Prius C: Malti-Poo & Sushi

As if you couldn’t guess by the odd title of this commercial, this one is a bad one. And by bad I mean absolutely terrible.

It makes it even worse that I like this car and I would get one if I was in the market for one. But then they throw this commercial at us and if I bought this car, I would be connected to this terrible ad. I wouldn’t be surprised if I am not alone in saying that. A commercial is supposed to make me want to buy the product or service, not turn me away from it.

To be fair the root of the ad is solid, showing how this car can improve your life and blend into it. Toyota does a better job of explaining this in this video and if it was compressed into a single minute, then it would be a quality ad, unlike the one we have to struggle through while watching.

It is over dramatic, not amusing and quite frankly, it is too Japanese for us to appreciate. Being that Toyota is a Japanese brand it makes sense as to why this commercial is the way it is but the potential customers watching this ad who are any where but Japan will not connect with this ad. On the other side, I am sure that the Japanese like this commercial.

The worst part about this ad is how it feels like a constant plug for their vehicle even though it is their own ad. “But my affordable Prius c means I can pay for his acupuncture”. Talk about creativity on Toyota’s part… That ‘plug’ added with the overly dramatic “Phew” just seals the deal on how truly horrible this commercial is.

My favorite part of this commercial has to be when the blond hair guy stares into the camera towards the end of it. I don’t know how to take that look. Is it “Why am I in this commercial?” or is it “Why am I friends with these people?”. At any rate, it cannot be anything positive towards selling this car.

I will give this commercial a 2 out of 10. I thought about giving it a 1 but with the fact that the core concept was solid bumps it up to a 2. But at the end of the day, this is a terrible commercial. One that no one who is watching it will appreciate enough to go out and buy this car.

If you actually did like this commercial or you want to make fun of the rest of them, here is the playlist of all 10 videos that they made for the new Prius c. Enjoy, if it is possible.

-Adam

Apple iCloud Harmony Commercial

If any company knows how to make a commercial, or any kind of ad for that matter, its Apple Inc. Commercial after commercial, they never cease to amaze through simplicity.

 

This is a perfect example of a commercial that doesn’t need narration to aid it in getting its message across. It shows the service of iCloud through Apple’s various devices and how simply this technology really is. When I watched the keynote on iCloud being introduced I was a bit confused but once they showed the graphic, the same graphic shown in the first couple seconds of this ad, it clicked and made perfect sense to me. That is where this commercial excelled, anyone can understand this service just by watching and not needing to listen to any language.

Since they opted to not have any narration, which was a good move on Apple’s part, they had to choose a great song to fill the air. As with all their previous ads, with exception to only a few, they managed to incorporate an amazing and simple song to benefit the service that was being presented. The beat went perfectly with the photos popping up on the devices and the change of scenes. The song allows the viewer to focus less on the song, due to the lack of singing, and focus more on the video that is accompanying it. Video that is vital to this ads success.

Another great thing that Apple does is showing how a potential customer can use their products and services in their daily lives. I can see myself taking a picture of a cousin who is playing in the snow and I can imagine the look on my aunt and uncles faces when they see the picture pop up on their iPad while sitting across the country. I don’t feel that I would have to adapt my life around this new device, it will adapt to my life and I feel that that message is clearly shown in this commercial.

After watching as many commercials as we do each day we will notice a pattern show up. I would venture to say that at least 95% of commercials on Tv have an ending slide that sums up their product or service and tells us how to buy it. All car commercials have it showing the price of the car and Apple has used it in their ads for the past 10+ years. They use this last slide perfectly by reiterating how simple and perfect this service is. The user doesn’t have to do anything but enable it and then use the device while iCloud does the rest of the work. Those three words complete this commercial.

Yet again, Apple has done it again with an amazing ad that informs and delights anyone who watches it, which is why I am giving this commercial a 9 out of 10. The only thing keeping me from giving it a 10 is that this series will start to get old soon and I feel that I have seen this commercial before. I feel they need to spice it up a bit just like they did with the silhouettes when they were advertising iTunes. With that said, it was a classic Apple commercial that was satisfying.

-Adam

2012 Hyundai Azera “Talk to My Car” – Oscar Commercial

This is a wonderful commercial, in more aspects than one. It brings the old together with the new and it is just creative enough without going over the top.

At first I was a bit weary of this ad because I thought that it was going to go over the top but to my surprise it stopped when it hit the peak. Better yet, it stayed at that peak the whole way through and made for an excellent commercial overall. This is also true for the other commercial that debuted at the same time, which can be viewed here. I didn’t review that one because I felt like I have seen it before, yet it is a good commercial as well.

Even though I am too young to have seen the Tv shows that this ad was referring to, I was able to pick up on the link that they made to the three shows involving the ‘smart’ cars. This was no ordinary link they made, it was perfect due to the audience that this car will naturally appeal to and how that same audience will remember these shows from when they were first popular. The sheer creativity that this ad has in a 30 second package is amazing.

What is also amazing is that my age group and young kids will enjoy this ad as well. I am a fan because I love new technology, especially technology that is made available to the masses. Now that we get to see this technology in action is great and catches my attention.These ideas are finally made into reality and we are one step closer to being in that future time that Tv shows have been portraying for decades. And as for the younger kids, they will enjoy the simple story line that their parents, as well as mine, got to experience when they were younger. The remembrance factor is there for all ages.

Another aspect that I enjoy is how they showed off a simple technology, simple in terms of using it, in a simple way. Anyone who watched the last 10 seconds will see that dinner is only a push of a button and a sentence away. No more confusing GPS units that take forever to find their satellites and no more typing in the street address or searching for a restaurant. They made this device seem amazingly simple to use, if it actually is this simple to use is another story. Nonetheless, they made this device appealing to all ages, even the older ones who may not have a GPS already.

It is hard to not go on and on about how wonderfully simple this commercial is. The creativity was there, the remembrance was there, and the appeal was there. I have to give this a 10 out of 10. It is one of the few commercials that I wouldn’t mind watching again.

-Adam

Diet Snapple Half ‘n Half: Lemonade vs. Tea

Some of the simplest commercials can be the best ones on Tv. Let’s see if this one makes the cut.

We have all seen these types of ads where one feature is put up against another or a variation similar to that. This is especially true when we factor in the aspect of a company trying to make the common workplace not as common as we normally think. Going this route makes the ad very relatable to a lot of the viewers but the creativity is stifled. There is only so much that one can do in a workplace but with that said, this is a quality commercial.

Although it is a common commercial in many respects, it is fast paced with a touch of humor, which keeps a viewer’s attention until the last second. The two coworkers are going against each other with their choice constantly throughout the length of the ad, which makes it very hard for the viewer to not pay attention. This was the best approach to take considering it was a run-of-the-mill plot and for the most part it worked.

It is very hard to remember this commercial after viewing it which makes its overall meaning pointless. Snapple should have tried harder to make this commercial more exciting and different from the commercial that was shown after it. In lacking in terms of creativity and remembrance, they will lack in sales with their new product. The launch of a new product such as this one need to be in our face and exciting. The commercial needs to make me want to buy the new product. If I can’t remember the product and if I am not tempted to try out this product then the ad has failed in its primary goal of making me take the first step in buying.

Snapple is known for making decent commercials with a better than average ad every once in a while but unfortunately this falls into the category of decent but not great. The quality was there but every other aspect was missing in one way or another. With that said I will give this commercial a 4 out of 10. This commercial did not make the cut of simple but great, it was simply good.

-Adam

5 Gum: RPM

The guys over at Wrigley know how to make a good commercial and they know how to impress their viewers each and every time they make a new commercial.

I have always loved this ad series because they understand that since they are selling a type of candy they need to stress the experience the consumer is going to have while chewing on their gum. All of their commercials have done that and they have all done it in a new and different way that doesn’t bore the viewer.

The one thing that I noticed while watching this is that they are gearing the ad towards men in how it is an action commercial and the color of the room and effects that they used. I think that they could have geared it towards women as well because gum is gum and everyone loves a good piece of gum. Besides that, it is hard to call this a bad commercial.

The creativity is off the charts in how they wanted to present the experience that the consumer will feel after chewing on this relatively new gum line. Putting a person in a lab-like environment is not a new theme but what they are doing in the lab is what earns Wrigley the creativity points. I very much enjoyed how they went about showcasing the two different flavors with the two characteristics of the moving floor. Both parts complimented each other nicely and the transition between the two was seamless.

It is hard to talk about this commercial because it is just so perfect in every manner. The sequence of the ad was very well thought out with the introduction of the man getting ready to jump around, to the actual action part and then the falling action into conclusion of the man landing in the blue pillow-like floor while the narrator sums up the whole experience. I can’t wait to go out to the store and be able to experience this new flavor because by the looks of the ad it should be a great flavor. I have no problems with this ad besides their approach of aiming towards men only and with that I give this ad a 9 out of 10.

-Adam