Dave’s Take

Considering how much product is sold in the fourth quarter, it’s amazing to me how generally weak this year’s Christmas spots are. Maybe the majority of creative types are as burned out on the present economy as the rest of America. All I know is that 2009 holiday advertising has left little to talk about. With my disappointment clearly expressed, I now present my second part of the best and worst in holiday TV advertising.

Deserving of Santa’s Best:

1. Amazon Kindle: Great use of step frame editing. I like the playful attitude and catchy theme song. How much holiday advertising this sold-out product requires is debatable, but this campaign should help brand the product as fun and functional.

2. ESPN Sports Center: Okay, the latest amusing offering from ESPN is not technically a Christmas spot, but the sight of Arnold Palmer making an Arnold Palmer is too funny to not praise. ESPN has consistently produced funny ads. Here’s to hoping the trend continues in 2010.

3. Verizon: The accuracy of these Apple bashing spots may be up for debate, but their ability to amuse and attack at the same time is not. I especially like the broken toys spot. And judging from Apple’s response, they must be meeting their objectives.

Deserving Coal:

1. Kay Jewelers: Generally, I find the majority of jewelry ads to be mediocre at best, but the holiday Kay Jewelers ads are beyond bad. The worst one is the “Storm” ad, where a couple clutch each other as they watch a thunderstorm in their winter sweaters. First of all, a thunderstorm in December? Really? Secondly, get better copywriters and actors. The guy’s line about “I’ll always be here for you” is both melodramatic and poorly delivered. Next time, try some snow and competent talent. Why anyone would think of shopping in a Kay store after viewing this fiasco is well beyond me. (By the way, the Jared’s ads are almost as bad.)

2. AVATAR: Okay, while the reviews have been mixed on this $300 million flick, depending on whether the reviewer focused on the technology or the script, their ads need no debate – they suck. While they are running several different versions, they all feature the most over used line in the history of film, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” No kidding? I was under the impression that the entire mid-west is infested with blue-skinned fairies shooting bows and arrows. If this movie proves to be the blockbuster it looks to be, James Cameron should be praised not for technological advances in film production, but for his ability to overcome a horrible ad campaign.

3. Pharmaceutical Ads: Whether it’s for men’s sexuality, restless legs or female bone degeneration, drug ads have got to be stopped. It’s a wonder how we all got by not knowing the brand names of drugs to ask for prior to the ruling that allowed these predatory ads to air. While most don’t feature a Christmas theme, they all need to be eliminated from the public airways. Let’s not forget, Santa is not licensed to fill our stockings with prescription drugs – bummer!

Here’s to hoping 2010 brings a stronger economy to all and better creative to holiday campaigns. Happy holidays and may your New Year bring you health and happiness.

It’s that special time of the year, when ads ranging from brilliant to horrible invade our TV viewing. In keeping with the holiday spirit, I thought I would share part one of my naughty and nice TV ads list. First, the nice ads — I find these spots both fun and effective for their clients:

1. Radio Shack: Last year, Radio Shack witnessed its stock price drop almost 60%, motivating its brain trust to fire their old agency and bring some new blood on board. Now rebranded The Shack, by Radio Shack’s new broadcast agency, Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, their holiday TV ads are a bold change from their previous predictable offerings. With Circuit City a mere memory, The Shack thinks the retail electronics door is wide open. While I love their new ads, I don’t believe they offer enough to make them a player again. When was the last time you shopped at The Shack? Still, they are doing as much as they can with what they’ve got and I really dig the I’ve Got a Laptop spot – grade: B+

2. Target Stores: Their new holiday offerings are produced by their in-house agency based in Minnesota and are a successful blend of humor and price point branding. I think they are consistently creative with their TV campaigns and this year doesn’t disappoint — grade: A-

3. Identity Guard: While I have no real use for their service, I must admit that I find their TV ads amusing and to the point. With ads like “Sandals”, their agency, SmithGifford has combined a unique blend of humor and hysteria that gives the viewer a jaded, yet somewhat realistic view of how some online purchases can be usurped by the bad guys — grade: B+

Now, time to name a few campaigns that I find both ineffective and hard to watch:

1. Geico: Talk about schizophrenic! Geico Insurance has produced some of the most creative and at the same time, the most horrendous ad campaigns in the history of television. Since they do not employ sales agents, Geico is totally dependent upon TV ads to sell their product. What kind of research they compile that directs them to splinter their brand in so many different directions is beyond me, but apparently it must work (judging by their frequency). In any event, I find their latest effort featuring the clueless boss to be among their worst, ever. Grade: F

2. Cadillac: First, allow me to disclose that I drive a CTS, but wouldn’t have if I had to glean my desire from their latest and most frequent batch of TV ads. While their rebranding efforts have lowered the average age of a Caddy driver from their 70’s to their mid-50’s, I’ve had enough with the “we’re all so hip” spots. Not only is the message redundant, but they play so often it appears GMC has dropped all other vehicle advertising and is a now one car shop. Stop the madness now — Grade: D

3. Levis: Despite the critical acclaim given to these spots from egocentric film makers, I find the Levis’ Go Forth ads pretentious and off-target. These are the kind of ads directors win awards for and clients go broke over. The handheld MOS shots of half-dressed twenty somethings running around in bad lighting is silly at best and head splitting at worst. How they expect these inept Fellini wannabes to move jeans is beyond me. Is is too much to ask a pants ad to actually show the product? Grade: D-

These are the first part of my holiday TV ad review. If you have any favorites or haters, please feel free to forward them on to me. I’ll post my second part review next week. Until then, happy holidays and may your TV ads always be entertaining.

Despite the encouraging signs that the ad business may finally be on the uptick, the news for magazine and newspaper publishers continues to be abysmal. Many publications are fighting for their lives with no real hope on the horizon. Their business model has been undercut by the immediacy and no charge aspects of the Internet, for which few see a solution – until now. With the promised new wave of tablet computers about to hit stores, publishers may have finally found a way to make their publications relevant again.

The new tablet laptops are rumored to begin going on sale as early as January of next year, with Apple’s offerings leading the pack. Mac’s new tablet is, according to industry insiders, to be based upon its iPhone operating system. Early reports depict the Apple 10” tablet as having six times the resolution and seven times the touchable surface area as their iPhones currently offer. They will supposedly feature at least two different versions, 3G and regular.

The big news for publishers about tablets is content. Apple (among other computer makers) has created a distribution model that will allow newspaper and magazine publishers to actually make money on their content. While the details are sketchy, the plan is to license content from providers across the board. In addition to fees for editorial and news content, the new tablets will also provide a host of new features only dreamed about with previous print projects.

Sports Illustrated has jumped onboard and is so excited about the new platforms that they have created a video on their website that touts how cool their tablet content will be for readers. In addition to their printed version, S.I. interactive will offer features sure to please any sports fan. Think how much better (if it’s possible) the swimsuit issue will be when you can click on video footage of the shoot. For actual games, the sites will allow fans to interact with their teams. Pulling live game stats and checking for up to the minute injuries are just a couple of the state-of-the-art possibilities soon to be available. And while all types of applications will be available, S.I. will still remain in control of their product. “We want a hand in all that, because that’s what we think people will pay for,” said Terry McDonell, editor of the Sports Illustrated Group.

Spokespeople for other publishers including Time and Conde Nast have also voiced their optimism for the new possibilities offered by tablets. They see numerous applications that will generate profits, including interactive advertising. Editors envision ads that will allow readers the ability to download coupons and other premiums with the press of a button to shake up the malaise print ads have suffered. Subscription drop cards will become a thing of the past when all one has to do is click on an icon to receive a publication into their in-box on a regular basis.

The new wave of digital storefronts aren’t expected to really get kicking until the second half of 2010, when up to five different manufacturers are expected to release tablet type laptops. Early guesses on the Macintosh tablet put the price somewhere near the $1,200 price point, which will surely drop when the competition heats up. Not only will news and magazine publishers benefit from the new platforms in terms of revenue, but readers will also have the chance to rediscover their favorite magazines and newspapers in a whole new way. Anyway you look at it, these are just the tablets the doctor ordered.

I’ve commented before about the negligible significance of social media in society; how Facebook, Twitter and all the rest are fun diversions, but serve little purpose in daily life. But now it appears that social networking sites have evolved to the point where they can finally offer society some tangible benefits. While they might not offer a cure for cancer, they can now help the American consumer with personal issues.

Led by national retail giant Best Buy, businesses are at long last embracing the immediacy of social sites to solve problems rather than to spin corporate advertising. Best Buy started a pilot program over six months ago that empowers their employees to interact with customers directly via Twitter and Facebook in dealing with product and store service inquiries. Since its inception, the Best Buy program has grown to include over 2,200 employees who are screened and instructed on how to best assist their customers.

And the customers are utilizing the new interactive avenue to the tune of over 15,000 regular “followers”. People are beginning to understand how they can communicate via Tweets to better their shopping experience. From product availability to pricing and delivery issues, consumers can now communicate directly with a store employee who will provide answers spontaneously. The Best Buy employees can accomplish this by referring the customer to a specific section of their website, sending them to a manufacturer’s site, or point them to a demo or ad link.

These new avenues of customer communication provide several advantages to their sponsors – mainly in brand loyalty and in reinforcing media direction and placement. This valuable feedback tells retailers how effective their media message is in regards to reaching the masses in a meaningful way. Clearly, if they keep getting bombarded with price or availability questions, they know it’s time to change their message. On the other hand, if customers share service complaints, etc. they know their employee training programs need some serious revamping.

Regardless of specific issues, consumers obviously like the immediacy of the program. A recent Nielson study discovered that nearly two-thirds of Twitter brand accounts deal with some level of customer service. Big players like Southwest Airlines, Comcast and Patagonia are all jumping into the social media customer service arena. They are now beginning to realize, like the rest of us, that social networking is finally beginning to serve a purpose other than wasting our time.