Debate Exposes Doubt (Death Cab For Cutie)

Have you seen this commercial yet?What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see this is probably the same thing that I thought of “That is not even possible” Hummer makes you believe that you can customize your vehicle to whatever you want without limitations. This of course is not true. I did notice that as the vehicle launches off the pier it states “do not attempt” it doesn’t state “underwater option not available.” Ever since Beavis and Butthead “encouraged” children to burn down their living rooms and Barbie commercials made people believe that their doll would walk and dance on their own, every ad has to state the obvious. I read a great article about it in Dallas News that stated what the majority of us say when we see the obvious stated... DUH!!! As for the Hummer commercial, I would love to see the sales persons face the 100th time that he is asked “Can I get the underwater option on my customizable Hummer? “ And through gritted teeth they reply with “That was just a commercial, don’t you want a car wih real options?”

New Slang (The Shins)

Everyone has a website now. I actually search online for products and information before I go to the store itself. I have a whole internet folder with 50+ links to my favorite stores all over the world. But now websites have started integrated entertainment with the sell of their products, my husband calls it branded entertainment. Check out websites like m&m.com, skittles.com and who can overlook Disney.com. While researching their products, you can build your own avatar, play games, listen to music or watch video clips. Some companies have even started hitting you with advertising 1-2 punch by enticing you to visit their website to get the full idea of the ad you just spent 30 seconds watching. Other times, the site will offer exclusive clips or “webisodes” that further explain the product or draw you into a story further. Several years ago, one underground web hit were the “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” series from Reebok…which my husband tuned in online multiple times to watch. I even have seen sitcoms advertising real sites. During an episode of the NBC show Scrubs, one of the characters, Todd, had a t-shirt that had “theToddTime.com” written on it. We tried to check it out immediately afterwards, and it took us two days to be able to access the full site because of how much traffic it was getting. These days, 20+ years after Tommy Tutone made 867-5309 the most prank-called number in history, people are still curious enough to see what’s real.

Center of Attention (Guster)

I recently saw one of the oddest forms of advertisiCCng on tv yet. I was watching ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ on TBS the other day, and they stopped the program at random points to advertise The Bill Engvall Show. According to the little man that was in the corner of my screen promoting this show, ‘The Bill Engvall Show’ has a similar plotline but seems less “New York” and more “Middle America”. The basic premise behind the ad, however, was this: They froze the show that was airing in mid-sentence and had the star of the new series pop in to plug his new show. The first time I saw it, I thought the show was over and he was using the credit time to promote his new show. But when the show started up again, I noticed the show was not yet over and realized that I had just experienced a new type of advertising.
In doing this, the ad immediately draws your attention to the program being advertised by forcing you to see what caused the interruption. In an era where commercials can be fast-forwarded with our digital recorders and channels are surfed away from the minute a show ends, this new ad technique makes the viewer stop and pay attention for a few seconds.
While slightly annoying, it served its purpose and delivered its intended message. The spoiled tv watcher in me, however, hopes this doesn’t become the norm. One of my favorite reasons for having a Tivo is my ability to skip an ad I’ve seen over and over again…as some stations (TBS, I’m looking your way) have been known to do.