Hi and welcome to the first post of my first blog. "Ad Vices" is a small column I'm starting to express opinions on various commercials I see on tv or hear on the radio. Everyone has opinions on just about everything but what I do is slightly different. I'm going to analyze and grade them. My curve is easy: pass or fail. A commercial passes when it achieves it's primary or secondary goal. The primary goal is to get you looking at and wanting the product. The secondary goal is to get you to pause and remember the commercial, whether it be good or bad. Even a bad commercial can pass. A commercial fails when it does not do either of the above goals or when it just completely sets me off. Hey, it's an opinion column minus the newspaper feel. Whaddaya want?
I have privately reviewed commercials and ads for years now and it's high-time I said my view. I have no training in making ads nor in writing for commercials. I do not have a degree in commerce psychology. What I do have is personal insight.
First up? The new iPad commercial I saw today.
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Rating: PASS
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Now, I will mention that I am going to post links to commercials via YouTube but I have no idea how long YouTube keeps such things up. You may have to go find it on your own somewhere else one day, which does date my blog, but I will keep it current and fresh because, as we all know, commercials are here to stay. And they just keep coming!
So, the new iPad commercial. Yeah... If you haven't seen it, click and play it from this blog:
The first line of dialogue: "What is iPad? iPad is thin. iPad is beautiful.", etc.
Oh, this one is a great commercial to start with for analysis. Why does it pass? It uses the great keywords of our culture: "thin" "beautiful". These are powerful words to use in advertising. For women, it is what culture tells them they want to be and must have. For men, it is what culture tells them to want in women. With obesity in the news frequently, those two keywords grasp at our ears and pull our eyes in and make us desire said product. If it is thin and beautiful and you own it then you, too, are thin and beautiful. Clever marketing is nothing to truly be ashamed over. I marvel at it at times, and other times roll my eyes. I will merely call this one clever marketing and express no other opinion.
It uses other great phrases to rope every kind of person in: "crazy powerful", "magical", and who's the genius who came up with "and you already know how to use it". That is brilliant because it speaks to an age of computer-savvy people and also to those who are too busy or too set in our ways to muddle with some new contraption.
"It's already a revolution and it's only just begun." tells us it is new but it'll be here for a while. It will grow with the advancement of technology, unlike most computers. Is this true? Dunno. I don't own an iPad:) But the point is does it make you want to own one? Maybe not jump in your car and go buy one now but would you own one? Be honest. It's what we saw in all those futuristic movies, and ones still coming out. Technology is catching up with our imaginations. Soon we'll be accessing and interacting with 3-D touch screens like in Iron Man! Yeah, the geek is strong in this one.
I digress, but in doing so it proves another point. This commercial hits all the right spots for their consumer pool and offers a desirable if expensive communication toy, er... device.
In essence?
iPad Commercial, 5.18.10 = PASS
Cheers!
JG
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