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American Express Carrie Brownstein commercial mocks its cardholders

on June 24, 2013 10:18 PM

American Express recently released a commercial featuring sketch comedian Carrie Brownstein, star of Portlandia, that is basically mocking cardholders.

The ad goes through a serious of “humorous” situations where Carrie is supposed to be showing the viewer how she gets to be whomever she wants to be. As a viewer, we are supposed to understand that by using American Express, we can be whomever we want to be just like Carrie.

But here’s the problem: each character that Carrie role plays is a mockery of real people.

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Lifebuoy soap created one of the most emotional ads ever

By Adam Williams

on May 30, 2013 10:56 PM

If you aren’t familiar with Lifebuoy soap by Unilever, then you’re probably not from Asia where it’s #1 in its category. Lifebuoy is one of Unilever’s oldest brands and positions itself as the soap that saves lives. Straight from the Unilever website:

The brand’s core promise of protection and a commitment to support life through unbeatable protection is at the heart of the brand name itself – Lifebuoy, the guarantee of protection when you are threatened.

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Why Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches is better positioned than prior campaigns

By Adam Williams

on May 16, 2013 8:35 AM

On April 14, 2013, Dove took a big step along its path to changing women’s perceptions of themselves. In 2006, Dove began its crusade against the beauty industry with the much hyped short titled Dove Evolution. I want to explain why the Real Beauty Sketches campaign is better.

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Fundacion ANAR’s “Only For Children” ad hides anti-abuse message where only kids can see it

By Adam Williams

on May 7, 2013 4:46 PM

Situation: How do you tell an abused child how to get help if the abuser is standing nearby?

Solution: Hide the message in plain site.

In a new campaign titled Only For Children, the Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation (ANAR) in Spain is cleverly using lenticular printing to hide a message and phone number so that only kids can see it. Lenticular printing is the technology used to create the 3D-like bookmarks you often find at bookstore check-outs.

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JCPenney asks shoppers to come back but what will it really take?

By Adam Williams

on May 6, 2013 8:03 AM

Tis the season for come backs. Or at least attempts at one. First Kmart released Ship Your Pants and now JCPenney, or just JCP these days, has come out in a new ad titled It’s No Secret saying, “We’ve made some mistakes, but we’ve also listened to you. Please come back. Pretty please.”

But is this commercial going to be enough? Or where does Penney’s need to go from here?

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Kmart wants you to Ship Your Pants [updated]

By Adam Williams

on April 16, 2013 9:45 PM

So am I supposed to ship or shi* my pants. I’m not completely clear. Either way, this ad is hilarious. And going viral. For example, I’ve had two different people text it to me in the last hour in addition to all of the online shares I’ve seen.

But despite the hype, is Ship Your Pants a one time headline grabber or a game changer like what Old Spice experienced a few years ago?

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McDonald’s fresh fast food ad campaign doesn’t understand consumers

By Adam Williams

on March 5, 2013 9:25 AM

You probably didn’t see these McDonald’s ads since they ran in Australia during the later part of 2012. At face value, they seem like pretty smart ads considering the fast food giant’s reputation for unhealthy, obesity causing foods.

The basic message says, “Hey, our food comes from the same place as your food.” McDonald’s is subtlety addressing the quality of its foods by talking about the source and not the food itself. That’s an important distinction.

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