the finale: MY FAVORITE ADS

During the semester, we've been talking about the "science" of advertising - the aspects of marketing, what goes on before we ever get to the creative stuff.

But today, we talked about the creative aspect of it:
The creative team consists of creative director, copy writer, and art director, otherwise known as the CREATIVES. The marketing and advertising research figures out what do say, the creatives figure out HOW TO SAY IT.

Here are some of my favorite ads (some are part of a larger campaign...)









Now to explain why i love these VERY DIFFERENT commercials so much:
In class we determined that creativity often combined two objects or elements and tries to connect them. In all these commercials, the difference between the message and personas or elements of the commercial seem ESPECIALLY unrelated.

They all use comedy of some sort (a talking baby). In that way, they grab your attention because they are not predictable. When you think of a stock trading company and their ad, you don't think of a baby using it e-trade, a computer webcam, a blackberry, AND talking! It definitely makes you stop flipping channels to figure out what is on the screen.

Another reason is expressed by the PSA announcement - which isn't selling a product, but an idea to encourage kids to invent something. It uses the innocence and simplicity of children to sell this idea.

Often times it's difficult for me to explain why i like a commercial: after all, i have never invented anything, i don't buy skittles, use e-trade or buy snickers...

Yet i most likely WOULD if put in that position. These commercials have given me a favorable perception of the companies and their products.

They just make me laugh at their randomness. But interestingly enough, they get their point across:
1.) in the PSA, the boy invented something useful to his life. even though it's not perfect yet, it's a start and his friends admire him for it.

2.) in the snicker's commercial, the whole point is FEAST. the car contains the leaders of different eras, the people of different cultures and times that would be the ones to feast. in that respect, snickers is fit for kings. so you should buy it too.

3.) for the skittles commercial, the target audience is young adults or kids that are interested in candy that is "extreme" or unusual. for a product like skittles gum, that is new and branching into the gum business, they used cool flavors to attract this "extreme" audience: the really cool extreme aborigine guy on his tiger elephant and helicopter even admits that the gum is very extreme.

4.) all i can think of for the e-trade commercial is that it's so easy a baby can do it...but for me personally, it's just hilarious to see a baby talk (and receive a phone call from a "naughty" girl)