Three Television Stars Plus Oikos makes a Full House

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.

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

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

TCC's Tribute to Micheal Jackson

We at The Commercial Critic would like to extend our condolenses to Micheal Jackson's family as we offer these two commercials featuring Micheal at his best.





Thank you,

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

Google Maps Helps Strippers

Here is a funny one from back in 2005.

Enjoy.

TCC

Laurie Colman Endorses The Blo and Go! In case you missed it.

Before allegedly receiving things from her husband's top supporters under the table, Laurie Coleman was peddling the Blo and Go.

The Blo and Go is a product the allows the user to dry their hair while leaving two hands free to style. While the product is most likely helpful to the user; the name may need tweeking from the Pitchmen (Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan).

The name sounds more like a booty call or what presidents do in the oval office. I mean seriously how did she pitch the name to her husband Senator Norm Coleman...
LC "I want to sell my idea, the Blo and Go."
NC "Sound like a great idea but hasn't it been done before? I think they call it a 'booty call.'"
LC "No my hands free hair dryer invention!"
NC "Ohhh..."

If I had the money I would so buy one, not only for the name but for the actual function.

TCC

Reveal Secret Sybolism! Speak Your Mind! Critics Unite!

The Commercial Critics, TCC, need you!

Have you ever noticed secret sybolism in a television commercial? Or, spectulate what message the advertiser was trying to convey? For example: In the Rozerem commercial below: What do the figures and scene symbolize?


The figures in the commercial all symbolize a different aspect of the guys life that keeps him awake.
The beaver represents work, "busy as a beaver."
President Lincoln represents money.
The old time diver represents the unknown and the fear of change.

Did you catch that when you watched?

Send your articles and links to acommercialcritic@gmail.com

TCC

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

Steamy Danica Patrick in the Shower

Here is a commercial from godaddy.com featuring Danica Patrick in the shower. The hot and steamy commercial, from 2008's Super Bowl, is ended by slap stick comedy.

TCC

Spread the word- The Commercial Critics are looking for writers.

"Dr. Love" loves Dr. Pepper with Cherry

Gene Simmons never has a bad day. "Dr. Love" is now promoting Dr. Pepper with cherry or "a KISS of cherry" flavor. Adding to the great commercial was a cameo by The Demon's son, Nicholas Simmons.

TCC