Someone just sent me this banned commercial by online Irish gambling site Paddy Power, and it really gets you thinking about why such a commercial was banned, yes, but also why it was even made in the first place.
Take the ending off this and it becomes a powerful PSA – one that says, “Just because someone’s in a wheelchair doesn’t mean they’re not a regular person.”
But as a commercial for a betting site starring 4 troublemaking guys who just like to have fun, the fact that they are all in wheelchairs isn’t exactly a fact that escapes you. So why was that casting choice made, exactly?
It would be nice to think that people are indifferent enough to disability that a commercial with 4 guys in wheelchairs would play the same as if they weren’t, but that’s not exactly realistic, is it?
What do you think?
Filed under: Fun Marketing Videos | Leave a Comment
Tags: banned, commercial, disability, gambling, marketing, wheelchair
I don’t know what the deal is with Verizon these days, but they’re killing it in the ad department.
First they spoofed the old (Bid Red chewing gum, DeBeers diamonds), then the current (Twilight). You can feel them relishing the fact that they have a clear story to tell about how they’re better, in contrast to the hastily assembled Luke Wilson defense that seems to boil down to “But We Have the iPhone.”
The Big Red commercial is the oddest one of the bunch, for me. How did they acquire the rights to this song? Wrigley’s is still making Big Red, right? Is this the first time a well-known commercial for a totally different brand has been repurposed like this? What marketing lunatic thought up this brilliant idea? Have a look:
“Big Red”
“Shadows”
“Vampire”
You can expect to see more of this, I’m sure – Verizon is unlikely to stop milking this opportunity. Leaving us wondering if AT&T and chubby Luke will step it up with some more inspired material of their own.
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Tags: 3g, at&t, cell phones, data plans, maps, marketing, network, roaming, Verizon, wireless
So I was going to start this Monday morning off with a good old fashioned rant about the Superbowl ads that ran last night, but it turns out someone already did it for me. Over at the Denver Egotist there’s a great post called “Superbowl Ads Can Go Suck a Tailpipe,” and you should just go read that, because it says everything there is to say.
As the [unattributed] author points out, the Superbowl ads are “not advertising. In fact, they’re a freak show of advertising.” Most weren’t truly creative in any way, and the spots that were stood out on their own merit (we’re talking to you, Google). But the good ones were few and far between, and the over-the-top stunt advertising feels tired and overdone (bravo, Pepsi, for bowing out this year).
Oh well. At least the game was good. And The Who (or, the surviving members, anyway) may be old, but they pulled out a rocking performance (with the help of a few whippersnappers and a totally insane light show).
Happy Monday, folks! Mashable has all the ads, if you’re looking to check ‘em out…
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Tags: 2010, 40, ads, advertising, Coca Cola, Colts, ETrade, GoDaddy, Google, Hyundai, marketing, Pepsi, Saints, Superbowl XXLIV, The Who
Sometimes you just need a good dose of Kirk to jumpstart your Monday afternoon.
In this long lost video from 1983, the “distinguished actor William Shatner” (as he is called in his introduction here) recites Poe’s classic “The Raven.”
Is it campy, overwrought melodrama? Of course. That’s what makes it fantastic.
When I saw this, I wondered aloud, “Why the hell does he have a book tucked under his arm if he has the piece memorized?” My girlfriend promptly yelled from the next room, “Because he’s William F—ing Shatner, he can do whatever he wants!”
Then I posed a followup question: “So, whaddaya think; will this man ever be called a ‘distinguished actor’ again..?”
Quoth my girlfriend: “Nevermore.”
Via Vulture.
Filed under: Fun Marketing Blogs, Fun Marketing Videos | Leave a Comment
Tags: 1980s, edgar allen poe, funny, kirk, ridiculous, star trek, the raven, william shatner
Why I won’t be buying an iPad
Since the release of Apple’s much anticipated tablet device yesterday, the web has fallen all over itself with predictions, implications, praise and derision. Many have said that it is trying to carve out a new space between smartphone and laptop, and most are complaining of the device’s shortcomings – no flash, no camera, no multitasking, etc. But as Stan Schroeder pointed out in a great post on Mashable this morning, these omissions were no accident.
The point of this device is not to give you a bigger iPhone, or a sleeker laptop. It is a media consuming gadget, and after you’ve dropped five to eight hundred bones on it, and you’ve got your AT&T data plan, then come the paid magazine subscriptions, video channels, e-books and other iTunes-esque purchases required to use this thing.
I don’t know about you, but as much as I would like to tote around a sleek new Apple gadget so I can watch episodes of Lost and read Maxim, who has the time or opportunity? I’ve got a couple games on my iPhone to keep me busy at the bus stop, and when I have time to watch TV, I do it at home, on my computer or television (speaking of which, when is the industry going to step up the union of similar devices instead of creating unnecessary in-betweens?). If I wanted to read books on a screen (which I don’t), I’d buy an e-reader that’s not as harsh on my eyes as every other device in my life. And I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a way to read newspapers and magazines in full color and clarity without all that annoying pinching and tapping.
So, in summation: Apple has created a device that is less portable than a smartphone, does less (way less) than a laptop, can’t run multiple applications at once, has a closed development platform, no USB, no flash, no camera, no stand, and is likely to charge you for content every time you want to consume it (which appears to be the main thing it was designed for).
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Hell, if on-the-go media consumption is your thing, spend away, my friend.
Me, I think I’ll pass…
Filed under: Fun Marketing Blogs | 4 Comments
Tags: apple, hype, iBook, iMac, ipad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, laptop, macbook, marketing, media, review, smartphone, specs, steve jobs, tablet
Cheers to that
A few years ago I blogged about a study done in Italy that claimed cell phones were responsible for nine out of ten discovered affairs in that country. The kicker was, the firm that did the study went so far as to release a list of “Golden Rules for Cheating,” in case these adulterers wanted to get better at covering their tracks.
This is almost as bad as that.
In the video below, you’ll see Saatchi & Saatchi/Buenos Aires (on behalf of their client, Andes beer) making some wild generalizations about boyfriends wanting to be at bars with their buddies, and girlfriends wanting them to be at home. What they cooked up is so ridiculous you will think it must be fake: a soundproof booth installed in local clubs that allows men, when their cell phone starts ringing, to duck in, select a background sound, and lie to their girlfriends about where they are.
Brilliant, right?
Oh, and sexist and deceitful. On the other hand, maybe Saatchi’s market research suggests that Andes’ target customers are mostly sexist and deceitful. Hell, they must have done something right, because guys actually used these things. They used them a lot.
So Andes got all sorts of publicity for a unique approach, not to mention a ton of grainy black & white video of the guys lying to their girlfriends, which they can use as A) free advertising or B) blackmail. So who really gets hurt?
Oh, right, the girlfriends. But they probably drink wine or something.
(This dude probably has the iTrust app, too.)
Via Digital Buzz.
Filed under: Fun Marketing Videos | Leave a Comment
Tags: advertising, andes, argentina, beer, boyfriend, buenos aires, cheating, girlfriend, lying, marketing, men and women, saatchi & saatchi, viral
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Market This! is a blog about cool stuff in the worlds of marketing and popular culture. It is written (mostly) by Nathan Hartswick, co-founder of the virtually-based marketing firm Asgood & Better.
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Recent Entries
- Wheelchairs for wheelchairs’ sake?
- Verizon cribs from other campaigns, sticks it to AT&T
- Superbowl ads feel older than The Who
- The Shat will brighten your Monday
- Why I won’t be buying an iPad
- Cheers to that
- Fairpoint’s freakish furby
- Distrustful person? Untrustworthy partner? There’s an app for that.
- Cell phone projectors: cool or annoying?
- PUMA has a bit of fun
- Will animation detract from or add to the Ricky Gervais Show?
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