A couple of years ago, I was checking firing off an e-mail using Yahoo Mail when my good buddy Todd wandered by my office, saw my screen and commented, "Yes, I guess they'll use sex to advertise anything these days."
I looked up at my screen to be greeted by a smiling woman in a bikini, who was encouraging me to use one of Yahoo's services--I think it was the Yahoo! Finance service. Yeah, because you know nothing says "stock tip" like a woman in a bikini! The only thing I can think of is that if the stock you're buying really bottoms out, at least you can see the woman in the bikini to make yourself feel better...
But again, you're kind of limiting your audience there..
Anyway, yesterday I surfed over to
AdJab to read their wrap-up of all the Super Bowl commericals and was reminded of that conversation yet again. Seems a toothpaste brand called Beverly Hills Formula has a new print ad that features a young boy finding his mom in the shower and regaling here with random nuggets of wisdom on why you should have healthy teeth. (The ad is
here and the article is
here)
I have to agree with AdJab's assessment that this might be funnier if it were a TV ad with some quick cutting, but on the printed page it's just a bit too bizarre and borders on creepy. For one thing, there doesn't appear to be any water running in the shower and for the other, the little kid has that weird look the kid from
The Shining did. And while it's kind of funny, it makes me wonder--what in the name of George Gordon Liddy does it have to do with toothpaste?
Of course, maybe in some way the marketing for this product has succeeded. Because whether it's relevant or not, I remember the ad and the product being advertised...
posted by Michael Hickerson at 2/07/2006 03:03:00 PM |
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