Time’s Top Ten Lists

Time magazine just released their top ten lists and they are certainly nothing less than entertaining. It is really fun looking through all the lists and reminiscing about the past year. Especially amusing are the Top Ten Fashion Moments (supermodels, boyfriend jeans and Michelle Obama’s $148 dollar White House Black Market dress) and the Top Ten Breakups (Madonna and Guy Richie, Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers and George Clooney and that girl I hate). 

But, the most interesting, is the Top Ten TV ads. Obviously.

Two of the Top Ten have been featured on my prestigious and very popular blog. (Shout out to the three people who read it!) Time liked and listed Visa’s commercial for the Olympics featuring runner Derek Redmond and Morgan Freeman’s famous narration. Another on both the Time and Alexa in the City list was the Guitar Hero commercials featuring those four athlete studs – Alex Rodriguez, Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant and Tony Hawk. Time thinks the highlight is Tony Hawk sliding across the floor on a skateboard, I think it’s the end when Phelps and Rodriguez are kicking and playing the guitar on the couches. 

Time’s number one ad of the year was the T-Mobile ad with Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade when Wade finally makes the cut to be one of Barkley’s “Fave Five.” Charles, Chuck, is really funny in this commercial. He makes annoying look really easy. I agree with the magazine on this one – apparently athletes in commercials doing uncharacteristic things is what I like… 

Time’s number two was the Fed Ex commercial with all the giant carrier pigeons delivering “the big stuff.” Though this ad was creative, I thought it was more frightening than anything. I didn’t start sending packages to my parents using Fed Ex because I thought a huge gray bird was going to deliver it. 

When Crispin, Porter and Bogusky ditched the Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld ads, they switched to the cheaper “I’m a PC” ads to address the Mac commercials. I find this particular ad to be quite amusing and appreciate Time recognizing it. It features regular people (as regular as Bill Gates, Tony Parker and Eva Longoria Parker and Pharrell can be) stating that they’re a PC. Some even add their own little message, like that they are afraid of sharks or that they sell fish. The fish part is actually the best part of the commercial. 

The fifth ad on the list is one that I haven’t seen before, but I do appreciate it. It features Neil Patrick Harris reprising his roll as a doctor for Old Spice. The best part is the end when the monitor flat lines as he puts the stethoscope on the patients nose. 

The number eight choice is an interesting one – Barack Obama’s infomercial. Though I sat on my bed for the entire half hour glued to the TV, I’m not sure that I would have said it was one of the best commercials of the year. Time justifies it by saying that Obama made his point through the riveting and heart breaking stories of other people. I agree. But, was it necessary to make an entire half hour commercial? It certainly did show how much money (i.e. support) Obama received throughout his campaign. And, even if it swayed just one person to vote Obama, I’m glad he made it. I’m sure he is too. 

Missing from the list were some of my favorite commercials. No room on the list for the Macy’s commercials featuring all my favorite department store celebrities? How disappointing!! Seriously, though, missing from the list was the Goodby commercials for the NBA, “There Can Only Be One,” that featured half the faces of two players saying the same monologue. Time even borrowed the concept from the print ads for their issue featuring Barack Obama and and Hilary Clinton. If it was good enough for the cover of a Time issue, wouldn’t it be good enough for the Time Top Ten List?

 

Overall, Time’s Top Ten lists are very accurate and entertaining. You’ll definitely kill a good hour searching through them. 

 

 

Best Commercial I’ve Seen All Day

Literally 15 minutes ago during Dancing With the Stars the finale, I saw the most entertaining commercial that I’ve seen in a cool minute. Sports aren’t my thing, but popular sports stars can be. Please enjoy:

Apparently this commercial for Guitar Hero was release a bit ago, but I guess I just missed it. What a collection of cool people that I’d like to hang out with! Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Alex Rodriguez (most likely getting his inspiration for the guitar from Madonna’s tour) and Tony Hawk make for a surprising cast with semi-decent chemistry. 

I saw the Guitar Hero commercial with Heidi Klum the other day as well. On Youtube, you can find two versions – one with the white shirt and one without. Sports stars and Heidi Klum certainly appeal to the obvious target market. I guess video games aren’t just for little kids anymore. 

Don’t Vote

When I started writing this blog, I made two rules for myself. 

1. Don’t get personal.

2. Don’t get political. 

This is supposed to be an advertising blog to help me communicate my ideas and help me stay current with advertising news and issues. This isn’t supposed to be about me. However, voting is so important to the upcoming election that I have to promote it. Even if it’s just to the handful of people who read this blog, I want to spread the message. 

And, I want to be in the company of all the celebrities who are in the video below. If I could only just hang out with one or two of them… This is a great video because instead of being a bunch of celebrities telling people who to vote for, it’s a bunch of celebrities telling you to make your own decision and then go vote. They’re not just telling you to vote OBAMA. They’re telling you to make your own decision. So, please take the advice of Leonardo DiCaprio, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Timberlake, Ashton Kutcher, Steven Spielberg and many more and go out and VOTE!

Pepsi Gets a Makeover

Introducing Pepsi’s new look. PepsiCo just revealed the new can and bottle designs for Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist. This is the fifth time that PepsiCo has changed the look of their products in 20 years. This design took about five months to create and the new looks won’t be in stores until early next year.

I like the direction that Pepsi is going. I like the simple and modern direction that PepsiCo took the designs. I also appreciate that they made such a huge change, yet stayed true to the brand image. Though the red, white and blue image on the Pepsi can became less severe and smaller, it still looks like the Pepsi logo. The white part of the logo is meant to look like smiles, which is the brand characteristic Pepsi is going for. This will accompany the grin characteristic for Diet Pepsi and a laugh for Pepsi Max. Ok… And, though I don’t really drink pop, I will look for the new cans in stores next year. 

Now, does the Pepsi makeover come at the same time as the Britney Spears comeback for a reason? Wouldn’t that relationship be amazing to relive?! 

Ellen: The New CoverGirl

In a January issue of US Weekly, CoverGirl will reveal their new spokeswoman. Ellen DeGeneres! Ellen will be joining Queen Latifah, Drew Barrymore and Rihanna as a cover girl for the drug store make-up brand. The image above is not one of the new ads for CoverGirl, it is a photo taken March 2007 for W. Though I would love for the ads to resemble this photo, it is not the CoverGirl style. I’m sure we can expect Ellen to be bright eyed, bushy tailed and with flawless skin in the new advertisements. 

Grey Group is responsible for the CoverGirl ads and they couldn’t have picked a better celebrity to be the next cover girl. Ellen’s television show is very entertaining and successful and yet she still seems very humble. And, with her recent wedding to Portia de Rossi, it seems that Ellen will have a lot to smile about when posing for the new ads. Congratulations to Ellen!

“Sex and the City” Day Part II

This may be the fastest theater to DVD release ever! “Sex and the City” the movie is going to be released on September 23, 2008. Not even four months after it was released! Amazon.com has three versions available (Special Edition, Full Screen and Wide Screen) for pre-order. Consider my copy pre-ordered!

Microsoft Ad: Win or Lose?

The new Microsoft ad featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld has been receiving a lot of flak since it debuted. I hadn’t even seen it before I heard a number of people who thought it was pointless. So, instead of waiting to see it on TV, I visited YouTube. 

My first impression was that I couldn’t believe it was a minute and 30 seconds. Thats a long commercial! And, after watching it, I was a little confused about why it was for Microsoft. Shouldn’t it be for that Circus shoe place or a local mall? No, it’s Microsoft. I actually enjoyed its randomness and light attitude. Seinfeld obviously has to carry the commercial on his shoulders because Gates has little entertainment value.

Despite what people may think about the ad, they are still talking about it. It has created a buzz that is more effective than an epic commercial. And, according to Microsoft, this is just the beginning of a new campaign to establish a new brand identity. Any commercial that kicks off a new brand identity is bound to cause a stir. This commercial was made by Crispin Porter + Bogusky and I can’t wait to see the next installment of the new campaign. 

 

 

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

When I first heard Chris Brown’s song, “Forever,” I knew that it wouldn’t take long for Wrigley’s Double Mint Gum to use him to their advantage. His use of the old gum tag line – “Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun” in his song meant money signs to them. He is the perfect celebrity who provided the perfect song that would allow them to successfully reposition their brand.

Chris Brown is an effective celeb choice because he hasn’t saturated television with his endorsements like Beyonce or Rihanna. He has pretty much stayed away from doing commercials. So, he provided Double Mint Gum with a fresh face for ads. He is also very hip and trendy right now among pre-teens, teenagers and young adults. This is important to Double Mint Gum if it wants to reach these age groups while it repositions. And, why wouldn’t you want to reach this demographic while it is so profitable?

Overall, I think that without knowing it, Chris Brown basically handed Wrigley this amazing opportunity to use television commercials again. I remember the old commercials that featured all the twins, but I only paid attention because it is my grandpa’s favorite gum to chew. But now with Chris Brown as the face of Double Mint, people who chew this minty gum won’t think of twins or their grandfathers.  

DSRL Debut Today

The DSRL? The DSRL is the Double Stuf Racing League, as in Double Stuf Oreos. Today is the day for the debut of the new Oreo commercials featuring Venus and Serena Williams and Peyton and Eli Manning. It seems like any commercial right now with the Manning brothers is a hit. And adding Venus and Serena makes the DSRL into a competition among athletic siblings.

Though this ad is rather corny (Racing League…?) it has the star power to be a hit. The DSRL is a competition that involves different ways to eat an Oreo. This has a bit of deja vu with the “How do you eat a Reese’s?” campaign. Last year, the ad was simply the Manning men competing with each other about eating an Oreo. Now, with the Williams’ sisters, the sibling pairs can battle each other. I expect more ads that show the different ways the pairs can eat an Oreo. I will be waiting on the edge of my seat…

The commercial that is debuting today contains the Williams’ sisters at a press conference announcing their introduction into the DSRL. It is an entertaining commercial and Peyton Manning shows some attitude toward the sisters. Check it out below. Every commercial with the Manning’s is sure to be entertaining.

“90210 2.0″ Premiers 9.02

I know that the new “Beverly Hills 90210″ debuting on September 2 (9.02) is kind of dorky, but I LOVE it. I love(d) “90210″ and I am stoked about the new version finally coming out. I am going to miss Dylan and Donna, but I will give this new version a try.

I especially appreciate the CW trying to win back old viewers by bringing back Kelly (Jennie Garth) and Brenda (Shannen Doherty!!!). That fact alone was the final deal maker for me to watch the new show. Brenda was an amazing character – the only one with interesting story lines in high school. I will be watching for two hours on September 2 simply to see Brenda and Kelly.

Now, what I find really interesting, is the fact that the CW is not going to allow the media or advertisers to view the show ahead of time. As a future media planner/communication strategist, this frightens me a little. Are they trying to hide something? Is the show actually terrible? How would I know if I wanted to spend the money to advertise during the premier on 9.02? To me, this is not a good sign for the show. It’s almost an admittance right away that the show won’t live up to the high expectations Aaron Spelling left behind. The CW recognizes the publicity and anticipation surrounding the new show and has decided that is all the media and advertisers need to know.

On the other hand, as a viewer, I could see this as an opportunity to watch the premier without the tainted opinions of critics. The critics will be watching the show at the very same time that I get to watch it. I hate when I hear about something before it comes out, or hearing a friend talk about a movie before I’ve seen it. But, that won’t have a slight chance of happening when the new “90210″ premiers.

In the end, though, my career self wins. It is going to be hard for media buyers to decide whether they want to use their budget to advertise during the premier when they know nothing about the show. The hype and anticipation that comes with the new “90210″ is not enough evidence to make a buying decision.

Below, for old times sake, is a picture of my favorite cast. I actually have a bookmark with this picture on it. And I still use it.