Favorites

Over this semester, seeing ad after ad, I've realized how two sided advertising can be. There are those ads that are boring, plain, or irresponsible, and then there are the ads that are new, amazing, and can actually do good things for the world. Now, if the industry of advertising as a whole, took a step forward in doing less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff, it could make a huge difference in the world. After all, people see about 5,000 or more ads a day, imagine if most of those ads were beautiful and promoted a great message as opposed to just annoying people. If advertising agencies could do more good work like Droga5 did with Unicef in the Tap Project, so much could be accomplished. I know this is definitely easier said than done, but having our generation learn all this information, and then sending us out to work in the industry could be the start of a new time in advertising. Here are some of my favorite ads of the semester.

Funniest -



2nd place -




Best Classic Commercial -




Most Artistic -



Most Original -




so many great ones -- these are the few that won in my book!

Definitely Irresponsible

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/12/02/2009-12-02_catholic_league_slams_peta_ad_featuring_joanna_krupa_holding_crucifix_over_nude_.html

I saw this ad the other day, and it really shocked me, as I'm sure it did many other people. It really surprised me that an organization like PETA would go to this extreme. It seems like they could do so much without having to go to this. The fact that they used a cross in front of a naked model can be very offesnive to Christians who see the cross as a symbol of forgiveness, hope, and redemption. Whenever i think of PETA now, I'm going to automatically have a bad feeling towards them. Obviously this was a risk they were willing to take, but I think here the risk outweighs the benefit greatly. Catholic league president Bill Donohue calls PETA a "fraud" and says "The fact is that cats and dogs are a lot safer in pet stores than they are in the hands of PETA employees." If this ad gets a reaction like that from anyone, it is definitely irresponsible.

Small Independents

1. Taxi - Toronto, Canada

Advertising for a dating website can be a hard thing to do. Most dating advertisements are cheesy, pathetic, or just plain ignored. Taxi has gotten past this problem with this campaign. This ad is a great example of nontraditional advertising. Taxi has done a lot of great work, mostly known for their work with Viagra, that has gone outside the box, and this is another great example of that. As they did with Viagra, here they found a way around an awkward product/service, and made it less embarassing.


2. Modernista - Boston

Modernista is known for it's great work with Hummer. The great thing about the Hummer campaign, as well as this ad in particular, is Modernista has given Hummer a personality. Hummer is not just another large car, another big truck that goes through tons of mud, but Modernista has given Hummer a real manly, strong image. DDB started this idea when they gave Volkswagen a personality and changed automobile advertising. Because Modernista is a small independent agency, they are able to go out of the box in a category of advertising that can often be formulaic.

3. Ground Zero - LA

Ground Zero has aimed this ESPN advertising at the correct target market, the hard core male fan. A lot of agencies that have dealt with ESPN have taken this approach. Unfortunately, Ground Zero didn't do anything too revolutionary with this ad. It seems that ESPN advertising is just about targeting the hard core fan, and Ground Zero seems to just follow this formula.

4. David and Goliath - LA

David and Goliath is an agency that wants to break out of the ordinary and fight the big guys. This nontraditional piece really follows that idea. The great thing about this ad is it isn't at all what you would expect. It targets a new audience, and in a completely different way. This ad does not need to be flashy, or in your face, but this simple and smart ad gets the job done.

5. WongDoody - LA

This ad, is another great example of reaching the target market. People who watch this show, mostly teenage girls, watch it because of all the scandel, the hott guys, the hook ups, the drama. People who watch this show know that their parents wouldn't approve of them watching it, and that makes it so much more fun to watch. Just like the Axe commercials can be seen as innappropriate, but are great for the market, this adcan be seen as innapropriate but is perfect for the target market. I think this whole campaign is great, and WongDoody simply used quotes as the copy with an image from the show, but the idea was great.

6. Secret Weapon Marketing

Secret Weapon Marketing only has three clients at a time, meaning they have more time to concentrate on each client. The Jack in the Box ads have always seemed more annoying and dumb than humourous. These commercials remind me of the freecreditreport.com commercials, you either think it's funny or you don't. I do think the amount of time they are able to spend on this client has helped them get a wide variety of ads and storylines throughout the years.

7. Droga5 - NY

Droga5 has done a lot of interesting work, including this ad for puma. This ad simply doesn't appeal to me. I wouldn't stop flipping pages to take a closer look. However, Droga5 does take a new twist on athletic shoe advertising. While Weiden and Kennedy have done very active, energetic, and inspiring work for Nike, which is also what we see with many adidas ads, Droga5 has taken a more quiet and fashionable approach. Droga5 has made Puma seem more stylish and fashionable with the still pose, the use of the model, and just the overall atmosphere of the ad. Droga5 is consistently doing new and different types of advertising as a small independent, and this is an example of that.