An example of how celebrity endorsements can take away from an ad.

When I saw the Justin Bieber/Ozzy Osbourne Super Bowl commercial, I completely forgot that it was for this Best Buy Buy Back program because I mostly just remembered it as a commercial with these two celebrities spouting off cheesy lines. This was the case until I saw this commercial last night and later searched for "best buy buy back" on YouTube. In my opinion, this is the better commercial anyway. With this one, the message is clear and it's presented in a entertaining way that transcends well with every somewhat wealthy person in America. On the other hand, I feel like the message is less clear and a little lost behind celebrity awe in the Super Bowl because it fails to emphasis the nuisance of technological products constantly being new as much. Sure, it mentions is once or twice, but it gets lost behind the unrelated humor and appeal from the celebrities. Whereas, conversely, this commercial's humor all stems from the benefit of the service.

If possible, I'd like your opinion on this.

For the most part, I hate the copy in these ads. But I do like the direction I was headed in with this first ad.  I thought it would be a really good strategy to tie the fact that we're Temple "Owls" in with our parents being empty nesters now and targeting it to them. However, I think the execution left a lot to be desired here. I don't know if it needs body copy, better headlines, or a completely different strategy altogether, but it needs something. If anyone may be reading this, give me some suggestions, please! For now, I think I'm back to the drawing board.

Way to steal the worst concept ever made.

First, let's refer back to the robbery victim. Same exact concept, right? And I don't even know if it deserves to be called a "concept." It's simply a hot celebrity modeling the shoes with zero copy or art direction to show any benefit of the product. It really just embodies the phrase, "sex sells," and I absolutely hate that. It's like creatives don't even need to be creative anymore. "Oh, yeah. Just throw up a  picture of a hot babe, a celebrity babe would be a plus, up there and add in the product and the logo somewhere, and there you go - perfect print." REALLY?! Not only is it making creatives like myself look bad, but its also making our society look like unintelligent sex fiends. Personally, I think we deserve more respect than that. But then again, there are plenty of people that buy into this. And that is what I aspire in my future endeavors in advertising.

Who said you can't find morality in advertising?

A lot of alcohol brands try to fit in their reminder to drink responsibly, but most of the time it seems really forced.  Often times brands will try to squeeze in a little tagline or an announcer voice at the end that says "drink responsibly" (like here, here, and here.). Though, Captain Morgan is one of these few brands that has tied it into their advertising so effectively that it is sometimes the basis of their ad as a whole.  Now, there are also plenty of brands that have also tried this and were ineffective in doing so because they didn't tie the message back to the product very well, and as a result posed more as a sponsored public service announcement.  Some examples of this can be found here, here, and here.  Captain Morgan, however, hit the nail on the head with their "drink responsibly" ads. This one in particular is such a perfect balance between presenting the product in an engaging way, and persuasively advising you to enjoy it responsibly.

I usually hate all car ads, so I tried to write one.

And I think I did a pretty good job of doing so.  However, I will admit, I found it to be pretty difficult.  In my opinion, I never see a real benefit for a vehicle that sets itself apart from the rest, except for practicality. Although it is not out on the market just yet, this is one of the most practical vehicles I have ever heard of. Sure, there are vehicles that get better gas mileage, what how are they in the snow and/or sand(depending on your climate)? Exactly. If I had the money to afford to buy a new car, this would be it without a doubt.  Read the body copy and you'll understand.

Delightfully horrible.

You have to admit, this song is super catchy and is also pretty well written. But with that said, I still don't think it is very good advertising. I only feel this way because it positions the brand to look so childish and cheap that I don't think I would ever trust it. When you're advertising for something like higher education, you should probably make it more about the quality and positive impact of higher education, and how it can change your life. Not, on the other hand, by making it super fun and easy because then it just sounds like you'll be getting crappy education that won't make you very much money. Sure, it might actually be a great service that offers some great opportunities, but this commercial did not make me want to look into it.

Correction: THIS was my favorite commercial of the Super Bowl.

Such a smart, innovative way to advertise during the Super Bowl. Other than that corny Darth Vader Volkswagon commercial, this got the must buzz out of any of the Super Bowl commercials. With a 30-second commercial costing about $3 million dollars during this year's Super Bowl, this was such a smart way to save money and still spread as much word of mouth and publicity for your brand as a those companies that shelled out those millions of dollars. Especially those who made terrible commercials (refer back to my Kia post to see what I'm saying). Would you believe that this 1-second spot yielded an 8.6% sales boost for Miller High Life? I know, that's pretty hard to believe, but if you need proof, click here. I think what made this so successful is that they ran the second video that I have attached to this post during the days leading up to the Super Bowl so that viewers made sure to look out for it during the big game. Just brilliant. All the other 1-second commercials that didn't make the cut are also pretty awesome. You can see them all on their website, or just by going on YouTube. I suggest you do so because some are pretty darn funny.