Commercial-lyzing

There’s a commercial featuring an older guy in a third-world country. It’s a long commercial, and he spends the entire time essentially laying a guilt trip on viewers for not giving money to the cause. But I don’t know what the cause is, because every time the commercial comes on, I change the channel.

As bad as that sounds, I’m sure that I’m not the only one who does it. Guilt has never been an effective motivator, and I question the wisdom of those who created the advertisement.

Truth is, there’s no good way to advertise this sort of thing. Or is there?

There’s a United Way commercial that shows a guy pushing a cart through a warehouse while the announcer talks. Suddenly it morphs to the same guy pushing a shopping cart down an alley, and then back to the warehouse, with the United Way slogan: “Without U, there is no Way.” It’s a simple, powerful, and moving message. If I didn’t already donate to United Way, I probably would based on that commercial.

I don’t mean to sound harsh against the other cause…it’s not easy to send a positive message when you’re talking about starving children. But you’d think that someone along the line of approvals would have wondered aloud how effective this advertisement would be.

And hey, I’m sure that there are people who are moved by it and pick up the phone to donate. Maybe I’m in the minority. I really hope that I am.

I have to say that the new Ebay advertising is absolutely stunning in its execution. It’s brilliant. If you haven’t seen it, then you don’t know what it’s about. But once you do, it’s obvious.

And that’s the beauty of “it”. Whatever “it” is, you’ll find it on Ebay. Or something like that.

It’s simple, obvious, and fun. It’s not at all annoying, and it’s highly representative of Ebay’s business.

In truth, I wonder why Ebay feels the need to advertise…while I know lots of people who have never used it, I don’t know anyone who’s never heard of the auction site. Personally, I’ve used it on numerous occasions with great results. But rather than turn this scatterthought into an Ebay commercial, I’ll stop there.

It’s nice to know that some advertisers are still capable of creating unique and intelligent marketing campaigns.

It seems as if Toyota has completely abandoned the notion of selling cars based on performance and features…all of their commercials are about salesmen doing odd things or guys tossing Blackberries and toupees out of minivans. And then there’s the one that came on just now, in which a daughter askes mom how her new boyfriend “is”. Yikes.

This is either complete idiocy or complete confidence…and given Toyota’s reputation, I’m inclined to think that it’s the latter. It’s tough to question their credentials, so it would seem that they think it’s better to just keep their name out there. And hey, even if I think the commercials are silly, I do remember them.

Hey, I’m writing about them now, aren’t I?