E*Trade Babies are back

A new E*Trade babies ad has been on TV and like always is very funny, cute and clever. The main character, a baby, is in timeout for riding his dog like a horse but is using his Ipad to diversify his E*trade stocks. When his I-pad is taken away by his mother, he takes out his smart phone and begins singing, "Nobody knows the trouble I've had."

What makes these ads great is that I'm not sure how they work. People instantly recognize the E*Trade babies and understand the meaning of the commercials. But really, they're just talking babies, an ode to "Look Who's Talking" more than what I would associate stock or bonds with. The ad copy writer weave in the features of the website with the comedy and irony of these infants and their adult lifestyles.

I'm always impressed with these commercials. I think they show that not all the good ideas are gone. It also probably took a leap  of faith to air a commercial like this the first time it was done, but it was obviously worth the risk.

A happening for T-Mobile

As any good improvisation artist knows, a "happening" is when a group of people plan and execute an action, i.e. singing dancing, slow-mo-ing, etc., in front of an unsuspecting group of people in a crowded place. The action is usually harmless and is mostly enjoyed for the surprise element. The bewilderment of the unsuspecting crowd is usually the pay-off.


A recent T-Mobile advertisement called "Welcome Back" incorporated a happening in a crowded airport. Though the ad was kind of long, it was entertaining enough to hold the viewer's attention. Professional singers, who looked like average people waiting for flights, began singing together. They would find an unsuspecting person who fit the theme of a particular song. For instance, in one scene, a group of men leave an arrival terminal. A group of singers run up to them an began singing  "The boys are back in town." At another point, as a couple reunites, a woman sing "At Last" by Etta James while another singer sings the violin part of the song. Which was another interesting thing about the video, there were NO actual instruments used to create the background music, instead, vocalist used their talents to make the sounds of drum, violins and guitars. The singers also used hand motions to pretend to play the instrument they were impersonating.


The final song the vocalists sing is "Welcome Home." The T-Mobile tie-in is that many people in the crowd are filming the happening with their smart phones and the camera gets close-ups of those with T-Mobile phones. The text on the screen says, "Life is for sharing." The end of the commercial is the very recognizable T-Mobile jingle. It is a powerful message about how we view the world differently with our phone technology. Its also powerful  because the ad displays this with no words, just song.

Program-related ads

AMC's new drama, "The Walking Dead," is a show about the after effects of a zombie apocalypse. The show is a non-stop action, intensity-filled horror show. The ads surrounding it are standard, most are for more male-aimed products, a reflection of the shows audience. But one ad stood out in particular, oddly enough it was a Toyota ad.


In the Toyota ad, a car, specifically a Toyota Corolla, is being chased by a hoard of zombies in a zombie movie. The commercial caught my attention because I thought the show was back on. It could've been annoying to be tricked, but I actually appreciated the zombies they used in the commercial were impressive. I think the commercial works because it relates to the show and has a good use of the shows theme, zombies. Toyota put time into the zombie make-up and costumes, which zombie lovers, like myself, appreciate. in the mean time, a man in the commercial who is watching the movie with his scared love interest, is impressed by the Corolla.


I think this commercial was a good use of program-related advertising because it caught the viewers attention by including their specific interest, zombies. They did it in a respectful, tasteful and frankly, creepy way which this particular audience demographic clearly appreciates.  

Crazy and harmful political ads

I've noticed political ads don't follow the same rules as regular ads. But one rule in particular I feel should not be broken is the use of racism in political ads.

Immigration reform has made the issue of Mexican immigration a hot-button topic for vote-hungry politicians. In Tom Tancredo's ads, he uses terrible stereotypical material toward the Mexican immigrants in this country.

This kind of irrational fear and hatred made into an advertisement reaches millions, just like any other ad. Therefore, it has the same power as regular ads, the power of influence.

Those who use their advertising skills to help these messages to be sent out should stop. Its socially irresponsible to work for these campaigns. Politicians should follow the rules of regular advertising and stop using stereotypes in ads to further their careers and further the causes of hatred and fear in the public.

Even if an advertiser doesn't care about the social welfare of Mexican immigrants, they should consider: Advertising on TV is a powerful tool. When politicians use this privilege frivolously, they could draw attention from the FCC to regulate material used in ads, and this could limit creativity in other ads.

The Honda Odyssey

The 2011 Honda Odyssey minivan commercials are trying to attract several audiences. Honda is using different songs to show the diversity of the van and its drivers.


In one commercial, aimed at men, a black 2011 Honda Odyssey morphs into a panther and hard rock music is playing while thunder is sounding in the background. The man, who was leaving the grocery store, is awe-struck by the minivan. Inside the van, a heavy metal rock video plays on the small TV in the van, the  GPS has the location "Redemption Road" as its coordinates, and a large Marshall amplifier sits in the trunk, blasting the rock music.


Another, appealing to couples, shows a well dressed couple leaving a date presumably. The song "Smoke gets in your eyes" by The Platters plays in the background. As the sliding van door opens, rose petals fall out, a fire place image plays on the small TV, chocolate covered strawberries are in the glove compartment and a large oyster opens int he trunk to reveal  many pearls.


The enticing visuals relating to the subjects in these commercials have little to do  with the van and the viewer leaves the commercial knowing little about the van. The commercial doesn't tell a story and isn't informative, rather it just gets your attention. I applaud Honda for trying something new with a car commercial, but they missed the mark by trying to be too creative.

Gap Inc.: A no go for logo change

Last week, Gap announced it is changing its classic logo, a blue background with all capitalized letters spelling 'G A P.' And the announcement has gotten a lot of negative attention.The new logo, which has a white background and black letters spelling 'Gap'and a blue box in the upper right hand corner, has gotten the company a lot of flack online. The Gap's Twitter and Facebook fans and followers had little good to say about the brand's new image.

The old logo, in my opinion, goes with the preppy and classic look of the store's clothing and accessories. If the store was trying to look as though it has evolved, it missed the mark and gone into devolution. The new logo looks outdated and cold, like a stock exchange logo. Consumers instantly recognize the old Gap logo, so it makes no sense to change the well-branded image.

Some logos don't need to change over time i.e. Coca-Cola and Ford. Sometimes, the brand gets it right on the first try, like in the Gap's case. As a Gap Inc. employee, I think the brand has a great amount of recognition because of its simple and classic logo designs for Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Piperlime. The simplicity resonates with the Gap audience. The change could negatively effect the brand's advertising because of its recognition and notoriety. Consumers wouldn't be able to easily identify the brand's messages, as they do now, and this could adversly effect the company's sales.

Recently, a mere week after declaring the logo change, the public backlash pushed the company to rescind the change and continue to use the old, classic logo.

Enjoying the ride with Huggies

A new Huggies commercial, which explains the struggles of parenting by using the metaphor of an amusement park, is oddly relaxing. Young people arrive at an amusement park ran by happy babies, all wearing Huggies diapers. The parents, unknowing and afraid, are comforted by the babies, who seem unafraid.


At one point, a mom and her baby are at the top of a steep drop on a rollercoaster, the baby puts his hand over his mother's, as though he's reassuring her. The "kissing booth," a staple of many parks, is filled with a mother kissing her new baby. A young couple plays a game called "Feed the Baby" where they throw bottles into a cutout baby's mouth, mimicking a bean toss game at a carnival.


No dialogue is used in the ad, instead a soft melody plays, adding to the relaxing and calm tone of the commercial. The commercial is called "Enjoy the Ride." The parents eventually lose their fears by the end of the commercial and it closes with a young family entering the tunnel of love together. The message is encouraging parents to enjoy the ride of parenthood, with Huggies.


This ad used the metaphor to calmly and cleverly demonstrate the obstacles a young or new parent faces with a baby. It is a soft-hearted emotional approach  to new parent's, a large part of their target audience. I think they effectively used music and imagery to get across a reassuring and heartwarming message, which appeals to moms.