tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20947213499421004312026-06-02T03:12:01.330-04:00The Ad Guy gives a witty, insightful commentary on the advertising business. A partner at Blue Horizons Creative in NYC, he writes about marketing, websites, social media, blogging…pretty much all things advertising.theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-59378131524390142632011-02-08T19:04:00.001-05:002011-02-08T19:05:29.307-05:00

Hi all! I have returned after a little vacation, just in time to bring you my thoughts on the Super Bowl spots. There are so many reviews of the ads, from the professional to basic public opinion. For what it’s worth, here is my take on what stood out as good and bad. Many people did like the Audi “Kenny G” ad. I liked this too. I thought it was inventive, interesting and entertaining. In

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-4301810952410121712011-01-26T15:10:00.002-05:002011-01-26T17:01:10.697-05:00

Yesterday I pointed out the really bad. Today, thought I would bring you something I thought was really well done. Men’s underwear. Hard to be creative, you mostly see crotch shots. You may have seen this ad, if you have I apologize, it has been on the air for about six months now. But you have to give Fruit of the Loom credit for their creativity. Maybe I am just a sucker for a nice piano riff,

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-74452792799768725812011-01-25T12:40:00.000-05:002011-01-25T12:40:06.781-05:00

I am switching my focus to print ads today. Sometimes I point out what I think is good, sometimes I point out what I think is bad. This one falls into neither category. This falls into the ‘absurdly horrible’ category. This is an ad for Old Spice. They have done some strange ads lately, but this one tops them all. Let me make my case for why it is ‘absurdly horrible.’ The image is bizarre. The

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-42211865681877999302011-01-24T15:13:00.002-05:002011-01-24T15:18:42.243-05:00

You might not have everything you need, but this is certainly something that is so important, so monumental that you should skip your mortgage or car payment and get this today! For a mere $130 to $150 bucks (I did the Euro conversion for you), get this, you could get a ring from a company in Amsterdam (no it doesn’t come with your favorite illegal drug) that has your favorite tweet engraved on

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-29684809507318267152011-01-20T14:55:00.000-05:002011-01-20T14:55:04.109-05:00

I study and write advertising for a living. My company has a variety of areas we focus in. I am always looking around for advertising that is good and different to show you, something that sets a new bar. Yet, I can’t seem to find anything of merit these days. Maybe it is the economy and the advertisers are being safe? Nobody taking chances to stand out? If you read my last post, you saw the

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-57983959728465243062011-01-17T18:57:00.000-05:002011-01-17T18:57:09.487-05:00

The Super Bowl of not just football, but of advertising, is just a few weeks away. And PepsiCo, owner of both Pepsi and Doritos, has adopted a strategy that just doesn’t make sense to me. You can go to a site and vote on the ad you want to see during the Super Bowl. Think about that. You can watch all the ads or ‘contenders’ online right now, then they will spend over $6 Million (minimum,

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-68641678067887073592011-01-14T11:58:00.000-05:002011-01-14T11:58:05.393-05:00

It has been said that “Our greatest weakness can be turned into our biggest strength.” Which got me thinking about the plethora of celebrities coming out with new lines of perfumes, colognes, and apparel. We know both Mel Gibson and Jude Law have some anger issues. So what if they teamed up to create a new cologne, you know, for that studly, kinda sweet but angry guy demographic. Jude Law threw

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-51488344529056584912011-01-12T14:22:00.000-05:002011-01-12T14:22:28.586-05:00

With the inevitable death of MySpace (laying off 50% of the company), Facebook trying to be all things to all people (we know how that works out), the complete confusion of what Twitter is (unless it’s just me), Jaiku?, Foursquare?, and a host of other ‘social’ outlet wannabes, what’s next? Remember AOL and chat rooms? We do have Augmented Reality (AR), which is really cool and being applied in

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-47529173915510406262011-01-11T17:47:00.000-05:002011-01-11T17:47:56.469-05:00

In advertising, as I’ve said before, it is really hard to create something that shines, no pun intended here. You don’t have to slap your logo all over the place, you don’t have to be outrageous, you don’t have to do a lot of things, but there is one thing that works, one thing you have to do. And that one thing is to capture the heart, emotion and attention of your consumer. If you can

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-48316787380442380002011-01-10T10:37:00.004-05:002011-01-10T14:51:24.376-05:00

This time of year, the ‘resolution time,’ we are inundated with weight loss ads. I don’t know the exact dollars spent, but I assume about 25% of the ads we see in January are about weight loss. (Another big chunk in spring, ‘bikini season’). That is just based on my experience, I don’t have the numbers to back it up. I did do my own research based on prime time shows and that is how I came up

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-1996234535429636252011-01-08T17:11:00.000-05:002011-01-08T17:11:21.030-05:00

There are several books out there and a few websites that note where some of the famous phrases we often use come from. Phrase Finder is an excellent online resource. As referenced there, 78 common phrases come from the bible. Some of my favorites that still live on today are (with my commentary) as follows. Excuse my blasphemy. And since this is an advertising related blog, what better then to

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-2317647245932958672011-01-07T01:10:00.005-05:002011-01-07T06:22:30.111-05:00

Well, money is an understatement. And most likely you wouldn’t know his name. He is Ira Rennert, builder and owner of the largest house in America. It is in Sagaponack,  an exclusive area of the famed Hamptons. Inside its 66,000-square-foot main house there are reported to be 29 bedrooms, 30 bathrooms and his garage would accommodate more than a 100 cars–and still somehow, he managed to

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-27853403884836323342011-01-04T12:26:00.000-05:002011-01-04T12:26:28.943-05:00

@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Since I have the flu today, just read the right.

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-56637538724432028862011-01-02T13:10:00.001-05:002011-01-03T19:24:59.439-05:00

After the orange multi-million blanket ad fiasco for AT&T, we now are forced to watch little orange people traveling around. Orange paper people, holding hands, how cute and meaningful. Nothing about the phones, just about their supposed coverage. Maybe in some parts of this country, your service works fine. Here in New York, it just plain sucks. And little orange people walking around? Come

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-46955830404656272932011-01-01T17:05:00.002-05:002011-01-01T17:14:17.552-05:00

We all must have them, right? So here are mine. 1.    Show more love to my family and loved ones. 2.    Write something more interesting every day for you to read. I admit, some have been lame. I try to make you laugh, that is my ultimate goal. 3.    Make you laugh harder. 4.    Make you tell everyone about my blog so I blow away my

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-48880324600615757062011-01-01T08:57:00.000-05:002011-01-01T08:57:44.517-05:00

@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } The New Year The most clever of you will notice the missing of the word Happy. Last year wasn’t the greatest one in history. So my wishes to you are, Hope This

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-88935687364918528602010-12-31T03:29:00.001-05:002010-12-31T12:21:49.542-05:00

So NYC got 20 inches of snow. It happens almost every year. For some reason, the news has turned on Mayor Bloomberg for not handling the situation correctly. To his credit, he agreed. Most likely a political statement, but unnecessary in my opinion. I mean come on, NYC is in the North East. And in case you don’t know, it gets cold here and snows. Since NYC is positioned by the ocean, the snow

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-68358265249224152742010-12-28T11:32:00.002-05:002010-12-28T11:49:06.382-05:00

I do have to pay homage to Neiman Marcus. I bought several gifts from both the brick and mortar store and the online store. Amazing, the online store puts it right on the homepage, free shipping and how to get it. You don’t have to hunt around like you do with most online stores. Perfect. I ventured into one of their family owned stores, Bergdorf’s in NYC. It is a must see store when visiting

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-80549259495672351092010-12-27T17:35:00.000-05:002010-12-27T17:35:14.458-05:00

Hi all!  This was one of my more popular posts of the last year, so I thought I might throw it back here front and center. This sparked much conversation and I received an overwhelming amount of emails about it! So for those of you that didn't read it the first time... Where does an idea come from? Ideas, or creativity, come from the right side of the brain according to most, take a look at

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-15714503400585125482010-12-24T11:24:00.000-05:002010-12-24T11:24:14.093-05:00

Yep, it’s almost here, and most of you probably have the day off. Unfortunately, if you are like me, you have procrastinated and you will be rushing out with the mass of procrastinators, all in the same mood, hating for waiting till the last minute and ready to get into a good retailer fight about inventory that has been off the shelves for weeks. So here are my instant gift suggestions for the

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-8382172330741486082010-12-23T01:16:00.000-05:002010-12-23T01:16:48.678-05:00

It is estimated that there have been over 500,000 million apps downloaded for the iPhone, not to mention the ones never released or in development. Now according to Apple, over 51 million iPhones have been sold. Do the math. And that is just the iPhone. And considering such bizarre and questionable apps such as iFart, Annoy-a-Teen, Cat Photo Clock Light, iBlackout … you got to wonder, do we

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-48376369055404672752010-12-21T18:58:00.001-05:002010-12-21T19:15:50.185-05:00

It seems, as we have all learned, sex does in fact sell. That is why it is so refreshing to see an ad with some good ol' fashion violence. If you haven't seen it, this is really funny. Sorry for the quality, but you will get the point... Thank you Sprint for not going the default route of sex! Enjoy!

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-40355232699211490512010-12-20T11:16:00.000-05:002010-12-20T11:16:04.366-05:00

As we all know, the writing on Saturday Night Live has been hit or miss over the years. There’s never been a shortage of talent, but sometimes what sounds good on a script doesn’t cut it on the stage. But this fake Dirty Catheter Ad is hilarious. I didn’t even know that ‘cathing’ was a thing. And the greatest line, ‘I was afraid to talk to strangers, but these strangers quickly became my friends

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-17768689519176908782010-12-17T15:50:00.001-05:002010-12-17T16:18:00.275-05:00

If you aren’t a Gawker fan, you probably should be. But don’t stop reading or RSSing my blog, even though it's a great site. Amazing to me from an advertising standpoint that wikileaks is something we all know about – hard not to, unless you live in a cave like Osama Bin Laden (but he does have the internet connection and does do a decent job of his ‘want the world to die’ message). But

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094721349942100431.post-38868737139983283942010-12-16T12:13:00.002-05:002010-12-16T12:40:19.722-05:00

After the first conversation, there was a follow up…  Bon Jovi: Hi Mr. President, this is Jon again. Obama:  I don’t know anybody by that name. Bon Jovi:  Jon Bon Jovi Obama:  (silence) Bon Jovi: White House Council for Community Solutions Obama:  Oh, yeah. Hey Jon. Bon Jovi:  I was wondering, do I get a special hat or something? Obama:  Hat? Bon Jovi: 

theadguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635486190410622218noreply@blogger.com3