Thursday, October 22, 2009

"Yahoooooooooooooooooo!"



A Sadvertising reader clued me into this banner ad that greets Yahoo.com email users.  Go ahead and click on the image to enlarge the view...

Anyway, the copy urges us to, "Stay connected to friends and family. See how."

Judging by the expression on the young man's face, the "connection" appears to be either painful or soberingly awkward.

Let's just hope that woman represents the foxy Cougar lunch lady and not Good Ole' Mom cuz if it IS, mom's going somewhere where she probably won't have a lot of email access.

YahooOOOO!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Why, it really IS OUTRAGEOUS!


The graphic above is from an Iowa bank chain's "viral" website - www.outrageousnow.com.

The website - and supporting billboards & TV - tout "outrageous" things like the world record for throwing cow poop and the number of teeth in a shark's mouth.  The line of thought is supposed to lead to this fact:  MetaBank also provides OUTRAGEOUS services.

Funnn-NEE!  Why slapper-doodle dandy, that's a real hoot'n holler!

But for the rest of us who remember the Banking crisis of, oh, A FEW MONTHS AGO, where the government had to bail out a bunch of banks for OUTRAGEOUS management, "Outrageous" and "Banking" are like 2+2 = 3.

In the meantime, in an industry that - like it or not - is founded on TRUST, cowpies, sharks and outrageous business practices are really outrageous ideas to build an ad campaign upon.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Why squirrels shouldn't be allowed on photo shoots.



The picture above is of a scan of Thermal Underwear I bought last week.

I won't write much about this because the question is simple - is that a squirrel (or similarly sized mammal*) or a tumor?

Maybe I'm just not clued into the ways and wiles of how to sell Thermal Underwear because I look and think, "Geez.  Gross."

But then again...I bought them.

YIKES!

*Or a manimal?!

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Wow. Nice car. (yawn) *snore*



The ad above was torn from the back of a recent edition of Car & Driver magazine.  Though I think it's supposed to represent the design prowess of Infinity Cars, I suspect it's more indicative that the leadership has fallen asleep at the wheel...

Everything about this ad - and I mean everything - reeks of a funeral.  Black.  More black.  "Mr. Takashi Nakajima" looks like he's about ready to say, "I am so, so sorry about your loss.  Please sign the guest book, refreshments are near the exit..."

But the kicker is the comatose copy.  The dominant words are EMOTION and FALLS.   Say it together now...

What?!  Design a sexy rev'em up concept car and the best the art director can do is boldly claim that EMOTION FALLS?!  Well, one look at "Mr. Takashi Nakajima" and eyelids fall right along with the poorly placed type.

I didn't have the energy to check what resolution I scanned this yawner, but in case it's low rez, some of the body copy:

"Simple yet complex, elegant yet dynamic, the Essence perfectly balances the mechanics of technology with the fluidity of nature.  As Mr. Nakajima likes to put it, "It is everything I want, nothing I don't.'"

Hmmm.  Must have been Friday because the copywriter shamelessly pulled the old trick of comparing stink with rot.  "Honey, your meatloaf was subtle yet overpowering.  Common, but wholly unique. It was a meal I hoped for yet didn't want."

Oh geez.  They should have written "SEX" into the side of the car with a finger dipped in peanut butter and called it "subliminal sensuality."

Well, I guess we know what the funeral is for - the car's SOUL.  But it sounds like Infinity didn't want that in the first place.

Sweet Jimminy!  I get it now!  They're going after the well-heeled Zombie Market!

(Yawn).  Time to hit the hay and dream of Mazdas.  Zoom!  Zoom!