the most serious situations. It’s a tactic that’s provided a good (and long) ride for Duracell, but also has, at times, felt over the top.

This risks being one of those cases. The combination of tugging at parents’ heart strings and playing up parents’ worst fears feels overdramatic. Instead of making people want to buy the batteries, the company is in danger of turning off parents who don’t want to be scared into shopping.

It kind of makes us pine for that irritating, but light-hearted, Energizer bunny.

Also, in partnering with a company selling pricey electronic child-tracking technology, Duracell opens up a distracting Pandora’s box of thorny issues over whether such devices are a help to parents, or a needless and creepy invasion of privacy.

What’s more, it turns out the firm that makes the product, called BrickHouse, specializes in a much deeper array of products geared toward the distrustful (or paranoid) family member.

At the company’s Web site, you’ll find equipment designed to spy on your nanny, test your teen for drugs and your spouse’s clothing for signs of infidelity, secretly track your child or spouse, or monitor their computer habits. Perhaps the strangest: a bulletproof backpack designed to "give your children, loved ones, or yourself added protection from gun and knife violence."

While few people may make the connection between Duracell and BrickHouse’s other products, the question remains: Does a traditional brand like Duracell really want to associate itself with a company that sells something called the "CheckMate 5-minute infidelity test kit"?

Click here to watch the ad.

AT&T gets sweet

Rob Neill — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:11:00 GMT

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

The spot is for the company’s Go Phone. (We’ll sigh again and promise not to roll our eyes at the company’s shoddy customer service or unhelpful support line that had us on hold this morning … no really.) And the ad looks like the abovementioned typical holiday blather with smiley animated gingerbread peeps.

Then they open their frosted mouths and we get a harried blue-collar dad and spoiled children. Much more in line with our experience this time of year.

Comic gold: Dad telling one kid “Well I want people to stop eating my house, but that ain’t gonna happen.”

And it doesn’t at the end, revealing a little gingerbread cheesecake (to mix dessert metaphors). This month seems to be full of roofing disasters.

We were set to congratulate the creators, but since Aardman Productions was also behind Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, we have a lot more to thank them for.

Watch the ad here.

Christmas break

Rob Neill — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 08:00:00 GMT

Though we have yet to hear one of our favorite holiday songs, 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

The 90-second spot envisions the nativity as a high school (junior high?) production of “You Got Served.” Angels and Jesus vs. Wise Men. We hope this doesn’t affect our prospects for the afterlife, but Jesus, your crew got clowned. Especially since the Wise Men would get shut down by these guys.

Nice work, Virgin Mobile, even if we don’t know why this would make anyone consider your cell service. Watch the ad here.

Our runner-up is this installment of Apple’s long-running “PC vs. Mac” campaign. Watch it here.

(At this point we have to run the following disclaimer: msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal News. And at this point we add to the disclaimer: We are no fan of Apple products (we’re not rich), don’t own an iPod (these work just fine, thanks) and are a fan of the campaign, despite some people thinking it’s getting a little long in the tooth.)

Perhaps this isn’t the most brightly written of the series. But the animation has us all feeling like it’s 1972 again. Which is fitting, since the holidays are really meant for children.

The shadow knows

Rob Neill — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:00:00 GMT

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 Interstate 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.

The billboard is wide enough to need four klieg lamps, yet only uses one to illuminate its spare message: “Use Electricity Wisely.” Possibly the most direct, and wise, comment on the subject since Mom told us to turn out the light if we’re leaving the room.

(Thanks to Will, for pointing it out, and this site for hosting the article – your URL made us chuckle.)

Before we praise the billboard’s smart design and worthwhile message, we feel compelled to observe that it may be a matter of necessity for Eskom, the utility company that created the billboard, to encourage conservation, since they can’t seem to keep the current lights on in the country.

Still, a worthwhile concept regardless where you see it.

Our one quibbling question: Does it look as smart during the daytime?

Off topic: This is our fave buzz term du jour.