Posted on 12/27/2007 5:58:45 PM PST by mylife
Best of Ads, Worst of Ads In Pitching Products This Past Year, Gorilla Worked, but Guerrilla Didn't By SUZANNE VRANICA December 27, 2007; Page B1
Green is the new black.
Madison Avenue tried to curry favor with consumers this year by coloring products and brands with an environmental tint. A long list of companies such as General Electric Co., Chevron Corp. and Home Depot Inc. all jumped on the eco-friendly bandwagon. One Toyota Motor Corp. ad featured a Prius being created from straw, twigs and other natural elements. The gasoline-electric hybrid car is built up and then fades back into nature. [Cast your vote for the Best and Worst Ads] See clips and examples of the best and worst ads and cast your vote.
Despite the energy spent on eco-friendly marketing messages very few stood out, but being green wasn't the only way ad makers tried to grab some attention in 2007. Thanks in part to ad-skipping devices, they littered the Web with viral videos, added smells to print ads and even found ways to have pitches appear in unsuspecting places such as on TV screens on gas pumps.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
View the adds at the link
next year for halloween i’m going to put on a bad shag wig, a v-neck sweater, and walk around with a dry erase board. i’m going to be that severely annoying guy from the UPS commercials. it’s going to be so awesome.
“Let’s put a smile on his face.”
Kiss It Goodbye
Client: Mars Inc.’s Snickers
Agency: Omnicom Group’s TBWA/Chiat/Day
Content: The ad showed two mechanics eating the same candy bar at the same time — in what was a bizarre spin on the famous scene from “Lady and the Tramp,” where two dogs simultaneously eat a strand of spaghetti. After the men reach the middle of the candy bar and lock lips, they rip out clumps of their chest hair in a desperate attempt to “do something manly.”
Feedback: Mars pulled the ad after the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation condemned the ad as antigay. “Feedback from our target consumers was positive, and many media commentators ranked the commercial among their top 10 best,” said Alice Nathanson, a spokeswoman for Mars. “We know that humor is highly subjective and understand that some people may have found the ad offensive. That was never our intent.”
That was a funny commercial, and caving in to some special group with extra sensetive feelings offended by this is “gay.” I find it pathetic that firms like this cave before every little special loudmouth interest group. Sad-
View the minus’s too
The anti-smoking commercials with the Hippie drives me nuts.
The Nature Made vitamin commercial with the lispy little girl drives me up the wall—”Momth are thuperheroth.” Why can’t they get a kid who can speak clearly?
The one with the mom confronting her young daughter about the text message charges (BFF Jill) on the phone bill is near the top of my list along with the recent one with little kid saying “those are for Santa” as dad is caught eating the cookies. Those cholesterol ads for Vitorin? are the pits as are most of the ED ads.
ESPN’s are at the top of my list.
I like the one where the dad makes a big fuss about Santa being on the roof then when they get out there, a really nice tool kit (or something he wants) sits up there. I rolled when I saw it.
Nothing will beat the Verizon Wireless Razr commercial with Jim making his razr a puppet over the top of a cubical talking to Gary. (you never see Jim’s face) At the end, it goes
Jim: Where’s you phone?
Gary: It’s at home.
Jim: Because it’s LAME!
It’s the best.
But of course now, I watch ABCFamily every night to see the commercial for 27 Dresses. *sigh*
the best ad
I think the AIG commercials with the laughing babies are great....you can’t help it...it just puts a smile on your face
I loved the “best ads of the world” show that aired maybe 10 years ago
(on ABC?). I think it was hosted by one of the guys who was in most of
the Budweiser “waazzzup!?” commercial.
The similarly-themed show currently hosted by Kevin Neeland (sp?; ex
of SNL) just aren’t quite as good, IMHO.
But I still watch to see the best of them.
Nothing is quite as bad a the “Viva Viagra” Commercial.
Can’t think of any ‘good’ commercials but Vonage has to have the most disgusting. That fat broad with the Vonage orange hair is sickening.
“Nothing is quite as bad a the “Viva Viagra” Commercial.”
Can’t compete with that one great commercial from a competitor (Cialis?)
with the lovey-dovey couple taking in the beauty of the ocean coast...
and the towering lighthouse.
PRICELESS!
The Beyonce ad for Direct TV is great.
Poor choice of worst....poor choice of best. All in all, a dumb article.
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