...have you ever wondered how ads and commercials on media sometimes have the opposite effect of what they are meant to promote? I have, on numerous occasions .... Take the "SitNSleep - You are killing me Larry" commercials with different scenarios like the taekwond-ing Larry slashing down cardboard stacks of prices and Irwin screaming hysterically every two minutes .."you are killing me Larry!!!" or Irwin complaining about giving birth to free two mattresses and getting de-fibbrilated by an equally hyper nurse ...
How gross or unimaginative can you get ... sometimes when I listen to these ads on the radio ... I think to myself ... there's no way, I'm walking into a sit and sleep store to save some dollars ..just because the way the ad cheeses me off ... I mean really ... for all those people who pay top dollars to ad companies... they should invest some time and effort in making sure that the ads are worth the huge bucks they shell out ... and that their consumers appreciate the nuances or the humor ... or that they are tempted to buy that product ...
There are a lot of other cases .. Like the "southwest airlines - get wherever you want to" ads that used to air one - two years back... They would start of with scenarios that leave you wondering to the last second of the ad, as to what the ad is about ... Commercials are supposed to have an effect within 30 seconds for the user to respond to it and to think to him/herself ..."May be I should get that" ... and not keep scratching his/her head for 30 seconds after wondering "What was that all about?".....
Maybe the ad guys here need to take some lessons from their Indian counterparts ... I'm not being biased here ... but in India 90% of the commercials in media is very effective, very apt and sometimes very subtle ... but even the subtleties hit the bulls eye every time ... I used to love the Amul butter ads for instance ... They would usually be related to a current event or topic of discussion in news ..and would be usually one liners ... but the impact would be just amazing ... take a look at some of them here ...
or for the Indian-thusiasts, here's the full link at:
to be fair, not all ads here in the usa, are bad... some are quite good..like the super bowl ads, or "need a moment" by Twix etc ... But the percentage of good ads to horrible ones, is like 10% ....
that's what I'm talking about .... a perfect commercial is like an "Ala carte" .. .it has to be the perfect blend of wit, common sense, subtleties and a succinct description of why one should get the product... a perfect ad/commercial would not only leave a visual impact ... but would also leave one wanting more .... and to ultimately get one to move one's butt off the couch/chair to go get that thing ... instead of sitting and lamenting about the quality of ads..Like I am doing here ... :)
see ya back on monday ... and for those with a big funny bone in their bodies .. here's a fun link to look at ...
1 comment:
Very very nice Blog. I identify completely with some ad's where you can't make 'head' or 'tail' of what the ad is about.
One such ad is 'HEADON'- it is something which after viewing tons of time, i have figured you put it on your head- but why? for fashion, pain, to erase wrinkles, or to control acne??? you see what i mean..
There is another such ad where till the end we kept guessing what it was about and it turned out to be about jeans. We were completely clueless throughout the ad process.
I like some ads from India- they seem so creative. I remeber the Liril ones, humko Binnie's mangta, "I am too old to be a young girl, too young to be a grandma.... but i think you are just right for amul chocolate, and also the Amul Butter and cheese ones...
good blog i enjoyed it tremendously.
Pallavi
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