My Television Commercial Awards

Well, reclining here on my sofa for the past few days, glued to the television set in a state of drugged semi-consciousness, I’ve been watching TV almost non-stop and let all of it trickle into my open brain. Fortunately much of the time I’ve had on the Discover Channel, Learning Channel, Travel Channel, and Science or History Channels. I’ve also enjoyed several movies. I especially like movies originating in India. I’ve had a weakness for those for years. I don’t know why exactly except that I think Indian women are so beautiful and graceful to watch and I enjoy the dynamics that are usually present in Indian movies between the men and the women. The women are always getting lots of attention from the guys, almost like goddesses (but of course that’s only while they’re young and beautiful). It’s all pretty hoakey, but I enjoy it. I soured on Indian movies for awhile after seeing special about how prejudiced the people of India are against women, to the point of the poor actually killing their newborn females and the wealthier aborting them, but I’ve had so many Indian friends here, in the states, who do not react that way that I think it must have been somewhat sensationalized.

Anyway, all that was not what this entry was going to be about! I got off track. The whole opening paragraph there was really just supposed to be a lead up to the fact that I have been a TV “victim” for the past week or so and, as such, have particularly noticed that there are some commercials that I actually like for a change. It has sort of snuck up on me, but there are whole ad campaigns going on that I really enjoy. Here, in this entry, I am going to give out the first annual (or more frequently should I decide to do so) LLTelevisionWorld Commercial Success Awards. (LL is based upon my real name initials.) This round of awards are presented as follows:

1.) HP Digital Photography Television Ad Campaign –
This ingenious campaign consists of a series of commercials that shows people in various activities where their faces or another scene are framed in a picture then the picture is pulled away or put into place, fitting perfectly with the moving picture. This is so hard to explain. Fortunately, if you have highspeed internet you can see it for yourself at the URL below.

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/hpads/you/photography/index.html

Look under the section labeled TV ads. The one called Francois is particularly good, also Relay is quite amazing. Unfortunately, this is the only ad campaign for which I could find a link. If you want to see any of the other award winning commercials you’ll just have to keep watching TV like I did. *sigh*

Does their advertising work? Well, the last printer we got was an HP, but my husband picked it out, not me. I often choose HP paper and printer cartridges and do lean toward HP products when all things are equal. After twenty years in market research, I’d say their brand recognition is good and their identification is positive. Part of this is due to classy ad campaigns and part is due to overall good products and services.

2.) Travelocity Vacation Imagination Television Ad Campaign –
This campaign has been out for quite awhile and I haven’t tired of it yet. I just hope I’m crediting the correct sponsor! I am NOT talking about the campaign with the annoying little garden gnome (which was a direct rip off of the adorable gnome from the French movie Amelie). I got sick of THAT campaign very quickly plus was annoyed at the rip off factor. The campaign I have been enjoying is the one that usually features a couple lounging around their living room with one surfing the net and planning their vacation on Travelocity. In one scenario a woman is looking at hotels and reads that each room comes with a mosquito net, the scene cuts to her imagination where she and her husband are in bed and hear the humming of insects then turn on the lights to find millions of huge flying bugs perched all over their room. The camera cuts back to the woman at the computer and she mumbles, “Maybe not THAT exotic,” and continues to search Travelocity. There are other scenarios ranging from mildly amusing to ridiculously hilarious and I’ve enjoyed each one while surprisingly not gotten sick of any!

Has the advertising worked? Well, I was a pretty loyal Orbitz customer for a long time and had no reason to quit until just recently when I was getting ready to book my latest trip to Florida. Their data base wasn’t updated or something and their fares were about $40 higher than anywhere else! Fortunately I always comparison shop, but I was really ticked off about that and decided to switch from them so I went to Travelocity so maybe it did. Either way, Travelocity wins one of my very important and valuable awards.

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IMPORTANT UPDATE HERE

I am embarassed to say that these ads are actually for Expedia Vacations!! I found one of them online at http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?u_player=realplayer&adid=534 Some poor Expedia CEO would probably be tearing his hair out if he had read the above but this is OD so I doubt that has happened. Anyway, I stand corrected and humbly apologize to Expedia. I guess I should check them out next time I travel to my Mom’s!

3.) Foreyes Competitor Obnoxious Salesman Television Ad Campaign-
This campaign is so much fun! This campaign features a wonderful snobby salesman who is supposedly at some competitor of Foreyes Glasses. Again, I sure hope I have the right sponsor here… it could be LensCrafters or Pearl Vision for all I know! Anyway, a customer comes in and says, “I could get these same frames at Foreyes for half the price. Why do YOU charge so much?” The snobby salesman gets this look on his face as if he has smelled something horrid and says things like, “These glasses speak French.”

It’s sort of difficult to describe this campaign as the guy who plays the snobby salesman carries this whole campaign. He is absolutely wonderful in his role and just makes you roar with laughter. Again, this is a campaign that I never tire of seeing. The guy is hilarious.

Does it work? Well, it would except I have a place I’ve been going to for our eyewear for years where the eye doctor is sort of like a personal friend. If that weren’t the case, I’d probably switch.

4.) The final one for today is not an entire campaign but I sure hope they do more with this. Right now there’s just one commercial out but it is bizarre and laughably disturbing and that is the Burger King Breakfast in Bed with the King Television Commercial. This commercial opens with the sound of a lawn mower and other week-end morning kind of sounds while the camera focuses in on a man’s scruffy face. It looks like maybe he had a night out with the boys. He awakens and sits up in bed feeling someone’s eyes on him. Turning his head to the side he stares into the giant face of the Burger King sitting in bed beside him. Now this isn’t just some guy dressed up like a king, this is a person, who may even be a woman (because the hands and body seem petite) who is wearing this huge Burger King head that must be about two feet wide and three feet tall. I mean this thing is BIG. And whoever is wearing it really knows how to wear it too.

It is actually a huge mask like one would wear to Mardi Gras a

nd the Burger King has a big gentle smile. The wearer knows just how to tilt his/her head to make the expression seem to change and when this poor schmuck awakens they just stare at each other for a moment while a few notes of quite music plays then the Burger King silently lifts a finger to show the schmuck to wait. Burger King turns to the side and pulls out a breakfast sandwich. He opens it and hands it to the schmuck. The camera pans in on the sandwich and a Bob Dylan sound-alike begins to extol the sandwich in a sort of song as we watch the various greasy shiny components of the sandwich pull together for the camera. Then the scene goes back to the bedroom again where the schmuck takes a bite out of the sandwich and looks back at the Burger King. They both look happy then begin to laugh silently, the way a mime laughs with their bodies and heads bobbing like puppets. As they laugh Burger King gently slaps his hand down on schmuck’s blanketed knee then schmuck slaps his hand over Burger King’s. They both realize what they just did, stiffen and pull away awkwardly as the gentle music continues to play.

What is truly amazing is that the Burger King really looks like his expression changes!!! The wearer of this big – and I mean IMMENSE – mask is so talented at moving his/her body and tilting this huge head that tiny innuendoes of emotion actually come across. This is one of the main reasons this commercial is so wonderful and never gets boring no matter how many times they repeat it (and, believe me, they are repeating it A LOT). Also making this commercial interesting is the fact that you can’t figure out exactly what they are trying to say here… this, of course, leads to much conversation about the commercial, not only in our household, but with anybody else who has seen it too. Everybody laughs at the homophobe moment between the schmuck and the King but everybody shudders at how creepy it would be to wake up to the King in your bed in the morning. Guys especially talk about how they would knock him outta the bed, kick his burger butt, etc. etc. Girls talk about how glad they’d be to have somebody there with a big smile to offer them breakfast. I mean this commercial really spawns some talk. I hope they do some more with this whole thing.

Now… does this advertising work? I would bet it definitely does. Why do I say that? Well, I am definitely opposed to buying fast food. I am huge fan of Morgan Spurlock, the talented creator of the wonderful documentary Supersize Me. Fast food is just about poisonous. We rarely ate fast food before that movie came out and now we never do. Nevertheless, this commercial had me thinking (for only a moment), “Oh, how much harm could one breakfast sandwich do?” If a strident fast food hater like me could soften that much for a moment, I can’t imagine how attractive this must make breakfast sandwiches to the less stanch.

So, these are the kinds of important things you ponder when you are sucked into the world of television and under the influence of Vicodin. I still have some pain but am obviously feeling well enough to start writing again (which is good because I have so much stuff building up in my brain that I’m beginning to feel as if it will burst if I don’t get it onto paper quickly!)