What The Heck Is Wrong With Advertising?

[dr_phil_physics]

I've run across a number of really dumb/bad TV commercials lately. And it makes me wonder what these agencies are thinking -- and what the heck are their clients thinking?

The Unreal Thing

Coke is once again flogging their failed Coke Zero product. Their latest ads have as the two biggest words:

TASTE
ZERO

Really -- it does! And I think the one ad involves stopping the bottling line and running it backwards. So you're selling bottles of... nothing? Un-Coke?

Did they learn nothing from the New Coke fiasco?

Unaerodynamic

This may not bother anyone else, but Hyundai has a new car which goes around pissing people off: Splashing people with water, knocking ice cream off of people's ice cream cones, trashing newspaper boxes...

Are they telling me that the aerodynamics are so bad this fancy new car doesn't slip cleanly through the air, but bulls its way like a brick? What's next in the ads, knock over the neighbors' trash cans? Oh that'll make friends.

Not The Real World

Sure, ads aren't supposed to be literal, but they leave an impression. Bad ads can be bad because they're unwatchable, you can't remember the product name afterward or they unwittingly promote a negative image of the product.

Big name companies and up-and-coming companies cannot afford any of these.

Because I don't think I'm crazy. (grin)

Dr. Phil