Back in January, Adweek called to ask what my New Year’s resolution was, and if I’d broken it. I told them this was going to be the year I did nothing but talk about ad-savant Bobby Hershfield, and that, no, I hadn’t broken my resolution. So when Adweek contacted me to write about the best spots of February, I immediately saw it for what it was: a plot to trick me into breaking my resolution. So I emailed Adweek a 600 word essay singing Hershfield’s praises.
Which I felt really good about—until I received a second call from Adweek. Apparently there was no “plot to trick me.” It seems they also “weren’t f’ing around,” were under some “seriously tight deadlines” and were “trying to get Gerry Graf to do the February reviews again since he knocked them out of the park last year,” but just in case—could I please break my “asinine resolution” and write about the spots? So here, with my fingers crossed behind my back, and Gerry Graf waiting in the wings, are a few thoughts on Adweek’s best spots of February.
Ameriquest “Surprise Dinner”: A wife comes home to find her husband in the middle of what appears to be an old-fashioned cat skinning. I thought the creative team did a nice job on casting and location that keep the front half of the spot feeling realistic and honest. This restraint pays off and the final scene seems that much more absurd. I would have liked the VO to have been played a little straighter, but other than that the idea was nicely executed.
Burger King “Fantasy Ranch”: Hootie sings about “breasts” and “cabooses” and being “up to your knees in ranch dressing.” The word on the street is that a bunch of stuff got cut out of this spot before it made it on air. If that’s the case, please send me the original cut—I promise to eat more of your sandwiches.
FedEx “Top 10”: Like the Burger King effort, this spot’s humor comes from cramming as many funny/odd things into 45 seconds as possible. In this case, the funny things are the 10 items research has indicated need to be included in a Super Bowl spot for it to be successful. I hated the first five seconds of this spot. I was bummed FedEx was doing the “it’s an ad about being an ad” ad. But then the bear started talking and the cute kid did his thing and Journey kicked in, and the next thing I know I’m enjoying the hell out of it. Congrats to the focus groups who came up with this one—you finally earned your free pizza.
Pepsi “Spartacus”: The whole “I’m Spartacus” scene is re-engineered to sell more Pepsi. I thought the casting of the two lead soldiers was excellent. The lunch bag with the name “Spartacus” in marker was funny. But when the “Pepsi. Food. Good.” title came up, I wanted to impale myself with a long sword. What does “Pepsi. Food. Good.” mean? Maybe we’ll find out in the sequel.
Embassy Suites “Question”: A guy named Gus (who we’re told is a good conversationalist) gets sent to a client meeting instead of the guy who speaks in questions. This is a perfect example of how being funny doesn’t prevent a spot from being smart. When “They chose you for a reason, and you chose Embassy Suites for a reason” is VO’d, it underlines what was funny in the scenario and segues directly into a product benefit. Nicely done. I also love that good-conversationalist Gus never says a word. I believe they call that comedy.
Guest Critic
