Guys are dying to meet Jennifer Love Hewitt
Cliff Freeman and Partners is up to its old tricks in this comical promo for Ghost Whisperer on CBS. Check out companion promos for CSI: Miami and Criminal Minds here and here. —Posted by Tim Nudd |
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June 13, 2006 | Permalink |
Comments
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Augh. Now I know why I no longer own a functioning TV (even thought I have TIVO with a lifetime subscription)
This is not even funny. And people wonder why we have such a sick society? sorry
I know it's your business. but I still dont find it funny.
Some jackass is likely to do it because they saw it on tv.
Posted by: markbnj | Jun 13, 2006 2:34:22 PM
The show is not that good and is strictly a vehicle for Miss Hewitt to show off her perky breast to the 15-30 age group.
And gosh, with all the money she makes you would think she'd have enough to do something about those ENORMOUS ears hanging from her head!
Posted by: Angie | Jun 13, 2006 2:40:00 PM
I wouldn't worry too much about a rash of copycat defenestrations sweeping the land. People aren't that stupid.
What is worrisome is how completely this commercial misses the mark. I'm no prude -- I think black humor has its place -- but seeing a plummeting body strike a van, then lie twitching on the street semms unnecessarily graphic. It would've been far funnier to just show the guy throwing himself out the window and leave it the rest to the viewer's imagination.
This is a classic example of an ad created primarily to win awards and acclaim from industry insiders. Do you honestly think the target audience for "Ghost Whisperer" – most of whom are no doubt women of a certain age – are going to relate to a guy comitting suicide just to be near Jennifer Love-Hewitt's inflatable funbags? Come on.
By the way, I've been dead for over a decade and have yet to encounter Ms. Love-Hewitt -- although the equally late Ethel Merman once pinched my butt.
Posted by: The Late David Ogilvy | Jun 13, 2006 2:58:13 PM
TLDO raises a good point. Ending with the jump would have been funny and tight. The twitch is a little bit too "Faces of Death" for me.
Posted by: CorruptedJournalist | Jun 13, 2006 3:17:28 PM
TLDO. LOL.
David Ogilvy is dead? Does that mean I can quit quoting his book in interviews? I've been wanting to reference "Hey Whipple" for some time now. This is very good news.
Posted by: ad_scribe | Jun 13, 2006 3:59:42 PM
ad_scribe, the temporal plane I currently inhabit is dark, clammy and reeks of decay. So either I'm dead or I'm living in Newark.
Posted by: The Late David Ogilvy | Jun 13, 2006 4:58:42 PM
See, I think this is hilarious! It's just an inside joke as Hewitt herself (and her fans) knows and admires the fact that everyone obsesses over her boobs. But, yes, it is indicative of the silliness and apparent unintelligence of our culture.
Posted by: Steve Hall | Jun 13, 2006 8:08:07 PM
I read the commercial totally different. The thought of Hewitt in a show about dead people would make me want to jump out of a window. She's not very well-liked by the celeb-obsessed folk like myself. So that's why i thought the guy did it. Not because he wanted to meet her.
That would make a great campaign. Say CBS did a run of ads commenting on how awful other networks' shows are. Like, same scenario as this commercial, different show mentioned, and different way to kill yourself. Comical of course.
-Mark
Posted by: Mark Baratelli | Jun 14, 2006 9:54:20 AM
um, Mark, you totally missed the point of the spot.
Thanks to you, now some creative team at Cliff Freeman is jumping out of a window.
Posted by: ad_scribe | Jun 14, 2006 11:43:25 AM
I don't know... there could be another good spot here.
Roommate 1: What're you watching?
Roommate 2: Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.
Roommate 1: (Jumps to his death.)
Posted by: CorruptedJournalist | Jun 14, 2006 11:52:42 AM
It's not an inside joke at all. I think most people who see the commercial will get it: guy jumps out window to be near beautiful actress. Duh.
The problem is that anyone who finds such a graphic depiction of suicide -- complete with twitching corpse -- funny is unlikely to watch a show featuring Jennifer Love-Hewitt talking to ghosts. (A show featuring Jennifer Love-Hewitt walking around stark naked. . . now that's a different story.)
Instead of crafting a relevant message that would truly resonate with the target audience, Cliff Freeman chose yet again to trot out their tired over-the-top slapstick schtick. (Ever notice how most of their commercials seem to end with death, dismemberment or copious vomiting?)
Instead of growing and evolving, they seem to be doing the same kind of work they did back in 1999. No wonder they have faded so fast and fallen so far since their heyday. I mean, outside of these new CBS promos, can anyone name anything Cliff Freeman has done since, oh, 2001?
Posted by: The Late David Ogilvy | Jun 15, 2006 9:48:49 AM
