I used to see sign spinners all the time when I lived in San Diego. They were generally for apartment complexes that had units for rent. Maybe for phone stores that had a sale. It seemed to be SoCal's answer to the youth job market. Growing up in the Midwest, I worked McD's, or various food service. I'm sure if I'd grown up in SoCal, I'd have spun a sign while listening to my Walkman. All of a sudden, I'm seeing this shit all over TV ads. Ford Focus. It's Always Sunny. It makes me respect them less. Focus: What are the worst advertisement techniques you've seen? Things that made you LESS likely to buy a product. Alt Focus: What are the best?
We are deluged with advertising every day, nearly everywhere we look. Some people say that the future of advertising is "advertising as content," but I haven't seen that model work too often. However, when it works, it can be a thing of beauty.
One of the most beautiful Alt Focuses I've ever seen... Damn, the best I can find is an awful KFC ad from OZ. Crazy racist: Long, but within the first 0:45 you have the implication that the driver runs over the guy because he's a douche...
This almost makes me want to go out and buy an Apple. But only almost. On the other hand, most Taco Bell commercials make me lose my appetite. I really don't want to see a close up of simmering beef byproduct.
"Ring Around the Collar". If you're my age or older, that line could kill a lab rat in seconds. That was the catch phrase for Wisk in the 70's and 80's, and even as a little kid I wanted to walk back to the shed and hang myself in my Knight Rider P.J.'s when they came on. There were a fucking BILLION of these 30 second Chinese Water Tortures. Most people hate it, but this commercial makes me want to buy Starburst:
Dear lord, this commercial haunts my dreams. My kids love it so back when McDonald's aired it regularly, I heard it all the time. It gets stuck in your head surprisingly easy and you want gouge your own brain out after a while because of it.
Head On. Apply directly to the forehead. Head On. Apply directly to the forehead. Head On. Apply directly to the forehead. Head On. Apply directly to the forehead.
I never buy their stuff because I'm broke slash it's not really my style, but when I was younger I always really looked forward to Gap's holiday ads. I just thought they were so warm and fun and were a part of the holiday spirit for me (commercialism included). These two were my favorites: (Why, yes, that was Rashida Jones in there.) This one wasn't a holiday commercial, but it has just a few of my favorite things in it: Way to go, Gap. And, this is obvious, but I can't think of any other commercial I've ever sought out on my own to watch simply for entertainment's sake: I mean, come on. That was brilliant.
Most advertisements say little about the product and its benefits, which I would prefer. They usually focus on how using the product will make you feel, which I generally find annoying. Coors, on the other hand, has taken the middle road. Apparently at a loss as to why anyone would want to actually drink their watery beer, they've decided to focus on the fact that, once refrigerated or exposed to subfreezing temperatures, it becomes COLD. You know, much like any other liquid refreshment. Not only that, but in case you are too stupid to feel that the beer is cold, the mountains turn blue when the can is chilled. So in summation, Coors tells you that their beer can indeed be chilled (benefit), and drinking cold liquids on a hot day is refreshing (how it makes you feel). Brilliant.
I am not exactly the target demographic, as I am single and would sooner push her down the steps than buy a car seat. But, I dont know if this is the best or the worst ad I have ever seen: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4</a>
Levi's Jeans Commercials There was one on last night while I was watching football that I could've sworn was going to be for GE or something. They talked about progress and moving ahead and breaking the mold and then at the end, the Levi's logo was superimposed on the screen and I just didn't understand it. Why the big art house production? They're fucking jeans. Can't someone just walk across a white-washed backdrop and say, "Hey, you like comfortable jeans? Sure you do. Levi's are comfortable. Buy them." Then they just walk off. 10 seconds, the message is clear, and that's it. I'm sick of dumb shit like jeans being represented as a path to a lifestyle that exists in a greater world. There's nothing more blatantly shooting shit at your face than a commercial that takes itself way too seriously.
I was obsessed with this commercial when it first came out. Gap always has commercials that are great the first time you see them, then get progressively more annoying. Also:
A few more I remembered: Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Hands down one of the coolest commercials I've ever seen: Spoiler
Ads with a memorable character usually get my attention. I saw this one a couple days ago, and it's been cracking me up ever since. And of course, this guy is pure genius: