Help random babies crawl across the nation
"We cannot stand, but we stand for something." That's the theme of the Million Baby Crawl, an eco-awareness campaign from Seventh Generation, a maker of non-toxic household products. The Web site explains: "Babies everywhere are crawling to Washington to say no to toxic chemicals found in our homes." They're not literally crawling to D.C. They'd get cranky, particularly the ones from the West Coast, and their frequent naps would delay their arrival. Plus, the toxicity of those million diapers would be worse than the materials they're protesting. Instead, visitors to the site can "Create a Crawler" to spread the word. (There are more than 1,300 so far.) Videos by Carmichael Lynch (above and below) show babies crawling on city streets and along the sides of highways. The use of babies here seems apt and reinforces the message that this cause protects the most helpless among us. The spots with the babies babbling on soapboxes are like nails on a blackboard, however, and make me glad I never had kids. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on October 22, 2009 | Permalink
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Mohawk carpets can handle epic food spills
This new ad by Cramer-Krasselt in Milwaukee, for Mohawk carpets, uses nifty special effects to show a chaotic moment frozen in time inside a family's home, with all sorts of suddenly airborne food about to rain down on the living room rug and ruin it. Clumsy old Dad has slipped on a skateboard in the kitchen, and has lost control of his plates of hot dogs and chips, setting off a chain reaction across the room, where drinks and snacks are flying everywhere. At the far end of the room, a separate incident involving birds is adding to the pandemonium and causing even more food to spill. All of which threatens to stain the carpet. But Mom isn't worried, because this is a Mohawk carpet with SmartStrand, featuring a DuPont Sorona stain-resistant polymer. The frozen-moment thing works pretty well in the domestic setting, having previously been put to more epic use in Philips' grand, Grand Prix-winning "Carousel" spot. —Posted by Tim Nudd |
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Published on October 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Maytag cleans you up after the giant waffles
What were the chances of Maytag producing an entertaining ad with personality-impaired "repairman" Clay Jackson? I'd have said zero, but the appliance maker proves me wrong with this obstacle course spot by Publicis. Sure, it's derivative, but it's also about as fun as Maytag gets these days. According to press materials, they used 2,000 gallons of orange soda, 350 jars of raspberry jam and 420 jars of peanut butter to "challenge" the seven kids in the white jumpsuits. The giant waffles drenched in 350 bottles of maple syrup are the real stars. Check out those huge pats of butter! Fork over some forks and dig in! The whole thing has a Willy Wonka/H.R. Pufnstuf vibe, and the killjoy repairman stays mainly in the background. Too bad he didn't slip into the soda pool and vanish down the drain. See also: |
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Published on September 16, 2009 | Permalink
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Oven Pride ad not sexist so much as idiotic
This Oven Pride spot has caused an uproar in the U.K. Set to nursery-school music, it features a husband learning a lesson in the kitchen as the announcer keeps repeating, "Oven Pride. So easy, even a man can do it!" Hey, sweet, I didn't realize we were bringing the '80s role-reversal thing back! In 1979, Kramer vs. Kramer showed that a father could learn how to make breakfast. Advertisers picked up on the trend big time, for two reasons: 1) They had finally sniffed out this thing called feminism; and 2) Somebody had to look stupid in order to learn a lesson in a commercial, so now it was the man. Hee hee! The trend is still happening, to some degree, as advertisers pander to women, but not with the aesthetic sledgehammer of this particular spot. I guess it's meant to be taken straight—it's too dumb to be ironic. But the bigger takeaway for me is how hard it is to use the product—and how little it helps. This big lug has to place heavy, greasy oven racks in big plastic bags, shake them, then remove them and wash them off. The main problem with washing oven racks is getting the things in and out of the oven. If you're going to have to rinse them off in the sink anyway, how much good does pre-rinsing them in giant bags do? Stupid product, stupid commercial. Now, honey, get me my breakfast, and make it snappy! You think these caribou slippers put themselves on? —Posted by Barbara Lippert |
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Published on June 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Pam helps your bratty spawn rule the roost
This spot from DDB San Francisco for ConAgra's Pam cooking spray seems stuck in an Eisenhower-era time warp. The cupcakes are sticking to the pan? So what? You've come a long way, baby! Haven't you? The fact that it's all revealed as a bad daydream makes things worse, because it equates a non-stick, sitcomy world with perfection. The tagline, "Pam helps you pull it off," isn't exactly a feminist rallying cry, either. Look, those brats don't need sugary treats. Why give them more energy to howl? Serve 'em spinach and broccoli. Cold and raw. That's how I was raised, and look how I turned out. Those kids must've sat slack-jawed through month after month of Baby Einstein, because they sure lack any sort of social skills. |
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Published on March 5, 2009 | Permalink
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U.K. turns nose up at poo-centric Glade ads
The British have been making a stink lately over SC Johnson's advertising for its Glade Touch'n Fresh bathroom air fresheners. Every ad, it seems, features a child whining about his need to defecate, or about the unpleasant results of doing so. The latest spot, above, shows a boy who resolves to "do a poo" at his friend Paul's house, because Paul's mom is smart and installed Glade Touch'n Fresh dispensers, thus masking the boy's shameful odors. The ad's been deemed offensive pretty much across the board. "How weird is this advert? I mean WEIRD," writes the YouTube uploader. "Sometimes I think I should get a job in advertising just to stop stupid crap like this being made." (The kid does say "do a poo" three times, which seems excessive.) The previous spot, posted below, didn't do any better, perhaps because it begins with a kid on the toilet shouting, "Pwahh, it stinks!" |
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Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink
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Turn your baby into a real cleaning machine
Here's a commercial for the Baby Mop, a piece of clothing outfitted with mop-like material that allows your little one to clean as he crawls. "After the birth of a child there's always the temptation to say, 'Yes, it's cute, but what can it do?' " says a promo. "There's no child exploitation involved. The kid is doing what he does best anyway: crawling. But with Baby Mops he's also learning responsibility and a healthy work ethic." |
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Published on February 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Your entire house can smell like Christmas
For those who can't get enough of the holidays, Febreze introduces a limited-edition line of scents (available in sprays, candles and so on) that make the whole house smell like Christmas. The scents include Vanilla Bean, Cranberry & Frost and Winter Evening & Warmth. What, no Musky Reindeer or Chestnut-Roasted Elf? The company was probably wise to avoid traditional yuletide fragrances like frankincense and myrrh. Not because of their religious connotations—they just don't smell so great. In any case, times are tough, and with suggested retail prices of these new Febreze products ranging from $2.99 to $7.99, they're a lot cheaper than springing for a Christmas tree to provide that whiff of seasonal cheer. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on December 11, 2008 | Permalink
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C-K floating the idea of lighter CorningWare
Cramer-Krasselt introduces the concept of lighter CorningWare in this commercial, which shows dinner guests levitating around a room. See Adweek's writeup here. The point: that the company's SimplyLite line is "50 percent lighter than traditional ceramic bakeware." Sounds great, but how heavy is the regular stuff? I can lift it just fine. Who complained that it was too onerous? Was it that 98-pound wimp with the pigeon chest who gets sand kicked in his face in the comic-book ads? Maybe it's my arrested adolescent sensibility, but seeing dinner guests rising up toward the ceiling makes me wonder if they're suffering Willy Wonka-esque bloating (best avoided in mixed company) or enjoying a subversive, mind-expanding experience. Dude, what's in the lasagna? |
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Published on December 5, 2008 | Permalink
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