Orbitz Comes Out Of The Closet To Solicit LGBT

Orbitz.com has broken new ground by soliciting LGBT in their commercial.

The man on the far right is wearing a shirt with the Human Rights Campaign, HRC, logo. HRC is a leading civil rights activist group for LGBT.

After reading some of the comments left on Orbitz youtube channel, TCC was not surprized that Orbitz was getting praised for the small act of displaying a logo in their commercial and actually might be gaining market share of the LGBT demographic. Orbitz is certainly trying to gain buzz with the commercial.

TCC

Qwest Has Wishful Thinking About Births

"Is your Wife here?"

A question was posed by one of our main contributors after viewing this commercial: Is Qwest trying to set a moral standard by the use of the word "wife?"

I mulled the question over for several hours before I could come up with a good answer. My thoughts are that Qwest communications used the word wife out of necessity for smooth dialogue and not to satisfy a moral objective regarding unwed mothers.

While researching the topic I stumbled across an interesting statistic regarding births and unwed mothers. The percentage of babies born to an unwed mother have risen to 39.7% in 2007 (as reported by National Center for Health Statistics). I was surprised to find that there were that many babies born out of wedlock. I digress from my research and return to the commercial at hand.

Regarding Qwest's commercial using the word wife it seems it was the only word appropriate to use to maintain the flow of the script. I could see using a broader term like "baby's mama" but it most likely throw off the flow. A term they could have used was maybe "expecting mother" but again it still messes with the flow. Qwest is more concerned with the flow of the commercial than stepping on a few unwed mothers' toes.

Let us know what you think!

TCC

McDonalds Trying To Ride The Harry Potter Bandwagon!

McDonald's is trying to ride on the Harry Potter bandwagon with this commercial coming from DDB.

I may be a self proclaimed expert on the subject of commercials. It is a little hard for me to believe that McDonald's and DDB were not trying to tie a rope to a rising star. But when pictures are moving (and talking), and the music is almost an exact copy of the movies prior... The only thing missing from the little witch and warlock are wands, that would be edging to close to the copyright infringement.

Anyway, beyond the squabble about the Harry Potter undertones; We found the commercial very well done and fun to watch.

Enjoy.

TCC

Billy Mays, The Famous Pitchman is Dead at 50

"Hi, Billy Mays Here!" It saddens me to say that we will never hear that phrase uttered again from such an influential man. It seemed like only yesterday that Billy Mays had started selling Oxiclean. Mays had a lot going for him beyond the infomercials as he had just signed a deal with Taco Bell to pitch for them.

From Oxiclean and Orange Glo to even making jest while pitching espn360.com, Billy Mays was the ultimate pitchman but he was much more to many people.

Our condolences go out to Billy's wife and family; we are very sorry for your loss. We know that he is in a better place doing what he loves to do.

Even Breasts Need a Pillow While You Sleep

I found this odd infomercial on another site.

I guess sleeping on your side is not a good way to sleep because of the lack of support. The creator of the commercial did their best not to make the commercial sexually charged but the ample amount of cleavage did need to be there to demo the product.

TCC

Coke's "Happiness Factory Trailer" commercial

Coke's "Happiness Factory" trailer commercial, gives a odd look at the insides of a vending machine and the struggles within. The commercial is appealing. I found it odd that the ruler of the land, inside the machine, was wearing a pink bear outfit... weird.

Take a look and support us by passing the word.

TCC

MC Hammer's new show to air soon. Here is the commercial!

This quickly is becoming a new viral video.

The commercial was created for MC Hammer's new show to appear on A&E. We will see if the show holds up with audiences.

Recycling Commercials? Tastes Bitter to Me...

A personal note from TCC:
"Trying;" This word best describes the recent weeks of my life. Not unlike many others I am unemployed. This situation while only slightly annoying at first is growing more painful each day. The clock ticks and my heart beats with each passing minute, hour and day waiting for a call for an interview. The situational agony has only been compounded by lies of my past employer negating my ability to collect money that is rightfully mine. However tragic and common my story, I must thank you for reading past my personal rant and on to the article you most likely were here to read.
Thank you, TCC

Recycling Commercials? Tastes Bitter to Me...

Cadbury is guilty, as well as Folgers. The charge against the two companies: recycling.
Advertising recycling represents gross neglect for creativity within a corporation. Several reasons explain the practice of recycling: Budgetary constraints; corporate neglect of creativity; pure laziness.

Shooting yourself in the foot encompasses the severity of companies actions when they cut the budget of their marketing/advertising department. I have always wondered why companies practice such behavior as an advertisement reminds people of the product and increases sales; but when sales slump the marketing budget immediately dries up. Studies show the contrary to the practice but actions are always louder than words. There are several reasons for the practice and one maybe jealousy.

People are afraid of things they don't understand; and one thing many business people do not understand is their consumers. The thought of another person in their company with more knowledge about their customers than they posses leads to cuts and lay offs. Marketing and sales but mainly marketing get the axe. Further more, the practice of cutting the funds to grow a company further could be tied to pure laziness.

Recycling advertisements is a practice that should be avoided. Recycling may be good for the earth but nothing turns green in the business world without innovation and forward momentum.

TCC

The "American Dream" grows with fertilizer?

The smell of freshly cut grass and leaves fluttering on the trees outside my window reminds me summer is upon us and with that comes summer commercials. Alavert, Nasonex, and Benadryl are a few on the line up of this summer but the commercial I am analyzing today is from Scott's Turf Builder.

Because I do not have a video of the commercial, I will give you a quick run down of what it is about. The commercial features a couple speaking about how when they first moved in the yard was filled with dandelions and with the help of Scott's Turf Builder they changed it from this:



To this:




I have seem the commercial several times now and I am ready to provide my analysis. The commercial seems to have differing messages between the dialogue and the scene. The dialogue pushes the listener to feel guilty about having a "weed infested" lawn. The scene of the commercial builds the idea of the "American dream" with a beautiful yard and nice house. The commercial for myself is quite forgettable because the messages is not unified. Needless to say the ad was produced and distributed. If the ad had a unified message of the building the "American dream;" I think Scott's could have made a very memorable commercial.

The idea of the "American dream" from my understanding is a combination of emotional happiness and materialistic possessions. To be happy one must posses a nice house with a white picket fence, great lawn and several other things. The commercial sells the "American dream" visually very well and even makes me want a better lawn (however, that will take awhile). The dialogue of the ad brings back reality and memories of being scolded. The dialogue pushes guilt like Marie on Everybody Loves Raymond. It is the dialogue that ruined this commercial.

My original question is the title of the article: The "American Dream" grows with fertilizer? I would have to say yes the "American dream" does grow with fertilizer. The dream grows with every granule of Scott's and every step we take to improve our lives. What we fertilize our lives with is unique to all of us and everyone can use some help to grow the dream.

TCC

Minnesota: Heat wave!

As I am sitting here at my computer the digital thermometer is reading 81 degrees.
81 degrees in my house and the worst part it is 93 degrees outside.

My wife and I are trying to save energy so the air conditioner was left off today and I hate it.
There is no reason for Minnesota to be warmer than LA or even Texas.

Finishing my quick post the thermometer just jumped to 81.9 degrees... I will leave you with a movie from my local energy company.

TCC

A Follow-up to Tom's Shoes Commercial

I found this mini documentary on youtube about the Tom's Shoes commercial with AT&T. It explains the concept and goes over some of the process.

I found it interesting that AT&T approached Tom's Shoes to do the commercial; however, I think I understand why. Here is my theory: many, if not all, cell phone carriers are seen as jerks in the eyes of consumers for various reasons. AT&T, through several advertising campaigns, is trying to associate the company's image with kindness, trust and stability. If my theory is correct there are several things both companies have to keep an eye on as it is Tom's Shoes that will be hurt significantly more than AT&T.

The commercial was huge step for Tom's Shoes to get the word out about their company; the step has a huge risk. The risk for Tom's Shoes is hoping AT&T's image stays clean for a few months until the buzz about the commercial has died down. I am not saying AT&T is going to be facing legal, financial and PR problems anytime soon but the possibility is real. I'm quite sure that there is no problems on the horizon for AT&T.

I truly enjoyed the behind the scenes and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Thanks,
TCC

New Taco Bell Rap Commercial

The newest commercial in Taco Bell's drive thru rap is hilarious.


The series is based on several youtube videos. The youtube videos feature people rapping their order. It was only a matter of time until an advertising firm caught on to the growing trend.

I wonder how long advertising firms spend watching youtube videos trying to spot a new trend. I would certainly sign up for that job. This could be a sample job description:

• Watch viral videos on the world wide web
• Analyze video traffic
• Leverage traffic statistics to create innovative advertising ideas
• Stay fit mentally and physically enough to drive your rascal scooter to work as you will slowly become brain dead
• No life insurance will be provided

Hulu commercials claim that TV rots your brain... if that is true than youtube must turn it into a slurry at light speed.

It would have been quite easy for Taco Bell to mess up on a commercial like this but in my opinion they nailed it.

"The Taco Bell Girl just owned you!"

TCC

AT&T Helps Tom's Shoes

Tom's Shoes
I just checked out www.tomsshoes.com to see what they are all about. They seem like they have a great plan to help the world.
While I was on the site I checked out the shoes that they had to offer. They seem like good knock-around shoes but they are not my style. If I had the cash maybe... but do I get to write off the purchase as a donation?

All I know is I'm glad to see companies that do good are able to spread their message with help from AT&T.
Thank you AT&T.

TCC

Commercials: Start to Finish 2

Good afternoon,
Here is a quick update on the research for the Capital One Commercial. We have found the Advertising Company for Capital One: DDB Chicago.

That is one step closer to finding the of how commercials are made!
So right now these are the facts...

• Company that is advertising (Capital One)
• Advertising Firm (DDB Chicago)
• Production Company (Unknown)
• Director (Unknown)
• Locations (Unknown)
• Actors (1 known, Patricia Belcher)

An update to the update is: I just got a reply back from DDB Chicago for more information.

This article is moving faster than I expected. I would like to thank DDB Chicago for replying so quickly.

TCC

Commercials: Start to Finish 1

I was sitting on the couch watching the newest batch of commercials and I pondered... How do commercials get from being an idea to my TV?

In this series, titled Commercials: Start to Finish, I will pull back the curtain on commercial creation, production and placement.

My first challenge is to pick a commercial that is good enough to research.
I settled on this commercial:


Why this commercial? I think this and the whole series is hilarious.

Step one: contact Capital One to find advertising firm responsible.

Some ingredients that are in a commercial:

• Company that is advertising (Capital One)
• Advertising Firm (Unknown)
• Production Company (Unknown)
• Director (Unknown)
• Locations (Unknown)
• Actors (1 known, Patricia Belcher)

My goal is to be as informative as possible so if you find an error or have a question please let me know.

TCC