Bouncing back and forth between the worlds of marketing and music, Scott G took some time off from writing about advertising in order to cover the musical madness known as the NAMM Show. Upon his return, he finds the communications industry to be semi-chaotic, with zombies, reptiles and torture-porn all over your TV.
A guy goes away for a week and what happens? The ad industry decides it is okay to reanimate the dead, use snakes to sell vodka, and create a YouTube splatter film as an in-joke.
This doesn’t even address the parade of dubious advertising from Pepto-Bismol, Charmin, and all the schlock ads written about by Eric Deggans in his excellent St. Petersberg Times article (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/25/Floridian/Slimy_sales_agents.shtml). Full disclosure: I’m quoted in the article.
Dead Man Selling
I don’t eat much popcorn but people assure me that the Orville Redenbacher popping corn is pretty good stuff. So why is my stomach turning when their new commercial comes on?
Well, it could be because Mr. Redenbacher has been dead for a decade. No, this can’t be it because I didn’t mind the Audrey Hepburn Gap ad. In fact, I rather liked the retro/modern mash-up and thought the presentation of Miss Hepburn remained true to her appearance in the film “Funny Face” from which it was taken.
The problem with the Redenbacher ad is the piss-poor presentation. He looks half-mummified or even Joan Rivers-like (not ideal for a food sales pitch, I’d say). The computer manipulation isn’t as awful as those singing sewer rats that Quiznos used a couple years ago, but it’s in the same ballpark.
This reanimation of the popcorn zombie makes him look like a bobblehead from hell.
Snakes on Your TV
I respect most of the marketing for Absolut Vodka. Great-looking work, nicely positioned, and has me thinking well of the product. I looked forward to their campaign for the newest flavored vodka, Absolut Pears and was surprised to see it featured a snake. While I would better understand using a snake for an apple-related product instead of something with pears, that’s not my primary concern.
I’m wondering how many people look at the big pear-shaped lump inside the snake and want to vomit. I guess I just don’t react well to the thought of reptiles swallowing food items whole, especially items that are bigger in circumference than their own bodies. And the live-action TV spot just makes it worse. I don’t want that imagery in my living room, thank you very much. Full disclosure #2: after consuming half a bottle of the stuff, that commercial looks pretty damn good.
Slasher Flick
Then there’s the case of the Chuck McBride slasher film. Staged in the San Francisco offices of TBWAChiatDay, the YouTube video shows bloody dead bodies scattered all over the agency. Adequate cinematography is synched up with amateurish sound effects and the silly thing ends with the supposed killer holding a crimson-coated Clio as if it’s the murder weapon. Whereupon he assures viewers everything will be okay as the Fifth Dimension sing “Up, Up and Away.” WTF?
Okay. Here’s the thing. Most of us know that many employees of large ad agencies have feelings of self-loathing, a paranoid sense of insecurity, very poor taste, and little or no sense of humor. BUT we don’t have to let the public know it by producing tripe like this.
Torture-Porn
Another trend that has to be bothering a lot of ad industry execs is the unrelenting glut of TV commercials glorifying torture-porn. It began with “Passion of the Christ” but is now raging full-force with the “Saw” films and their ilk, including “Hostel,” “Turistas,” “Slither,” “Hills Have Eyes,” “Apocalypto” and “Texas Primeval Chainsaw Hannibal Hitcher Living Dead Amityville Part XLVII” or whatever.
Hey, ad folks, people already hate our profession enough without goading them with beautifully photographed violence every week.
[tags]GMan, gman marketing, Scott G, Communication Nation, advertising, marketing, ad rants[/tags]
