Introduction

I can't explain exactly why, but I've always been fascinated with TV ads. I've seen so many terrible ones that make me wonder why anyone would want their brand associated with something so awful, and I've seen the ones that really move me. Maybe what grabs me is the intracacy of trying to reorient a person's thinking, and motivate them to spend there hard-earned money, all with less than minute on the clock. You've got thirty seconds to speak to a huge audience, you paid a lot of money to get here, and you need your product/service to sell; go. And they go. Their job is to displace us and time is short, so they appeal to us in every imaginable way within FCC guidelines. What has developed is an art-form. Like every art-form, the audience is the critic. These are some ads of particular interest to this critic.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Hillshire Farms

I don't really remember what lunch was like in elementary school, and I don't think many of us can nail down a whole lot of details from back then. We all know it wasn't like this, but we kind of like to think it was.

What makes it work: The kids. The scene is ingeniously crafted to really let these little actors shine; and whether they're 8, 24, 37 or 46 there are good actors and there are bad actors. These kids have got, Totino's has not. From the Asian kid's "bidding" face, to the lead’s brilliant performance, it's downright heart-melting. Of course the punch-line is important here, and the pony is outrageous enough to make us laugh without being so ridiculous that we can't. And what kid wouldn't want a pony?

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)