The Ad Game

"Don't tell my mother I work in an advertising agency - she thinks I play piano in a whorehouse." - Jacques Seguela ~ This blog is written by Rachel Moomaw, an Advertising/Journalism student at the University of North Texas. Please follow and/or contribute your own opinions, as mine will likely be CLEARLY stated. email: [email protected]

[theadgame-blog]

Red -- The Global Fund

What a massive celebrity medley.

Typically I'm not a huge fan of overwhelming celebrity use, but in this case the variety helps to increase the chances of establishing a connection with the viewer and keeps their attention with someone familiar, but completely different, every few seconds.

It is so simple, but has a profound message: Only 40 cents a day could keep someone alive. 

We can all spare 40 cents a day, the ad points this out pretty effortlessly by showing the limit of semi-useless things that can be purchased on such a budget.

I do wish Red pushed more information about how to get involved, but otherwise it does a wonderful job in advertising.

[theadgame-blog]

Virgin Mobile (India)

This Indian ad for Virgin Mobile adheres to Virgin's signature cheeky jest, but tones down the indecency.

The humor is familiar, basic, and childish, so it won't be as offensive for the more proper Indian audience.

After the prank, the advertised plan is explained very simply and straight-forwardly.

Not a work of genius, but it's a great example of the standard humorous commercial and the right way to tailor humor to an audience's culture.

[theadgame-blog]

Skittles (Fizzled Fruit)

Here we go for Skittles in America... This is actually among the less weird when it comes to their American ad campaign.

It's pleasantly off-beat, but uses the same exaggerated and abstract farce as the rest of the campaign.

On another note however, why on earth would we want Skittles that fizzle? This sounds unappetizing at the least and they don't build much appeal for the product besides showing us a supposed "want" for tongue-sparking sensations by the old man.

Weird idea for candy.

Doesn't make the tube sock any less entertaining to watch.

Besides, Skittles' ad campaign is more about building an association between their brand and whimsy, fun, and fribble.

[theadgame-blog]

Ajinomoto Stadium (Japan)

Finally. I've found an example of a Japanese ad that uses humor, but cuts back on the absurdity enough for it to successfully translate over to English (even though appealing to non-Japanese natives/English-speakers will hardly matter since the ad is for a Japanese stadium). Also, on the topic of English relevance, the concept reminds me a lot of the old Budweiser "Wassup" commercials. 

Whilst the girl who doesn't go to the games does get the guy, the commercial successfully instills a link between the pretty, desired girls and attendance at the stadium.

Plus, it illustrates exactly how popular of a following and the enthusiasm it attracts.

Decent chuckle material.

[theadgame-blog]

Dermablend Professional High Cover Foundation

This ad is posted on DermablendPro's YouTube channel.

If you're not familiar with the model, he's internet celebrity Rick Genest (a.k.a. Zombie Boy). He first earned publicity for being the previous Guinness record-holder for having the most tattoos and has also been included in a wide array of internet "Fail" galleries.

Recently though, he's gained a massive amount of fame and support after being discovered by Lady Gaga's Fashion Director and featured alongside the singer in her video for "Born This Way", released earlier this year. Since this, he has been hired as a model for Thierry Mugler, has been on the covers of Japanese Vogue and UK GQ, and has found various other business, including this commercial.

I cannot think of a better endorsement. Tagging along to his growing fame is an effective way to get an audience (7 million hits on this post of the video on YouTube -- Genest has it posted on his channel as well), and this video may even help to further his fame by advertising his modeling career through showing a variation in his look.

The demonstration is truly outstanding. And I love how it goes backwards to build the mystery.

It could be a little shorter and get to the point faster, but is altogether an awesome viral advertisement.

[theadgame-blog]

Dior J'adore

This commercial is steaming hot off the press; it was uploaded onto Dior's YouTube channel about two months ago from today.

I believe Charlize is the perfect spokesperson for Dior. She is stunningly beautiful, natural, classy, and easily-recognized, but does not have a reputation that may take away from the concentration of the advertisement on the J'adore perfume.

While I am a bit quizzical about the legality of realistically (really realistically, it's incredible in all honesty) illustrating Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, and Marilyn Monroe in the commercial, the way they are effortlessly blended into the video makes it so enchanting and invigorating.

These three women they picked were a flawlessly tasteful choice considering they are all, in their own categories, unforgettable icons of beauty and style. Many people are inspired by them, especially Marilyn, and this advertisement really harnesses that, then uses Charlize, in a gold collared champagne-color dress striking a remarkable resemblance to the J'adore perfume bottle, as a metaphor to show the continuance of their classic style into the future.

Someone commented a pretty brilliant theory on the video's page that each woman symbolizes a different Dior perfume: Grace Kelly represents Dior Cherie (if you've seen the current model for this campaign, they do have a very similar look and appeal), Marlene Dietrich represents Dior Poison, Marilyn represents Dior Allure or the previous J'adore, and Charlize represents current-day Dior J'adore.

There are definite parallels between each.

Whether that observation is true or not, the end result is a timeless advertisement with a strong allure.

[theadgame-blog]

Dole Bananas (Japan)

I warned you about this addiction. See what it's done to me? These ridiculous Japanese nonsense commercials have possibly single-handedly started to deteriorate my brain.

As for this ad, definitely the most absurd fruit commercial I have ever seen. They're selling bananas with the same insanity as the Skittles ad campaign. I must say, it does bring more excitement to the produce.

If they advertise fruit with the same enthusiasm and oddness as candy commercials, perhaps it will put fruit on the same plane of "want".

[theadgame-blog]

Morinaga Super Crackers? (Japan 1993)

The Japanese brand Morinaga apparently has always loved to graphically super-impose heads upon their animated food items. As I previously covered, similar person/food hybrids were popular in American 90s candy/fruit snack commercials.

Yes, it's unsophisticated, but it is for a snack food so sophistication is not exactly a grading factor. 

At least they focused on the food itself rather than the irrelevant people.

But the entire concept of one going through the other... that's another story.

[theadgame-blog]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Beware, I get unnaturally emotional about my Harry Potter.

When this commercial first premiered, it made me freeze in my steps to pay full attention from the beginning and literally brought me to tears  every time -- okay, yes, I understand this is probably not a normal reaction. But still, to this day, I get goosebumps every view and could watch it over and over again forever.

For a fan, it builds a longing; the altered chimed theme song intro paired with gorgeous slowed-down clips, the tone, the quote read as the audio, all of it just grabs your heart and tells you it's the end and it's going to be incredible.

A lot of films are going for the delayed, last-minute advertising approach and will premiere their previews like two weeks in advance. But this film was way too life-changing to be announced late.

They knew people would want to know quickly, and that the end to this amazing story deserved some hype-building.

Because it did.

Going to cry now and tell myself it's not really the end......

[theadgame-blog]

BudLight (bud.TV)

This commercial makes me laugh, or at least smile to myself, every time, without fail.

It might be offensive to some, whom I personally think can shove it, because that is the purpose of strategic bleeping.

The ad establishes a sense of fraternity and pure awesomeness, everything needed for a BudLight advert.

My favorite beer ad by far.

[theadgame-blog]

Ikea

I posted this a while back and talked some about Ikea's "cheeky" taste in advertising.

Sometimes, especially in their foreign ads, their humor slides on over to the sleazy side.

But this ad. This ad is phenomenal.

It is without a doubt one of my favorite commercials of all time. And what's great is that my parents love it too. The joke is clever, appropriate, and translates across pretty much all ages.

Also, this ad is timeless; if there ever is a time in the future that this doesn't make sense, it won't be a world I want to live in.

[theadgame-blog]

The Sims 3

This viral ad is a promoted video posted on The Sims YouTube channel.

The video is compelling; it goes through a variety of relatable real people whose images have been visually manipulated to appear more like the characters in the gameplay. Each has their own idea of what you could do in the game (and probably not in real life), from building an empire to wrecking everything, advertising the game with the appeal that, within it, anything is possible.

I feel that the array of gameplay clips came across as a disappointingly uninteresting blur and could have been made much more appealing and organized.

With that issue fixed (which shouldn't be too difficult if their observed claims hold any truth), they have a great ad.

[theadgame-blog]

Google Chrome (Lady Gaga)

This ad (pretty sure it's strictly viral) is posted on Google Chrome's YouTube channel.

I adore it. And I was never a big fan of Lady Gaga until I found out more about her interactions with her fans -- so many fans -- and her dedication to holding herself to her own standards. So I find this video to be EXCEPTIONAL advertising for both Google Chrome and Lady Gaga.

It gives a view from both her and her enormous database of fans which is intensely inspiring and intriguing; if you aren't a fan, you suddenly want to be, just because it illustrates such a massive unity amongst them.

On the Google side, it displays all of the easy-to-use features and real examples of their functions.

Fiercely fabulous.

[theadgame-blog]

Meow Mix (1984)

Oh, Meow Mix.

I don't even need to point out that this commercial is really out of control.

What us youngsters today wouldn't realize though is that this "UFO" concept was probably a smart and successful move.

This commercial came out in 1984, right after E.T., which was big. So this commercial was really current and trendy for the audience at the time of its premiere.

Problem is, it's not so trendy anymore. In fact, the overall darkness in the ad is rather ominous, despite the lyric-flashing UFO that sprouts a Godzilla-sized bag of catnip.

Acceptable temporary fix, but the complexly time-tied concept quickly expired.

[theadgame-blog]

Meow Mix (1990s)

Meow Mix has had the same theme song as the backbone for their commercials since 1976 (Ron Travisano of Della Femina Travisano & Partners came up with the jingle).

Later Travisano came up with the idea of adding English subtitles to include "humans" in the sing-along fun. To keep the concept fresh, he made variations in the lyrics, like the ones in this commercial and ones that read "So much talking, want more eating, meow meow meow meow please please feed me."

Altogether, Meow Mix has maintained a catchy campaign that really guilt trips you into buying their product.

My only thing with this commercial is the cat's creepy eyes, which I find rather demonic. Perhaps they thought straying from normal cat pupils and taking a more rounded approach would make it more relatable for their human purchasers.

[theadgame-blog]

McDonalds

I'm going to be honest, you guys: I hate McDonalds.

Yes, their fries are amazing, but they are soppy lardy amazing which means that they are, in essence, their own sin. And their Sausage Biscuits? Yeah, they are incredible too, obesely incredible. But I don't see how a tiny little breakfast sandwich is worth half of your daily calories, and probably a week's worth of your fat. Other than that, their burger patties look like what I imagine it would look like if I compressed a year's worth of the lint and "remnants" from my couch into a mold, then poured in bacon grease. 

I don't know, I just don't understand people who eat at McDonalds. I'm hating the player, and the game.

However, I will give them credit for some of their marketing aspects; the Golden Arches are classic and a fabulous example of a simplistic but defined logo, and they are supremely awesome at dominating every intersection with an interestingly designed drive-thru location. In fact my only complaints are their cheesy radio ads and creepy Ronald.

Now that I've finished stating all of my irrelevant opinions, let's focus on this sundial billboard by Leo Burnett.

This is an exceptional quality original advertising concept. It is simplistic, refined, fully functional, and timeless -- see what I did there? ;)

Brilliant.

I still hate you though McDonalds.

[theadgame-blog]

Virgin Mobile (and SpecBank.com)

Explaining this is going to be an awful lot like explaining "Inception".

So here we go. This ad, for Virgin Mobile, is posted on the official YouTube channel for SpecBank.com, which is an online database providing scripts and concepts for commercials that can be bought by companies. It's a pretty interesting idea really; if someone has a great idea for a commercial for AT&T, but obviously isn't their hired advertising agency, they can submit it to this site and have a chance at AT&T finding it and paying them for their concept.

The only risks are that of copyright, if someone uses it anyway - however this would still probably be illegal, so a lawsuit could be filed -, and the possibility that the concept is never found/purchased and the time and work put it into developing the idea go to waste.

Anyhow, this ad functions as an advertisement inside of an advertisement.... because it's obviously a commercial for Virgin Mobile, but is being used by SpecBank.com to advertise their website with a successful example of an outcome from their services.

Focusing on the ad in the perspective of it being for Virgin Mobile, I think that it is a hilarious and successful concept, however the product is obviously not spoken of enough and the brand name is not emphasized enough either.

In the perspective of it being for SpecBank.com, it's a great advertisement because it shows a clever concept that could have been tailored to a variety of companies, and obviously shows that their services stood as a platform for a transaction that ended in this commercial.