Company: Burger King Aired: March 2010 Channel: ESPN, TNT, TBS & more Appeal: Humor Ok. So I lied in a previous post. Burger King was actually my favorite fastfood place to go as a kid. Could you blame me? Ronald Mcdonald was (and still is) an extremely creepy looking clown. The bright white face with yellow and red clothes could send Freddy Krueger running.This was before the days of the Burger King mascot. For future references I will simply refer to him as The King.
A recent BK ad I spotted starring The King was one like no other I had ever come across. In advertising there is a marketing strategy which uses a negative appeal towards another company to make the advertisors product appear superior. I've seen this done countless times, especially in paper towel and car commercials. They typically won't waste time; they come straight out and say which other company's theirs is better than. Other commercials are a little more subtle like in my previous post, Battle of the Fruit. It took a little bit of thinking on the viewer's side to comprehend that the blackberry and the apple actually represented the companies: Blackberry and Macintosh. However, in this latest Burger King commercial, the message not only compliments McDonald's Sausage McMuffin sandwich but frankly states that BK is stealing their exact idea/recipe! Check it out.
The ad begins with The King dressed in all black hopping over the fence at McDonald's Head Quarters. We are then taken inside where The King is rumaging through a McDonald's file cabinet. He takes out the blue print of the McDonald's Sausage McMuffin. A voiceover comes over and states, "It’s not that original, but it’s super affordable" as The King fleas the scene on a motorcycle. I really enjoyed this ad because instead of taking McDonald's idea and trying to pass it off as their own, BK was upfront about it. Their aim was basically to announce to anyone who likes that sandwich that it is now available at McDonld's greatest competitor.
Over the past week I’ve gotten the couch potato’s form of writers block. While some ads intrigued me, I wanted more! So I went in pursuit of an extraordinary commercial. I found a pair of banned ads from foreign countries. I like this first ad a lot but don’t completely understand why it was cancelled. Check it out.
The ad begins with an older gentleman explaining to the young man (in his native tongue) how to use the equipment around him. Then all of a sudden the distress call, “Mayday, mayday!” is announced over the radio. He employee’s English is extremely limited as he explains that he is the German coastguard. When the man over the radio shouts, “We’re sinking!” The German misinterprets these words and questions him, “What are you sinking about?” Simply hilarious! Poking fun at other nations accents is fine with me because I’m sure they let us Americans have it every chance they get.
Next is yet another ad for a company to teach you the English language. I definitely understand why this one was revoked. Please finish your drink before starting this video because you will inevitably spit it all over your computer screen.
Company: McDonald’s
Aired: February 2009
Channel: N/A
Appeal: Humor
As a child I would get excited fairly easily. I remember some of my favorite times were obviously the last day of school, snow days and hearing that wonderful ice cream man’s song turning onto my block. Wait, I left one of the best out! When my mother would turn into the McDonald’s drive through. The mere sight of those golden arches could make my mouth water. Not only was I getting an exceptionally tasty meal but a toy comes with it too? That’s right, all for around $3 you could clog your child’s arteries and provide them with a sweatshop imported “toy” that cost ten cents and someone’s finger to make.
In 2009 McDonald’s started a new advertising campaign for the Filet-O-Fish sandwich, which is served at all the fast food restaurant locations internationally. This singing largemouth bass, which goes by the name “Frankie the Fish” has become an advertising sensation. The premise of the two men having virtually no reaction to a talking fish along with the catchy song amounted to one of the most recognizable ads in the past five years. The commercial proved to be amazingly successful, especially during the Lent season. In advertising it is very difficult to become a part of pop culture, but Frankie the Fish has done just that. The Filet-O-Fish song is even available to purchase as a ringtone. While working at Bed Bath & Beyond a couple of weeks ago, I came across Frankie the Fish. He is available to purchase and with the simple press of a button, sings the exact song from the commercial.
I personally enjoyed the original ad back in 2009 better than McDonald’s 2010 version. Unless the core concept is really strong, (Geico’s mascots) repeating commercials I feel can grow rather dull. Here are both the 2009 and 2010 Filet-O-Fish ads… enjoy!
Company: Vitamin Water Aired: April 8, 2010 Channel: N/A Appeal: Humor, Endorsement
Vinny, J-Wow, Pauly D, Ronnie, Sammi, Snookie, and of course Mike “The Situation.” I thought long and hard about these seven, eh hem… people (Angelina doesn't count, she was off the show by the time it got popular). All I could think was, who is more deserving of all this money and fame than these class acts? The answer is surprisingly no one. They deserve every dime and moment in the sun they are getting. You know why? Because they are making complete fools of themselves. I’d be embarrassed if I were any of them let alone these people on Staten Island who go around bragging about how they know one of the cast members. Is that really something to be proud of?
MTV has a unique skill most other TV networks have yet to acquire. They are capable of finding the absolute scum of the Earth for all of their reality TV shows. Now don’t get me wrong, I tuned in each Thursday night like every one of you to gaze at these people’s crazy antics and pure stupidity. I ate it up. Watching them actually made me feel better about myself. From the fist pumping to the “grenade,” to Ronnie and Sammi falling in love (give me a break) and Snookie getting punched by a guy at the bar; I loved every episode. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from my favorite cast members: Snookie and the Situation.
“My ideal man would be Italian, dark, muscles, juicehead, Guido. If I found that guy, I’d snatch him like that.” - Snookie
“Everybody loves me, babies, dogs, ya know, hot girls, cougars. I just have unbelievable mass appeal.” Mike the situation
MTV announced on January 29th, 2010 that a second season of the series will air this upcoming summer. The show will consist of the same cast members but will be shot in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami, Florida. During this downtime, some of them are busier than others.
A new commercial that has created a lot of buzz is one starring none other than Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and New York Mets star third basemen David Wright. It’s only fitting a Met would team up with one of these clowns. Enjoy!
The ad begins with Wright explaining his new workout routine during an interview. The whole commercial is a parody to my favorite movie Rocky, technically Rocky III. We discover that the Situation acts as Wright’s Apollo Creed as the Rocky theme song plays in the background. They train and push one another to the limit. David Wright takes practice swings into the Situation’s abs while he talks on his cell phone and later Mike slides on a Slip-N-Slide into a couple of women in bikinis. Overall the commercial was amusing and ended with a high-five in the sunset. My only concern is how lengthy it is. I have yet to see it on television, just heard about it by word of mouth and through Facebook. With this idea, it would be difficult to cut the now two minute ad down to a presentable thirty-second TV spot.
Company: Old Spice
Aired: February 8, 2010
Channel: ESPN, TBS, TNT, Spike TV
Appeal: Humor, Exaggerated Statement
Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products. The company has been well known for years for their catchy whistling jingle during their television ads. In February 2010 Old Spice released their new campaign and slogan, “The man your man could smell like.” The very first ad featuring actor Isaiah Mustafa has been incredibly well received by the media. The commercial was created by ad agency Wieden+Kennedy for Old Spice to market their brand of shower gel. Their marketing message is how “anything is possible” if a man uses the product. They should consider using Kevin Garnett in their next commercial.
Thirty seconds of perfection if you ask me. The ad is one continuous shot of a man as he stands in a bath towel and orders you to “look at your man, now back at me.” Then the backdrop of a shower is raised and you discover he is actually on a boat. After an oyster full of tickets turns into diamonds the camera zooms out again as the man explains, “I’m on a horse.” Simply hilarious.
Old Spice has recently released another series of commercials for their Odor Blocker Body Wash. I’m not as thrilled with these because they have a very “in your face” type of humor, while the other ad is subtle and witty.
Mascots. Who needs them? I mean, who wants some teenage guy full of acne working up a sweat inside a giant furry head? But mascots seem to be a permanent part of our society. From birth we grow up used to them. At our first few birthday parties Barney and Mickey Mouse always seem to show up. We hug them. We kiss them. We high-five them. But then something changes.
My favorite is that three to four year stretch when little boys think its fun to attack the mascot. Chuck E Cheese was the best punching bag. This oversized, mutated mouse practically knows its coming. After his first day he wises up and actually invests in shin guards and a cup (that is all these 7-10 year olds can reach anyway). He comes out of the backroom slowly looking to his left and right as if he were about to break out of mice prison. But then once one kid spots him it turns into scene from Braveheart. Chuck E Cheese traumatized me as a child. One second my tiny fists of fury were raining blows upon his upper thigh, the next I’m on my ass. All I could think was, “Is he allowed to do that?” And then ten minutes later all I could think was, “Why the hell are these slices of pizza so small?” But that’s for another day…
But mascots aren’t just for children apparently because it continues on the college and professional sports levels too! I feel bad for any priest who is a hockey fan and has the New Jersey Devil parading up and down the aisle next to him. Or how about the teams that completely force the mascot issue? The Phoenix Suns are a perfect example of this. What the hell does a gorilla have to do with the suns? Or the Phillie Phanatic? Come on, he’s just an obese Oscar the Grouch sporting Phillies memorabilia. Mascots have become a big part of advertising and a way to appeal better to a company’s target audience. Trix has the rabbit, Burger King has The King and Toys “R” Us has Geoffrey the Giraffe. Companies are always trying to figure out ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. The easiest and most effective ways to do this is through easily recognizable logos or mascots. None could be more true than for GEICO.
If you have never heard of GEICO I strongly suggest you move into the 21st century and purchase a television. GEICO is an American auto insurance company and easily has the most identifiable commercials on TV. The most famous tagline used in all GEICO commercials is, “Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.” That phrase is permanently embroidered into my memory. GEICO does the best job at reminder advertising and "hitting” the viewer over and over with the same message. That is why GEICO is one of the few companies that continuously purchases two fifteen second commercial timeslots back-to-back rather than one thirty second spot. The viewer barely realizes it's only fifteen seconds and before they know it, the next ad starts; different ad with the exact same message. Because GEICO auto insurance appeals to anyone who owns a car and likes to save money, their commercials aren't restricted to which channels they could advertise on. I've noticed them on every main network channel (CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC) and also many other popular stations such as ESPN, TBS, and TNT. GEICO’s commercials always star one of their several mascots they have introduced to us.
So the question is… which GEICO mascot is the best? This calls for an old fashioned “Mascot Olympics.” That’s right, the GEICO Gecko going toe to toe with the likes of the Caveman and stack of Money.
So these are the rules. First I will post a commercial starring each of the mascots and then write a little something about it. The next part is up to you. You all have the chance to vote on which GEICO mascot is your favorite! Your votes will decide which mascot goes home with the gold medal!
Gecko
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I love this little guy. He is actually named Martin the Gecko because he was created by The Martin Agency- an American advertising agency based in Richmond, Virginia. The gecko speaks with an English accent and the voice is that of Paul Morgan- a British actor and comedian. The gecko first appeared in GEICO commercials in 1999 during the Screen Actors Guild Strike, which prevented the use of live actors. In the original commercial, the gecko begs people to stop calling him, mistaking gecko for GEICO. I like Martin the Gecko the best not just for his witty lines and engaging accent… but his voice is so recognizable that it makes for great radio advertisements as well.
Cavemen
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The GEICO Cavemen commercials first started back in 2004 and have been well received by the public. The Cavemen campaign was created by Joe Lawson from The Martin Agency. The premise of these commercials is that GEICO’s website is, “So easy, a caveman could do it.” This slogan continues to insult cavemen who are not only still in existence but are intelligent and live in modern society. ABC even rolled the dice with an attempted spin off idea for a sitcom. It premiered on October 2, 2007 but shortly after was cancelled due to extremely low ratings. Don’t let the failed sitcom taint your opinion on these ads because the GEICO Cavemen are still some of the most popular commercials on television today.
Kash
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GEICO began airing this series of commercials in 2008 embroidering yet another catchy slogan into our minds. This time it was, “The money you could be saving with GEICO.” GEICO’s newest mascot is quite simply a stack of banded U.S. bills with a pair of Googly eyes on top named Kash. Clever wording, changing the “C” in cash to a “K.” I wonder what brain surgeon came up with that one? Never the less, the concept is funny with someone always noticing this character sitting and staring at them but his name is never revealed in the actual ads. Kash just sits there and then his theme song, which is a remix by Mysto & Pizzi of the 1980s hit “Somebody’s Watching Me,” begins to play in the background. Every commercial Kash has ever appeared in, this song follows which is a great marketing technique because not only is it free advertising when the song plays on the radio but the five second jingle to end each commercial is memorable. Also, unlike the Cavemen, it’s easier to advertise on the radio because even though Kash never speaks, people can identify the commercial as GEICO once his theme begins to play.
Animated Characters
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I have only seen one of these commercials on TV so far and it was the GEICO pothole. I have to say I was not all that impressed. These ads first began in 2009 and after doing some research I found these other two commercials. After ten solid years of strong advertising I hope the creative team at GEICO ditches the talking tree branch, car bumper and pothole and creates yet another classic mascot.
So now it’s up to you! Either vote on the poll to the right of the blog or just vote by commenting on this post. And the winner is….
Company: Avis Rent a Car
Aired: April, 2008
Channel: ESPN
Appeal: Humor
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox own what is without question the most intense and fiercest rivalry in professional American sports history. The only other that could even hold a candle to this rivalry is MAYBE the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers epic duels dating back to the 1950s and 60s, but really intensified in the eighties when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird went toe to toe. The Yankees and Red Sox first squared off April 26th, 1901. One century and 2,064 games later, the legendary battles of both franchises will forever be etched in baseball history.
Back in 1916, Harry Frazee purchased the Boston Red Sox on credit for $500,000. After the 1919 season, Frazee was pressed for some cash to pay back his loans, so he decided to sell some players to the Yankees… one of those players happened to be Babe Ruth. Despite the Red Sox recent success (they had just won the World Series in 1918) Frazee felt he had no other options. This trade ultimately altered the path both franchises were on, completely reversing their success and led to a Yankees dynasty. This quite abrupt shift in luck became known as the, “Curse of the Bambino.”
The legend grew because between the years of 1920 to 2003 the Yankees won 26 World Series championships and 39 pennants, while the Red Sox won 0 World Series championships and only 4 pennants. Also during that 83-year stretch, the Yankees finished with a better record than Boston 66 times. The curse was finally broken (much to my dissatisfaction) in 2004 when the Red Sox came back from a 3-0 game deficit against my Yankees and won four straight games, making history as the only team in baseball history to accomplish that feat.
Here is an ad I first saw back in April of 2008 while watching ESPN. Enjoy!
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I thought this was a hilarious concept and the execution was flawless. The advertisers make it clear to the viewer the office is located New York quite early in the commercial by showing a quick shot of the man’s Yankees mug as he stirs his coffee. Even if you didn’t catch the Yankees emblem, the thick New Yorker accents are hard to miss, especially with the lines, “How ya doin” and “Forget about it.” They also color-code the furniture and wardrobe to better illustrate their point. The chairs in the break room are navy blue and the new guy’s tie is red. To illustrate he is from Boston, he uses the term, “Wicked,” which is directly associated with Bostonians. They also stress his heavy accent on the word “Caars.”
Anyone who can distinguish these accents and knows the history of both ball clubs can truly appreciate this ad. As a die-hard Yankees fan I understand the level of tension there is between not just the players, but probably even more so, between fans. You just know there is no way that guy would survive in that office if it happened in real life. I laughed at this ad when it first aired and still do to this day. Great commercial idea because it stuck with me for the past two years.
A full time student by day, and self-appointed TV commercial critic by night, I run http://tivosworstenemy.blogspot.com/. While just a sophmore at The College of Staten Island, I am NOT an industry expert but merely a guy who loves advertising (especially TV commercials) and has a blog to talk about them. Currently a Business Marketing major with a minor in Journalism, this blog should bring out the best in me. The point of this blog is to show and discuss, commercials we love, commercials we hate and commercials no one should ever Tivo over.
