Unbig. Smartcar

Razor Sharp

Here's a brilliant idea coming from Martor Solingen of a unique billboard placement.

Needless to say they accomplished their point

Ebay Humiliation Ad

Its a shame that embarrassment and humiliation tactics are the strategy here.  Not to mention the person they are all insulting for not being with it is using the product being advertised (ebay).  Not the best association to create, even if it is on a sub-conscious level.

Calvin Klein

Saw these in class today, very creepy vibe.  Although these were labeled as ads that actually ran for a while, it seems like there is some confusion about their origination.  After some intense Googling, I found that these ran in the 1990s, quite intentionally depicting a time closer to the 1970s (a time quite notorious in the porn industry).  They were pulled after growing pressure from consumers and a risk of charges by Feds.  Sex sells?  I mean I guess this worked on someone, seeing as it continued to grow strongly in popularity, but for me it was just creepy.

Kia Optima Slam Dunking

Excellent commercial for the Kia Optima in my opinion.  First, the advertisement itself;

• Intense music that breaks from the annoying white noise you normally hear pumping out of the tv
• Slow motion.  Catches people's eye, breaks pace from the quick tempo of most commercials trying to cram a ton of info in a 30 second spot
• Excellent product placement.  Even if you can't see the Kia logo on the front of the car, at least you know its about a car, considering its the only thing that doesn't belong on this basketball court.  Interesting approach; everything is normal, all in a familiar place (we've all seen someone dunk a basketball before) and then add in the element you are advertising.

I've seen this ad a few times on the sports channels.  While I'm eating in the Jester food court, everyone within the view of the tv that is playing this commercial all stop eating, stop talking, and just watch it.  Very appealing in that way.
I decided to look it up, found some interesting details.  It appears that the player (Blake Griffin) performed the dunk live.  Its funny, this ad really blurs the line between entertainment and product promotion.  Here's a link to the original.  And to sum up here is Michael Sprague of Kia Motors; VP of marketing and communications, nice idea.

Don Draper in Dr. House's World?

So I noticed this funny reference today while watching one of my favorite shows; House (season 7 episode 13 "Two Stories") It appears that they cracked a little joke at Don Draper from MadMen (another one of my favorite shows).



That's House telling this character that its his turn to show the kids what he does on career day. The person you see says right after this that his name isn't Don, but John Dryden (compare to dark-haired Don Draper). The teacher of the class introduces him as someone who works for one of the largest advertising agencies in New York. Funny. Especially considering I always thought the two characters quite similar in some ways.

Also in that episode, some satirical product placement:




Of course this Hyundai score was more a laugh than anything considering the size of that machine gun or whatever it is, and then the blatant quote that Taub says. Good stuff.

An Introduction

So this blog is just dedicated to my thoughts about advertising. Everything about it. Being broad here. Just questions, observations, and critiques of ads. Mostly for my own pleasure.