Be...Who?

So, I’m still dealing with this not-sleeping thing…which is getting OLD really FAST. But, I can tell you that even in this daily-semi-comatose-state, I can still find humor in the completely bizarre. Case in point: This teevee ad, which only seems to come on after about 12:30am:



The above commercial features Kanye West….can you tell what product he’s selling?? (I think this is completely bizarre) It’s an ad for Absolut Vodka. I WILL say that it DOES kinda make me want a drink…but more out of sheer confusion than anything else. The ad was created by New York-based production company jumP.

I must’ve watched this commercial around half a dozen times…waiting for that “A-ha!” moment when I’d realize what the product was…needless to say, that moment never came. So. Tell me readers…is this clever marketing? Or should Absolut be seriously looking for a full refund?

I remember seeing a documentary on advertising and they talked about an ad featuring Nicole Kidman. This ad has a dubious distinction, which I will share with you after this commercial message:


Okay…so, you saw the ad is for Chanel No. 5 perfume. What’s the dubious distinction? It’s evidently one of the most successful teevee ads where the actual product is never shown.
Interesting, right? In my humble opinion, the Chanel ad is good….the Absolut ad is NOT.

I do not understand why advertisers can’t amuse us while they pepper our subconscious minds with subliminal messages of what we should want…whether we really need it or not.
I mean…is that so much to ask? Honestly, I’d like to be entertained every chance I get…find a way to amuse me and you’re golden. I might even stick around through a round of ads if they’re not boring, stupid or too sappy.

Humor is definitely the way to go. On that note, I leave you with yet another video…one which won the Clio Award a few years ago (Clio’s are for teevee commercials what the Oscars are to movies). I found it to be clever, and skillfully done. Now, those are words you'd never expect to hear about a commercial...right? Enjoy!