To heck with the game. Let's talk about the music and the ads. Best: Bud Light. Worst: Burger King and Ameriquest. Highs and lows:
Star Spangled Banner -- a disaster for Aaron Neville (who couldn't hear himself) and not much better for Aretha -- 3
Half Time Show/Rolling Stones -- great aerobic workout for Mick; "stunt" fans near stage behaved like lunatics; ABC censored "Start Me Up" by omitting the last word in line "You make a dead man cum" -- reasonably enough; all quite perfunctory -- 5
Bud Light -- treasure hunt in office leading to chaos -- 10 (funny, memorable); guys hiding on roof, magic fridge etc 6
Burger King -- Broadway musical bit with women dressed as tomatoes -- 0 (hateful, and I like Broadway musicals)
Ameriquest -- mother and daughter walk into hospital room, think dad is dead -- 0 and jaw-dropping (why would a mortgage company even dream of joking about death?)
Pizza Hut Cheesey Bite Pizza with Jessica Simpson coming on to young teen boy sort of creepy -- 3
Disney World -- NFL players practicing "I'm going to Disney World" is sweet - 10
Mastercard w McGyver -- clever, reinforces campaign -- 8
Nationwide with aging Fabio -- who could remember what ad was for? -- 0
Sprint phones -- too clever and off-message -- 4
H&R Block quick checks -- on-point, straightforward -- 6
Bud -- pony pulling truck; horse football w streaker -- 5 (once too often)
Emerald Nuts -- druids under stairs -- 2 (too bizarre)
Godzilla and Robot in Love -- give birth to Hummer 2 (fun, but doesn't say Hummer)
FedEx caveman -- clever, good special effects, too much effort -- 4
Camry - Kermit w hybrid cars "easy being green" 3 (too far for lame joke)
Diet Pepsi -- Jay Mohr agent, w Diddy, Jackie Chan -- 3 (forced)
Alleve -- Leonard Nimoy at Trekkie convention -- 4 (mean to Trekkies)
TV Shows --
Sons & Daughters -- not a single funny joke -- 0
Desperate Housewives -- clever slogan "Get in the Game" -- 6
Lost -- Robert Palmer's "Addicted To 'Lost'" bizarre, rest okay -- 4
Dancing With The Stars -- sexed it up pretty good -- 6
Movie Ads --
16 Blocks -- with Bruce Willis, got idea across -- 5
V For Vendetta -- political overtones fun; splashy looking -- 6
Cars -- Pixar stamp of approval, dad-centric -- 6
The World's Fastest Indian -- waste of money -- 3
Mission Impossible III -- fast and fun w Hoffman a good villain -- 8
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Curse -- silly, fun -- 8
Poseidon -- starts strong but no pow ending -- 7
And it all lead into a faux lesbian shower scene to kick off Grey's Anatomy. Way to know your audience.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
You're nuts, the Ameriquest ads were the best. I laughed straight through the next ad after the doc said "well, that killed him." Classic. And the woman tripping on the plane who lands on the blindfolded man? It doesn't get any better than that. Perhaps you should follow their advice Michael: Don't judge too quickly.
Pete, I thought the plane one was okay as entertainment, if a bit obvious. But what does Don't Judge too quickly have to do with Ameriquest? And joking about people dying just doesn't seem in the spirit of Ameriquest -p- maybe a Mountain Dew ad, but not them.
I've of the opinion that the message of an ad isn't as important as its memorability. So, while Ameriquest isn't about awkward moments or death or the mile high club, the ads made me laugh - a lot. The fact that I remember that it was Ameriquest and not some other mortgage brokerage is the important part. And the guy didn't die, only the fly did. So, if you wanna join PETA and complain about insect cruelty, I can accept that.
Oh, and I think the "don't judge too quickly" line means that Ameriquest (like all other lenders) are willing to overlook the fact that the loan they'll issue you will financially strangle you and force you to declare bankruptcy when the housing bubble bursts because they're gonna sell your loan off to the investment houses who'll bundle the loans and sell them to private investors who will be left holding the bag for your fiscal negligence. But that's just my opinion.
Well, if you're trying to sell a product, a really clever ad that people love but leaves them unable to remember what you're selling is a waste of money. And you're right about the mortgage and the rights of flies. There's already a PETA protest about the killing of the fly for commercial purposes -- I suppose next you won't mind if they kill puppies as long as the ad is funny? Ameriquest insists no flies were harmed in the making of the commercial, but who can trust a mortgage company?
I thought the commercials were dull. I wasn't offended by the Ameriquest ad but I didn't think it was funny either.
Post a Comment