Nissan Leaf: the best car commercial ever? That's a stretch... but still.

I apologize, but I'm obsessed with this ad. I felt tears when I watched it which is embarrassing, I know. Regardless, I think what's so great about this commercial is that you don't realize it's for a car until literally the very end. The entire time you're feeling sorry for the beautiful polar bear whose habitat is rapidly decreasing and who is so obviously out of place and lonely in the industrialized digital world. Additionally, I think when approaching environmental communication it's often times a mistake to obviously chastise or threaten the audience into making the green choice as it puts the viewer on the defensive. However in this case the way the commercial is shot makes it natural and easy to feel sympathetic for the bear so that when he gets up and gives a giant hug to the Nissan Leaf driver you feel happy and relieved, like there's a little bit of hope left for our environment: The Leaf. Which, of course, is exactly what Nissan is trying to achieve.



And here is how TBWA\Chiat\Day made of the commercial, if you're interested.

ENOUGH with the insurance mascots

I'm about to throw my computer at the television as I've just seen another horrendously unimaginative insurance website commercial that has just jumped on the compare-the-meerkat-success-bandwagon. I mean at this point it's honestly getting ridiculous. Between the meerkat, the singing Italian with the unfortunate mustache, Omid Djalili, the Confused people with the crazy hair, and the scooting phone and mouse is there really space in Adland for another freaking mascot selling insurance? Seems like the company Green Flag thinks so with their silly green ant who claims "we might not be the biggest, but by jingo, we're determined to be the best" while marching in a green ant parade - horrendous. The complete lack of creativity and obvious idea-stealing is really what frustrates me. That and the fact that these companies seem to have bought an aggressive amount of air time; they're always on. Frankly, I think all of them, including the original meerkat which has been very successful, are stolen from Geico, the American insurance company who used a geko to sell insurance for years. The geko asked you to stop confusing him with Geico as he was just a simple reptile, not an insurer. Sounds suspiciously like the meerkat ad, right? I'll stop ranting now. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

An original Geico car insurance commercial from 1999.

White and ReWrite but whatever you do, don't make the hunter shoot the bear!

Just in time for back to school, Tipp-Ex has done an interactive YouTube campaign that lets you rewrite this story. It's a fun little piece of social media that is easily shareable and will occupy you for a good five minutes or so. I don't know how strongly this reinforces the Tipp-Ex brand however... I would've probably displayed their strap line "white and rewrite" in a much more obvious fashion but nevertheless this is one of the more creative bits I've seen out there recently.

Have a play!

Cheeky Radox Shower Smoothies

I love smoothies and I have to say I was pulled into this ad when I first saw it. A very creative product name and a cheeky ad (they mention bum cheeks!) to go with it.

Cheeky Smoothies
Watch the ad...

Ninetendo DS targets upwards

Ninetendo is for kids, right? It's completely dorky and totally immature to play a Nintendo past the age of 12, right? Well maybe not anymore as I've noticed that Nintendo seem to be trying to change that mindset with a series of print ads and TV commericals that I've seen over the past few months. On the tube they're targeting young commuting professionals, on TV they're targeting the precious free moments of stay-at-home moms, they even had a series with celebrities a couple months ago like Patrick Stewart, Carrie Underwood, Beyonce, Nicole Kidman and Seth Green - depending on the market. But can Nintendo DS really compete with the likes of Apple's iPad or Amazon's Kindle which provide fun and stimulating content in a more versatile and definitely more mature (ahem, cool) fashion? Are four teenagers really all going to get home from school and play Dragon Quest 9 together on their Nintendo DSs like I saw suggested in a recent commercial? I'd be curious to see the result in sales. The ads seem a bit forced to me, but maybe I'm too synical...  Below Patrick Stewart trains his brain on Nintendo DS while sitting in First Class... I'll believe it when I see it.

Heineken walk-in closet

I had forgotten about this commercial and they have relaunched it on TV recently. Hysterical.

A Quick Note

Apologies for the below two posts as both the videos seem to be acting up. I am trying to find other sources for these videos... Watch this space.

I know you, Heinz Tomato Ketchup

Ah, Heinz Ketchup, people of all ages love the stuff and it is so woven into the fabric of our lives, into our collective psyche, that it doesn't even need to be shown - at least that's AMV's idea. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good song in a commerical. This one stuck in my head and I downloaded it from iTunes. It adds that nostalgic element to the ad - all those meals you've had that just wouldn't be the same without Heinz Ketchup.

Can't find a video to embed so follow this link to AMV's website

Ring My Bell!

It's Eazy Beanzy with Heinz baked beans in a snap pack snack pack. I think this ad is actually two years old plus, but they've relaunched it on TV and it's the first time I've seen it. Positioned to appeal to every bean lover: the stay at home mom, the money-saving student, the working professional and the retired pensioner, this catchy jingle makes me want to get up and shake my booty! I love the detail in the creative for each of the four audiences from the decor of their kitchen, the make of their microwave, the way they make their tea and most importantly the way they eat their beans of toast. Yum yum, get me a snack pack.

There's always Schweppes

Clever and funny this ad by Mother is positioned at your standard over-worked, middle class suburban parents and aims to resonate with the typical (over-the-top in this case) ordeals they face daily while raising a family. It's simple, to the point and memorable - very well done.