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Viral Video Ad Round-Up: May 17th, 2012

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

P&G London 2012 Olympic Games Film | Best Job

This heartfelt ad for Proctor & Gamble rolled out a few timely weeks before Mothers Day, receiving steady interest and heavy shares until grabbing the top spot on the viral video ads chart almost two weeks ago and holding on tighter than a goodbye hug. It currently has over 7 million views and is still receiving more than 600 shares a day. Talk about tent-pole. How many people skipped the card this year and sent their mom this ad instead?

The P & G products play second fiddle to the sound of your heartstrings as you watch dedicated, loving mothers around the world gently wake their children, help them get to school and practice, cheer them on, make them dinner and, of course, do some clean-up. The dishes and laundry are just part of the job. Rather than thinking about the product they use to scrub, we’re thinking of a mother’s kindness and our own gratitude. Proctor & Gamble sells them some soap, but these women create Olympic athletes.

Applaud goes to Weiden + Kennedy for creating one helluva an ad.

Radio Klassisk | Flash Mob in the Copenhagen Metro

They sound scary. That’s the funny part. If your grandma heard that you’d run into a “flash mob,” she’d ask if you were okay and offer to make you dinner. Then again, the concept of grandmas these days is changing faster than I can type so I could be wrong. Maybe she was part of a Thriller mob just last week.

But I digress. This is the one kind of mob that you’re actually jealous you missed. Who doesn’t hope for a group of strangers to press pause on their day and break the monotony with an unexpected choreographed dance number, curious social experiment or philharmonic performance of Griegs Peer Gynt on your train to work? The 2 million people sharing this ad for Denmark’s Radio Klassisk are no doubt saying to each other “How cool is this? I wish I’d been there! I hope some day I see a flash mob live!” They’re also subtly reminded of how beautiful and mood altering a classical piece can be through the reaction of the metro passengers and of themselves.

StopTheTraffik.org – Girls going wild in red light district

This PSA from StopTheTraffic.org was all about the surprise ending. Like a flashmob, there is an unexpected element from the beginning and the passerbys as drawn are into a dance number by the sexy red light district girls in the window. A heavy dubstep track plays from the shop as the girls pop, lock, shake and coordinate like they’re in a store selling Marquese Scott clones. Every one in the crowd (of mostly men) is smiling and in awe. The women in windows above act as though they’re holding the puppet strings of the dancers below and as the dance comes to an end, the crowd that has now filled the street claps and whistles.

Then the message: “Every year thousands of women are promised a dance career in Western Europe. Sadly, they end up here.” In other words: These girls had dreams, you jerks. Don’t encourage the nightmare. Stop the traffic.

Samuel Jackson iPhone 4S/Siri commercial (HD)

Siri is the most harassed woman in tech. She fetches you information while you drive or perform surgery or whatever it is you do and how do you repay her? By testing her patience with curse words or a ridiculous game of 20 questions while repeatedly proving how little she’s actually capable of. But who could blame you?

Apple is desperate to convince you that you love Siri. She’s like the little sister you never wanted! She’ll do all your chores! She does call you “Rock God“ after all …

So to follow-up the highly spoofed “Rock God” iPhone 4S ad, Apple predictably enlisted two of the most beloved celebrities in current pop culture, Zooey Deschanel (if you like that sort of thing) and Samuel L. motherf*$@in’ Jackson. The latter of which especially seems like a guaranteed win, but alas, Apple killed it. No, not that good kind of killed it. The other one. Yeah, like ruined.

What is this soft side of Samuel? Date night and fancy mushrooms? Both ads fall flat. Zooey is annoying. Did she really just ask Siri the weather while looking at the rain outside? And who wants a square Sam? Neither commercial portrays anything new about the Siri service. Instead, they make it look pretty ridiculous and unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, Siri is a cool convenience, but if these ads are Apple’s way of showing how useful she can be, I’ll take the Google glasses any day.

Sauza Tequila – Make it with a Fireman

Make what with a fireman…? Margaritas? Oh. Yeah, that’s what we were hoping. Sauza made this one especially for the ladies and we’ve got to admit, it’s some extremely successful pandering.

You’ve got a burly, fireman with a kitten. He wants to rub your feet or go antiquing - whichever you prefer. He says he’ll help you “relive that summer in Paris.” He says kittens make everything better (and this one is especially cute and has a beret). He also happens to have a very simple, so simple you’re pretty sure you can remember it, mouthwatering recipe for margaritas. And he wants you to call him.

It would be over the top except that the whole thing is very tongue-in-cheek. Especially the bit about jeggings. He’s just the kind of man that doesn’t exist. And it’s just enough to make you want a drink. Bad. The ladies in the office would tell you, except they just went out for margarita fixins.

Roller Kingdom, Reno NV by Rhett & Link – Say NO to Crack, Say YES! to Roller Skating

Self-titled “Commercial Kings” Rhett & Link are back. Of course, they didn’t really go anywhere and have continues cracking us up on YouTube regularly, but they’ve returned to their marketing roots, once again making ads for obscure businesses. This video for a roller skating facility in Reno features the duo as thugs, backing up some geriatric drug dealers trying to lure kids to the dark side. Also deifnitely worth checking out is this one called “Black and white people furniture” Red House Furniture. Our favorite part is that the comedy duo are able to make these commercials pro-bono via MicroBilt and www.ilovelocalcommercials.com where anyone can nominate their favorite local business.

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: April 17, 2012

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

There’s no argument over the most viral branded video of the past few weeks: Google’s “Project Glass: One day …” has racked up a million views for every day it has lived on the Internet, igniting a wildfire of techie-dream-buzz and a boatload of ~~much more entertaining~~ spoofs. That being said, if you’ve found this blog, you’ve seen that ad. Any day now, you’ll be talking to your Google glasses while your Google car drives itself to whatever monitor you get paid to search Google on. Meanwhile, for entertainment’s sake, we’re going to forge ahead to the rest of last month’s note-worthy viral advertisments.

Neistat for Nike – Make It Count:

Director, film-maker, TV star, educator, man of the people, whistle-blower … There isn’t a hat that New York’s Casey Neistat can’t wear. Most recently, he’s added rogue advertiser to the talent collection, taking Nike’s Fuel Band for a trip around the world. The Nike brand invited Neistat to the Fuel Band’s star-studded launch event and approached him soon afterwards to create a movie/advertisement for their newest product.

Neistate took the Fuel Band’s tagline “Life is a sport. Make it count.” to heart and used Nike’s ad funding to embody their motto by spending it all on 10 days worth of world travel with his pal. The result is a pretty montage of famous destinations and quotations in the spirit of “Carpe Diem.”

The main attribute of Neistate’s viral success was his own claim that he’d gone rogue on Nike’s dime. It’s a twist that benefits both the brand and the film-maker. I don’t think Neistate was deviating far from Nike’s original intention: a video showing “what ‘Life is a Sport, Make It Count’ means,” but with this angle Niestate owns the video effectively more than Nike does and keeps his rogue reputation.

safersex4seniors.org PSA - Safe Sex for Seniors:

Little known fact: The elderly are straight up hedonists. Okay, maybe you knew that. Old age is a permission slip for all the Ferris Bueller-esque antics you may have passed up for weary responsibilities in your past, but the free-for-all is getting out of hand in senior communities and meccas like Florida where the rate of STD infection has risen 71%.

This Safe Sex for Seniors PSA doesn’t shy away from the topic of old people having sex. In fact, it gives us tantric visuals. There are many ways to do it, says the script as your pappy is taking granny like a wheelbarrow, but only one safe way. Seniors, they remind us, aren’t exempt from using condoms. While the ad borders on shock, it also leans towards hilarious, which has undoubtedly helped this video rise to the top of Unruly’s viral chart in less than a week.

Nintendo 3DS - Joel Mchale Goes Viral:

Everyone’s talking about viral videos, (including us). Watching them, sharing them, talking about them and as often as possible, making them. Nintendo has been paying attention. They’re last attempt at virality, the 100-year old woman who swears by her Nintendo DS did fairly well as a seemingly organic video documenting a supposedly real story, but this time they’re aiming for success head-on with a star at the helm.

Joel McHale plays a very meta-marketing tool in the ad and explains to Nintendo how this whole viral thing works. He needs baby pandas and an intern to punch in the gut. “If I’m gonna do a commercial, I don’t want it to feel like a commercial” he says before bringing in the branded banners, bikini babes and life sized Mario and Luigi. Subtle, Winger.

AMC – A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square:

People are watching less television, opting out of more ads and becoming increasingly critical of the marketing being shoved in their faces on a daily basis. In turn, advertisers are getting more creative, not only through viral campaigns but also via the most in-your-face marketing of all – publicity stunts. I was a huge fan of last month’s Generous Store from Anthony Berg and this month AMC has joined in on the fun with an over-the-top drama-filled stunt “in a quiet square.”

Passerbys were lured by a big red button that said “Push for more drama” and as soon as they took the bait, the antics began. Helicopters, hold-ups, motorcycles, ambulances, babes of both genders all flood into the scene as if every show on AMC started convulsing and multiplying right then and there.

A good publicity stunt is a two-for these days because not only can it garner word of mouth and organic press, but the video can easily go viral as well and who needs a commercial when you’ve got all that?

Coke – Hug Me Machine:

Speaking of publicity stunts, we enjoyed this one as well. There isn’t a ton to be said about it: It’s a Coke machine that dispenses free sodas when you give it a hug. (Hopefully it’s being sanitized regularly). But it’s worth a write-up because its simplicity is genius. It’s perfect for Coca-Cola’s friendly, ubiquitous branding. People have been having “a Coke and a smile,” while holding hands and singing kumbaya across the globe since the Mad Men days and this little gimmick actually gets people to hug the brand. I mean, really? People wouldn’t have the same giggles hugging a DVD dispenser. Coke wins again.

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: March 19, 2012

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Vytautas Mineral Water – It’s Earth’s Juice!

It’s really pretty difficult to make a good advertisement for H2O. We’ve seen the purity of the “natural, mountain sources” almost as often as we’ve seen the lips of models break into smiles as they’re refreshed by a bottle of stolen Fijian resources. But the most limited of resources seemed to be marketing ideas for the world’s most ubiquitous commodity … UNTIL NOW!

This ad for Vytautas Lithuanian mineral water oversells the crap out of water. Literally. It tells you their water is “poop-less,” unmarred by fish or bird feces, squeezed directly from Earth itself, so enriched with sparkling, pure minerals that it will allow consumers to digest leather coats and sandwiches made from iPads! This water is so hilariously in-your-face that by the end of the ad all I wanted to do was joke about wild animals in space and YELL. OUT. EVERYTHING!!! (In the fashion of the insane narrator). AND I DIIIID!!! ALL! DAY! This was the most viral ad of the week and, according to AdWeek, was the brainchild of some ~~silly~~ genius university students. Lithuania FTW.

Zoo York – Kate Upton Takes Zoo York

This is officially the last time I will write about Kate Upton (I hope). If you have somehow avoided her boobs until now, she is this year’s Sport’s Illustrated Swimsuit Edition covergirl, she’s done a series of Carl’s Jr. spots that make you hungry for much more than a burger, and this week her boobs went viral yet again in this Zoo York ad for … clothes or something?

A couple of gnarly cockroaches are chatting on the dumpster (sounds like the beginning of a good joke). One is talking about the approaching skateboards (oh, that’s right, there were skateboards in the ad! Maybe it’s for skate gear?) and the other is transfixed on, you guessed it, Kate Upton’s boobs.

They think they’re talking about the same thing until the dirtier of the two is so distracted he gets crushed by a skate trick. The foul-mouthed cockroaches got the ad banned from prime-time TV which, of course, significantly upped its online shares. It was a clever commercial for something-or-other but with that being said, I’m ready for a new it-girl any day now … Like maybe one who speaks?

Old Navy – Best T Infomercial

This ad for Old Navy’s new t-shirt line ‘Best Tees’ takes the infomercial format to hilariously hyperbolic new heights. It’s also surprisingly effective at selling the product. Like, I want one … Now.

First they got the “best T ever: Mr. T” (a.k.a B.A. Baracus, a.k.a How does this guy go out in public? a.k.a. Mr. T will do your commercial too) to sell t-shirts and make bad puns with all the intensity he once used to mangle bad guys. Then comes comedian/actress Anna Faris to demonstrate how Old Navy’s Best T’s have changed her from a “dillweed” to a cake-and-meat making sweetheart. While the jokes are definitely cheesy, they are also plentiful and perfectly-timed to make this ad so over the top that it is actually pretty darn funny.

On top of all that, you’ve got an infomercial-simple product that everyone wants but that really is a headache to buy (not that my shirts get caught in drawers or anything) and Old Navy does an excellent job selling us on theirs.

Red Bull – Jesus

Getting a commercial banned from television is a pretty fail-proof viral mechanism, but the verdict is still out on blasphemy as a selling technique. Red Bull, thanks to their ‘our-sugar-juice “gives you wings” motto, is no stranger to walking to biblical line in their ads. It was only a matter of time before they crossed it (pun intended). This ad is another one of their low-budget cartoons which features a bored Jesus out on a boat fishing with some plebes or prophets or something. You’d think it’s the Red Bull that enables Jesus to step out of the boat and flit across the water, but you’d be wrong. Jesus doesn’t need Red Bull. “It’s no miracle,” says cartoon Jesus, “you just have to know where the stepping stones are.” Ouch.

Meant for South African viewers, the ad has gotten plenty of free international press as well as international upheaval from Christian and Muslim organizations. Only Red Bull can decide if the controversy and public apology are worth it, but in the world of capitalism, there is only one faith and that’s marketing. View counts will be the judge.

CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention) – Tips From Former Smokers

Amid the spoofs and boobs on the Internet this week was one serious and sad string of anti-smoking PSAs from the CDC. Each spot features one former smokers message: a mother and her asthma-riddled child, a cancer patient getting ready in the morning, a father after a heart-attack. They don’t point to big tobacco companies, they don’t claim to be victims. They very simply lay out the reality they now live in because of their decisions and they give the viewer suggestions to avoid making their same mistakes.

The anthem ad features a handfull of ex-smokers doing every-day tasks like showering, shaving, gardening, shopping and painting the house except that each of them has a surgical stoma implant in their necks that they have to use to breathe and speak. Now, when performing every-day tasks, they also have to avoid getting water in their throat or having food come back up and they give these glimpses into their life as tips to viewers who may or may not be headed in the same direction. Because of their condition, most of us don’t often encounter stoma users in our own every day lives and so seeing them in theirs makes for a very effective reality check.

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: March 12, 2012

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Dollar Shave Club – Our Blades Are F***ing Great

We cannot tell you how many times we’ve cursed the razor-and-blade sales racket through the hygiene aisle of the supermarket. The number is too great and so are the expletives.

That’s why this ad from brand-new online service Dollar Shave Club is viral not only for its Old Spice-esque sense of humor, but also for its on-point critique of the current state of shaving services. “Do you think your razor blade needs a vibrating handle, a flashlight, a scratcher and 10 blades? Your handsome-ass grandfather had one blade and polio,” Mike Dubin says in his hilarious matter-of-fact sales pitch. TIME magazine informed us that Dubin has a background in digital marketing and was also a part of the comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. He’s a one-man dream team for viral success.
The spot is filmed in the supposed Dollar Shave Club warehouse where Dubin introduces himself to viewers in front of an entire wall of dollar toys and crap. He catches our attention by telling us their blades aren’t good – (pause for dramatic effect) – they’re f***ing great. From there, Mike’s pitch includes a couple of unsuccessful attempts at using office supplies for effect, a toddler giving a shave, a dancing bear and an endearing female employee who Dubin refers to repeatedly as Alejandro. Oh and let’s not forget the dollar dance party at the end there. Go ahead and laugh for yourself:

Invisible Children – KONY 2012

While the Dollar Shave Club was the funniest viral video this week, its 3 million views are chump change in comparison to the 50 million views on the somber ad KONY 2012 from the non-profit activist group Invisible Children. The video was intended to make Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony infamous worldwide for his criminal activities exploiting and killing Ugandan children. At the rate at which the ad has been seen and spread, the effort was no doubt successful.

Millions of people now know a little bit more about Uganda and its plight, but do they know the whole story? The Invisible Children campaign also generated a fast and forceful backlash, attacking their financial accountability, their over-simplified portrayal of Uganda’s government and struggles as well as their violin-and-heart-string video itself, playing on viewers lack of understanding and leading them to believe that simply spreading the video is doing the cause justice.
It is not a black and white issue … except that it is. Well-intentioned western aid has been known to do more harm than good and it is a huge mistake to see any African country as helpless and in need of saving. On the other hand, as the video spread, so did the discussion of its merits or lack thereof. This article from The Atlantic points out how wonderful that arena for discussion truly is and in that light, it is undeniable that KONY 2012 is a very successful use of social media in advertising.

International OCD Foundation – Case Study

We take you now from a 30-minute effort to enlighten, to quite possibly the most effective 1-second ad ever made. The International OCD Foundation, rather than explaining the effects of obsessive-compulsive disorder at length, used a 1-second text-only ad to demonstrate the frustrations people with OCD experience first hand. The ad is too short to read in one viewing so, as the title explains (and even challenges) “You may have to press play more than once …”

In a culture where obsessive-compulsive disorder is often used in jest, teasing your mother who insists on color-coding her spice rack or used to apologetically explain your need to have every pen in the office cup pointed downward, the OCD Foundation chose to take just one of the more serious symptoms of the disorder and make viewers experience a bit of that frustration themselves. Of course we all pressed pause, but it still took a couple views to do that and, well, you get the point. The ad cost practically nothing to produce but garnered plenty of attention due to its unique, user-focused approach.

GQ – British Comedy Special

Paul Rudd, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Ken Jeong, Robin Williams and … well, we could’ve sworn there were some British comedians somewhere in this funny, little trailer for the upcoming GQ magazine UK Comedy Special.

Regardless (oh! Ricky Gervais! There’s one), the gaggle of funny celebrities combining silly sounds and funny faces into a (pretty darned good) iPad beatbox is fun enough for repeat viewings (and listenings). Combine that with Olivia Wilde shaking her own boobs as though they’re talking and now this video has been seen by men the world over. It’s too bad that Wilde’s boobs are the only female featured in the Comedy Special, but that’s our only gripe with what is otherwise a unique and creative viral commercial.

Converse – Do Ya Thing

Through product placement and beloved brand sentiment, Converse has made their shoes a timeless wardrobe staple that appears will never loose their cool. At this point, the brand barely needs to advertise as it seems like they do just fine putting out a few new styles and prints to covet in the windows of Foot Locker every month.

This ad isn’t even an ad really, it’s well-produced, fun to watch music video for the cartoon hip hop group The Gorillaz, who also seem to do no wrong. There are a couple sightings of the shoe here and there as well as one prominent shoe to the head scene, but there’s also so much going on in the video with the characters, the cameos (Andre 3000 is a main player) and the crap strewn about (including a few monsters and a bowl full of ears) that the brand is not overt. The Gorrilaz are so popular, and their work is so anticipated, that Converse got their name in not only advertising press but music news as well, with thousands of fans enjoying their ad.

Viral Video Ad Weekly Round-Up: March 5, 2012

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Mercedes-Benz – Invisible

Not all publicity stunts are created equal. Often times, attempts at organic press coverage confuse potential customers more than lure them, usually because the marketer’s message is lost in the mess of the stunt. Whether Mercedes’ invisible car will help sell the brand’s new fuel-cell, electric vehicle is yet to be seen, but the message is decidedly effective. Their point? The new fuel-cell vehicle from Mercedes leaves no trace, has no impact on the environment and is therefore invisible as far as the planet is concerned. Granted, there are some gaping holes in their logic, but covering the car in camera-equipped LED lights so as to mask it in the image of its surroundings is nevertheless a memorable message speaking to sustainability as well as modernity. The German automaker spent a week around the country engaging the public in this mobile message and since Saturday the ad has already tracked over a million views.

The Guardian – Three Little Pigs

You’ve got a British news source that has been in publication since the 19th century. You’ve got a fable as old as time itself. And then you’ve got this week’s brilliant viral advert combining the two into something entirely new. For years now The Guardian, like many other standard print publications, has been reporting earnings losses, so it thrills us to see them taking this creative, incredibly effective approach illustrating the evolution of news and their role in the news of the future. In the ad, The Guardian reports, online and in print, the murder of the Big Bad Wolf. Social media allows citizens to chime in on the case with opinions, observations and even new information and the story changes before our eyes from three innocent pigs defending themselves to a foreclosure scandal in which the wolf was framed. Coverage combined with national debate spark citizen dissent and riots, all the while the ever-present news source is involved and informative, engaging its readers to be a part of the news and see all sides of the story. It appears that perhaps we’ve been hearing the story of the three little pigs from a less-than reliable source.

Kia Optima – Dunkology

Will Ferrell and the team behind Funny or Die have been bottling up their viral magic and selling it like hot cakes to brands like K-Swiss, Denny’s and Pepsi. The site is becoming a major player in creating one of the few forms of marketing anyone cares about anymore: viral advertisements. With this week’s Dunkology ad and subsequent interview (is that a two-for-one price, FOD?) Kia joined the list of viral brands on the web’s top comedy source. Jeff Goldblum is obviously someone to trust, especially when wearing a lab coat (sometimes I think Jeff Goldblum was born in a lab coat) and since he is now an expert in “dunkology,” it makes perfect sense that basketball star Blake Griffin would take part in a stunt where a Kia drives over his head (sort of) to dunk a basketball. Dunkology 101. The ad is funny, but the post-stunt interview with comedian Wyatt Cenac is hilarious. Links to Funny Or Die below:
Kia Optima Dunk
Post-Dunk Interview

Carl’s Jr – Drive-In

Okay … Let’s see … What is there to say about the new Carl’s Jr. ad featuring Kate Upton? You see this photo here? It’s even hotter than that. It has something to do with a spicy burger. Yeah, that’s it. There’s a burger and there’s some jalapeños and it’s so spicy that this year’s Sports Illustrated cover model gets all sweaty (in the attractive way, of course, not the real-life way) and writhes around in her convertible while eliciting stares at the drive-in. She takes clothes off, we watch over and over. I thought videos of this nature weren’t allowed on YouTube, but Carl’s Jr. must have found a loophole. Sexiest. Burger. Ever.

Bamboo Sushi – The Story of Sushi

‘The Story of Sushi’ is an artisan advertisement. Part PSA, part self-promotion, this tale about the state of the world’s fishing industry took 7 months to create and produce. Feature length Hollywood films are done in less. The miniatures were all crafted by hand specifically for this advertisement for Portland’s Bamboo Sushi. Nothing gets the slow-food message across like a painstaking production process. We saw a similar throw-back approach with the stop-action video ‘The Joy of Books’ from Toronto’s Type bookstore, romanticizing our connection to pages and stories, and they too received lots of attention (not to mention 3 million views) for their heartwarming viral ad. ‘The Story of Sushi,’ however, is less heartwarming than it is alarming and informative. It is an attempt to wake consumers up from eating in ignorance and consider the source of their seafood. The problem is, few of us know anything about how the fish we eat was caught, but that is also why this restaurant’s message works so well. Because at the very least, we now know that we should care, that Bamboo Sushi cares and that their tables can be trusted. The time spent on this production was absolutely worth it. We wouldn’t be surprised to find ‘The Story of Sushi on next year’s TED compilation of Ads Worth Spreading.

The Story of Sushi from Bamboo Sushi on Vimeo.

Viral Video Ad Weekly Round-Up: February 27, 2012

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Audio-Technica – “Audio 911”

Audio-Technica knew what they were doing when they brought in Marquese “NonStop” Scott for their Solid Bass headphones ad. The brand is a perfect match for the dance phenomenon whose Pumped Up Kicks Dubstep video has over 35 million YouTube views. Scott and his dancing have already been featured on the Ellen Show and CBS but it was only natural for NonStop to team up with a bass heavy brand like Audio-Technica. We like how subtly and cleverly the brand is used in the Audio 911 commercial. The headphones are perfect as a spoof defibrillator in the E.R., but it’s the music (dubstep to be precise) that is needed to bring Marquese back to life after having “no beat” left in his body. At over 3.5 minutes, this advertisement is meant for the web. There’s a clever introductory plot, but the focus of the video is on Marquese Scott’s dancing, a smart move considering that’s what has made him a success. One YouTube comment sums it up: “Wow, I didn’t even know this was a commercial.”

Dallas ADDYs 2012 – “The Mural”

There was a whole series of ads for this year’s Dallas ADDY awards, each one hilariously “ad obsessed.” It’s not surprising that the advertisements for an ad industry award show were entirely on point, but Dallas outdid themselves. Take a look for yourself at the array of disturbing depictions of our fellow advertising minds here.

We had to narrow it down however and the dad in “The Mural” is just too good … Or too wrong might be more like it. A mom finds her adorable toddler scribbling an interpretive masterpiece on the wall. When daddy comes in the room, we expect him to be peeved about the mess but, while the father is definitely disappointed, he isn’t upset about the wall. He approaches the child seriously, berating his sloppiness and lack of talent at 4 years old. The poor boy loves his daddy but, alas, has no knowledge of print advertising concerns like kerning, ligature, and typeface and so the intensely sarcastic father is sure his son has no future. “Keep it up and you’ll end up a copywriter,” he says. Ouch.

Another gem from the series is “The Sneeze.” It’s a straightforward depiction of a an ad-obsessed woman who desperately needs a tissue (we repeat, desperately) but the only paper she has is a napkin with mock-up notes scribbled all over. She continues to ride the bus, committed as she is, with snot dripping down past her mouth.

Hyundai Azera – “Modern Life”

Hyundai played it pretty low key for the Super Bowl this year. Their Rocky themed ad didn’t receive much attention at all after Chevy, Honda, Kia and Volkswagen pulled out all the stops. This leads us to believe that rather than get lost in the circus of Super Bowl spots, Hyundai waited in the wings for a far less expected Academy Awards debut. They produced a clever and colorful pair of ads for Oscar night that beloved director Wes Anderson shot for the brand. The spots would have been underappreciated by a football audience but they’ve instead been applauded by the film-loving crowd of the Oscars. Both are beautifully shot in the director’s signature style. In “Modern Life,” Anderson’s uses his knack for scenes of perfectly orchestrated chaos to depict a father trying to prepare what looks like a five-course dinner in a house full of rambunctious kids and retro clutter. His wife calmly gives him instructions over the phone whilst a brood of creative children bang drums, slam doors and run around dressed like it’s Halloween. Pan to the serene driveway setting just outside where mom is relaxing in her Azera, pretending to be stuck in traffic as Hyundai muses that they may have made the new car a little too comfortable.

“Talk To My Car” is everything Anderson. We see all of the retro colors, childhood scenery and chopped-up-doll-house camera work for which Anderson is known. Classic imaginary machines like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s flying contraption, an underwater craft that also serves as a nod to Life Aquatic and a Knight Rider knockoff each play a part in this kitschy commercial for Hyundai’s Blue Link technology that allows drivers to live the dream and finally talk to our cars.

Miracle Whip – “The Village”

We think this brand’s self-aware approach to changing consumer opinion is the best way to go. The ad is a literary spoof on the Scarlett Letter, using the well-known fact that Miracle Whip lovers are often forced to be ashamed of their brand loyalty. Miracle Whip is a brand who doesn’t take themselves too seriously. After Stephen Colbert dissed the sweet and tangy mayo alternative, they bought every ad slot during an episode as if to say “We will not be ignored.” In their Oscar ad debut, Miracle Whip urges viewers to “keep an open mouth” but they also spark up the decades old debate over the differences between mayonaisse and Miracle Whip which is just as successful a tactic. So I could sit here and defend Miracle Whip for the ways it pairs with avocado and bologna like no other, but why fight with you, stubborn, judgmental, fatty-mayo-lover … when I could be at lunch?

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