It’s easy to be dubious about the new Vonage campaign, which seems to imply that the company’s services are a no-brainer for people with no brains. (The tagline even posits that choosing Vonage is usually the “one smart decision” the consumer makes amid a series of stupid ones—an interesting demo, one that considers itself consistently, incorrigibly dumb.) In one spot, a nerdy guy is breaking up with a fantasy girlfriend, begging forgiveness, when he’s hit in the side of the head, Frisbee style, by the Vonage pizza-box startup kit; he runs off excitedly to tell his mom after the Vonage van of hidden sales agents, yelling over a loudspeaker, speeds off. In another ad, a stereotypical dumb blonde on a beach sees sharks and wants to go play with “the dolphins.” After she gets clonked and decides on Vonage, she’s off to play with the dolphins anyway—and presumably won’t be calling anyone ever again, at any rate. The spots are funny, but it must be asked: Does anyone identify with these characters?

—Posted by Gregory Solman