Vaseline's slick new commercials and behind the scenes

Vaseline's new commercials and a special behind the scenes look on how the commercial was made.

Stuffed Animal Involved in Blackmail?

Alfonso... The Beaver.

Common Sense Media Commercial

Commercials from around the world: Germany

A couple of commercials from Germany.

Snickers Ads Causes People to Snicker

In continuing with their ad campaign.

New Kia Forte commercial features a Katy Perry look a like robot

David and Goliath's new ad for the Kia Forte featuring a robot Katy Perry?

Kia Soul Commercials: Why are they popular? AKA Kia Soul searching...

The Kia Soul Commercials we have all seen them but why are they so popular. Is it the hamsters, the music or do they have that certain "Je ne sais quoi?" Today, we at The Commercial Critic will analyze just one of the commercials from the Kia Soul hamster ad campaign to see if we can pinpoint what makes it one of the more memorable commercials we seen in a while.

The Kia Soul commercial we are studying today comes from the talented people of David and Goliath. The title of the television advertisement is Share some Soul. The reason this commercial was so popular with the target demographic was due to the several key elements: scene, music and character choices. The combination of the elements proved to be absolutely perfect.

The commercial is set in what appears to be a variation on a post-apocalypse environment with robotic monsters warring with a humanoid type being covered by metallic armor. The scene became a large factor in the popularity of the ad when analyzed from a broader spectrum that includes the current media events of the time. The commercial was released in August 2011. Preceding the release of the ad the blockbuster movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon was released on June 23rd. Was DNG trying to ride the Transformer bus? Was the it just me or did the humanoid fighter look similar to Master Chief of the Halo video game franchise. I'm not sure when the ad was being put together but it seems pinning one's hope on the success of a movie is irresponsible however adding queues from a well known video game can give it just the right amount of juice to stand on its own. Visually the people at DNG did a spectacular job on the commercial setting the scene and the music choice was a perfect accompaniment to the scene.

The music used in the ad was LMFAO's hit song Party Rock Anthem. The strong beats and the up beat tempo drive the party like atmosphere that the commercial is conveying about the Soul. The song was released in December of 2010 but did not top the charts until July of 2011. Interestingly the song was number one on the Billboard top 100 at the ad came out. Coincidence? I am starting to spot the beginnings of a pattern. Does smashing popular current media items together make for a memorable ad? Like a bunch of zombies who are controlled by computers that must blow up the alien being controlling them while Bruno Mars' Locked Out of Heaven... (Walking Dead, The Sims, Oblivion). Alright, I would watch that.

To Be Continued....

 

Be a man and "Stop 'LOL'ing Everything!"

In this technological world we live in we often forgot to stop and appreciate the past. Barbasol's first  ad campaign in five years features views from the past commenting on modern life. This comedic juxtaposition pays special attention to the luxuries we take for granted today as a result of the hard work and sacrifice from previous generations.

Instead of rambling on about "back in my day" I will end with this:
The struggles of our generation, no matter how great, may unfortunately only be a small foot note in the history books of our kin's kin; and even though our stories of life, love and struggle maybe passed over by historians and future students, we must not forget to instill the messages of humanity, kindness and faith in future generations not only for us but all of mankind.

TCC

P. S. And Stop 'LOL'ing everthing!

The test drive maybe faked but the awesomeness isn't!

Alright, by now we all know the commercial is faked but that brings up one big question:

Knowing that a something like a commercial or event is fake detract from its entertainment value?

With this commercial and all of Hollywood to back me up the answer is absolutely not. I am very sure "Olympus has NOT fallen" and a zombie hoard is not waiting for me outside my door. I still get enjoyment from watching them knowing it is not real.

However, there is an exception to every rule... and I think this next clip may illustrate one of the few times when knowing an event is fake may detract from some peoples enjoyment



Back to the commercial. It is still a great and entertaining commercial besides being "fake."

TCC

Abraham Lincoln endorsing Skittles?

Honest Abe Sweats Skittles?

Another funny commercial by Skittles and DDB. Funny but not hilarious.


Advertising Agency: DDB, Chicago, USA
Chief Creative Officer: Ewan Paterson
Executive Creative Director: Mark Gross
Creative Director / Copywriter: Bart Culberson
Creative Director / Art Director: Brad Morgan
Production Company: Boxer Films
Director: Rodrigo Garcia Saiz


TCC

Back to Normal

Wow... That was a long vacation, sabbatical or even an extra long commercial interruption  But I finally have my life back after struggling with a job that was not right for myself and my family.

 I just saw this commercial and I had to pass it on to all of you. Now back to our regularly scheduled advertising break-down. I'm a little rusty so please excuse my poor writing as I am gearing back up.

I think this GE commercial is a keeper, even though the underlying messages that creep up from behind my chair of paranoia are starting to scare me of the possible future. The cinematography and FX definitively add to "The Matrix" theme. I thought it was a great cameo of Agent Smith (played by Hugo Weaving) explaining that GE is everywhere... And that message brings me to the paranoia segment of the analysis. Are we ready for the GE/Matrix??? Is my toaster going to tell my TV to change to the cooking channel or is my phone going to blab to my treadmill that I am not working out at all? I'm not sure I want the digital fingers of GE grabbing me.

TCC