Ogilvy & Mather (Toronto)

Dove's campaign for Real Beauty, created by Ogilvy & Mather Toronto, started after Dove conducted a global study on beauty. The study confirmed that the definition for beauty had narrowed and was almost impossible to attain. Dove found out that just 12 % of women are very satisfied with their physical attractiveness, only 2 % of women describe themselves as beautiful, 68 % strongly agree that the media sets an unrealistic standard of beauty, and 75 % wish the media did a better job in portraying the diversity of women's physical attractiveness, including size and shape, across all ages. This advertisement for Dove shown below was absolutely genius but even though the TV spot has nothing to do with Dove as a product, it shows that Dove does not support society's skewed and unrealistic views of how women SHOULD look like. Women who feel insecure due to the way society portrays the "perfect woman" will become fans and consumers of Dove because they will realize that Dove is a company with integrity.

LatinWorks (Austin, TX)

You may remember this ridiculously funny Bud Light "The Language of Love" spot from Super Bowl XVII. This LatinWorks Austin, TX created commerical uses comedian Carlos Mencia to teach how to properly flirt with the opposite sex utilizing a foreign accent. The commerical starts off by him saying "Ok guys, American chicks love the foreign accent", which is absolutely true...American girls DO love foreign accents...however, not when they're used quite like this! The first guy is Indian and uses the pick up line "you have the thighs of a sherpa" which obviously does not work. A "sherpa" is a man from the Himalayan Mountains that is hired to assist in expeditions to Himalayan peaks...aka "YOU HAVE MASSIVE THIGHS"...not the way to pick up a girl. The Asian man fails with his "hi hi" statement and the African man fails by telling the woman she has the same eyes as a chicken. The BEST and MOST EFFECTIVE part is at the end when Carlos Mencia finally goes up to a beautiful girl to show them all how it's done and finds that he's been beaten out by the same Indian man who had miserably crashed and burned earlier...this time, all he had to do was pick up the so-out-of-his-league-girl was say "Bud Light". CLASSIC. LOVE IT!

Dieste Harmel & Partners (San Francisco)

This commerical for Clorox bleach created by Dieste Harmel & Partners San Francisco is absolutely adorable. The commerical, targeting the hispanic market, shows the wildly imaginative events that suposively have caused the little curly headed boy to recieve giant mud stain on his white t-shirt. This commerical is effective because it connects on an emotional level with mothers (the ones usually buying the laundry supplies) because it captures the innocence of children. How could you possibly get mad at your little boy or girl after a story like that? That little stain can be easily fixed with Clorox bleach. It all begins with a gusty sneeze from a giant turtle...a little puppy on a skateboard reading the newspaper loses control and runs into a rocketship, then a cartoon rocket ship launches into the sky and causes a big mack truck full of colorful balloons to spill and make a giant mud splash. There's no violence, war, corruption, or any of the worries of the real world in this commerical becuase the little boy is allowed to use his magiacal imagination and play. Something so fixable (with Clorox) as a stained t-shirt should not put a damper on his/her fun.

GSD&M Idea City (HQ Austin, Texas)

This new advertisement created by GSD&M Idea City (headquartered in Austin, Texas) for BMW invites viewers to "immerse themselves in the moment". The spot does more than just watch people have fun, it simply invites the viewers to actually experience it themselves. This spot was successful and effective because it pushed the idea of the "one shot technique" and took the audience on a ride in the BMW X1 through several distinctly different worlds (summer beach scene, winter scene, classy night out on the town). After watching this, everyone can find a place for this BMW in their lives because you can use it anywhere!

Goodby Silverstein (San Francisco)

AAAAH HA!!! So THIS is who made this let-down of a commercial...*coughcough*...Goodby Silverstein San Francisco...*cough cough*. The whole time I was watching this commercial I was expecting it to be for Sangria, Fanta, or some kinda of Latin fruity beverage...but instead it was for Frito Lay Dips? The vibrant reds and purples make everything seem JUICY and FRUITY...the tomatoes look like pomegranates or big juicy apples and the onions look like luscious plump grapes. My mouth was watering the entire time and I was expecting for my sweet tooth to be satisfied at the end with the picture of some delicious new product. I felt completely deceived and disappointed when i realized that the commercial was advertising for Tostitos salsa and chips...a SALTY, CRUNCHY snack. This commercial was a complete let down because it got my hopes up and had me expecting one thing, then it gave me another...almost like a bait-and-switch. After that commercial the LAST thing I want to buy is chips and salsa...I want to go out and buy some fruit!

TBWA/Chiat/Day (New York)

The multiple award winning Absolut Vodka series, created by TBWA/Chiat /Day in New York, is one of the most successful advertisements ever made. The campaign launched in 1981, and ever since Absolut Vodka has released over 500 ads, all with their own unique twist. This Absolut ad in particular caught my attention. This ad, "Absolut Marilyn" recreates the famous photograph of Marilyn Monroe where she is standing over a gusty air vent, with her skirt blowing in the air. The wrapper is pealing off the bottle to form the skirt and the bottle is placed on top of a street air vent. This ad was a big success for Absolut Vodka because many woman look up to Marilyn Monroe as a role model because she is beautiful, classy, and famous. By connecting Absolut Vodka to Marilyn Monroe, I am sure that more woman have switched to drinking Absolut vodka because it empowers iconic women.

DDB (Chicago)

I think this non-traditional advertisement for McDonald's Big 'n' Juicy hamburger is really cool! Normally when a company is advertising a food product, they almost always show a picture of the food item in the advertisement, however, DDB Chicago was extremely creative and advertised for the burger without even showing a picture of it. People were able to actually take out the giant napkins out of the dispensers and take them home. This ad creates buzz because it's so unique and when people see these giant napkins, they know that the burger has to be gigantically delicious, and out of curiosity (since the physical appearance of the burger has been kept a secret) they will drive to McDonald's and buy one!

ALMAP BBDO (Brazil)

This Gillette advertisement campaign created by ALMAP BBDO in Brazil, Runner Up individual Agency of the Year for the second year in a row at Cannes, immediately caught my eye when I was surfing the internet. When a woman meets a man for the first time, she can be one of two things: 1. Attracted to him or 2. Not attracted to him. We all know the importance of first impressions so you should always try to look your best just incase you happen to bump into the girl of your dreams. This ad campaign, as you can see, shows only the positive part of the statement, the other part has been shaven away by the Gillette razor, indicating that if you use it, you'll look your best and impress the girl. This ad campaign is VERY effective...it's almost like now men are one step closer to figuring out the female mind!


The first ad below says "I LIKE YOU, BUT AS A FRIEND", however, the "AS A FRIEND" has been erased. Men dread the infamous saying "I like you as a friend" so I feel like by using this statement as the tag line, it really encourages men to shave with this razor so they won't be viewed as a "buddy" but as a boyfriend. Prince Charming didn't have scruff now did he?


The second advertisement shown below states "MY PHONE NUMBER? OF COURSE I'M NOT GIVING IT TO YOU", but the "I'm not giving it to you part" has been erased. Once again, this message is implying that women want clean shaven men, so if you shave, you will get the number.
Last but certainly not least, this advertisement says "YOU ARE NOT MY TYPE" but the keyword "NOT" has been erased by the Gillette razor. If a rugged man wants to win over the fashionista city girl, he CAN be her type, he just has to make a few quick easy changes :)

Special Blog: SUPER BOWL XLIV

To me, the Super Bowl is far more than just more a game. In fact, it has played a major role in shaping my life's path. Sounds silly, huh? Ever since I was young, I would never actually watch the "whole-football-part" of the Super Bowl. I would have my Dad call me into the living room under two possible conditions: 1. When the hilariously creative & catchy commercials came on and 2. When the musical half time performance came on. Well, look at me now. I'm an Advertising major at SMU AND a singer-songwriter with an album out on iTunes. I guess the Super Bowl showed me where my interests were and still are.

Many people, 7% of the people who watch the Super Bowl to be exact, watch the Super Bowl ONLY for the advertisements so when bad advertisements decide to grace our presence at the Super Bowl, it causes an uproar....well, at least in my household.

I am going to show the 3 BEST advertisements done by major ad agencies shown today during SUPER BOWL XLIV (along with a few other great ones done by In-house agencies) and the 3 WORST (because unfortunately, there will be some...sigh).

Best:

Coke-Sleepwalker Commercial:

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Oregon.

Comment: Wieden + Kennedy definitely took a risk in making this commercial because sometimes corny doesn't work, however, I think it definitely worked for this ad. This ad combines humor, danger, stupidity and a good looking guy, which are keys to success for a good TV spot. My favorite part is when he runs right into an elephant...my mother and I both spontanelously broke out in laughter. I can see why people might say "This advertisement has nothing to do with coke", but I believe the point is that coke is always on your mind and you'll do what it takes to get one. Very funny. Loved it.

Dodge Charger Advertisement

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Oregon

Comments: HAHAHA! Wow, this advertisement is brilliantly hilarious and one of my favorites because both woman and men relate to it. These are all the things woman complain about to their boyfriends or husbands. As a woman, now I realize that since we ask all these silly things from the men in our lives like for them to watch our vampire TV shows with us, hold our lip balm, and for them to be quiet so that we don't have to hear them say "no". After seeing this commercial, I'd totally let my man buy one of these Dodge Chargers to reward him for all of his compromises. From a man's point of view, this advertisement REALLY is effective and the tag line "and because I do this, I will drive the car I want to drive" was perfectly written because now the car is symbolic for "MAN" and "FREEDOM FROM THE ORDERS OF GIRLFRIENDS & WIVES".

Google Advertisement-Parisian Love

Agency: In-House

Comments: AWWWWW! Alright, admit it. You've definitely got tears in your eyes. Google totally knocked it out of the park with it's first ever Super Bowl ad. The ad begins with a man searching "study abroad paris france" through "how to impress a french girl" and "what are truffles" to "long-distance relationship advice" and finally "how to assemble a crib." With the recent rise of competing search engines such as Bing, this ad, which strikes an emotion chord with the audience, definitely helps Google maintain its place amongst one of the top search engines. When most people think of Google, they usually think it's mainly for looking up factual information, they probably never realized how much they use it for everyday issues and for advice about falling in love.

Snickers Commerical- Celebrity Sack

Agency: BBDO, New York

Comment: This Snickers commercial just works. BBDO was brilliant to use Betty White as the celebrity in this commercial. Her most recent movie, The Proposal, Betty plays an old cooky grandma and most of the super bowl viewers are going to remember her just as that. This really gets the point across that you're playing like an old lady when you're hungry (and not eating a snickers). Snickers used some funny current pop culture jokes that caused the younger generations to laugh such as when Betty says "That's not what your girlfriend said" in response to one of the players saying "You're playing like Betty White out there". I loved the tag line "You're not you when you're hungry" because as an athlete, I know that's 100% true. When you're hungry, you're grumpy, you don't have energy, and your mind is focused on your stomach and not what you should be focusing on in that moment.

WORST:

Go Daddy

Agency: In-House

Comment: If this commercial was a restaurant, it would be Hooters. The whole "women giving each other sexual massages" thing is completely tacky and the acting is horrible. Seems like Go Daddy didn't have any ideas so they just took the low route and went for something that would grab the attention of creepy old men.

Emerald Nuts and Popsecret -"Awesomer"

Agency: Concept Cafe, Miami.

Comment: Wow. This. Commercial. Sucks. Why would anyone want to eat that after seeing that commercial? First of all, the aquarium setting looked completely tacky and unsanitary. Secondly, the creepy red headed clown man feeding the snacks to the unattractive mermaids in one piece swim suits was definitely a turn off. I feel kind of nauseated after watching that. Bad idea Emerald Nuts and Popsecret...try again next year...if you can ever recover from that.

Dr. Pepper

Agency: Interpublic Group of Cos.' Deutsch, Los Angeles

Comment: This commercial in no way makes me want to drink Dr. Pepper. I don't really understand how Kiss has anything to do with Dr. Pepper...I feel that by signing Gene Simmons onto the campaign is just a cheap and lazy way of trying to attract the audience. Also, I find it extremely cheesy when Gene Simmons says "it's got a little 'kiss' of cherry flavor". Dr. Pepper makes enough money to come up with something WAY better than this...especially for the SUPER BOWL!