Danilo Campos Ad hominem

Back from the dead. Briefly.

2004-12-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

Though I no longer watch television ads, thus making the continued updating of this blog impossible, I did receive a fascinating E-Mail tonight which must be shared. If you'd like to know what the sender is talking about, check out my post about Radio Shack. Enjoy. From: Knockout Queen Subject: (no subject) Date: December 29, 2004 19:15:57 EST To: weeb@mac.com I UNDERSTAND YOU SPEAKING

DVR

2004-09-20T19:10:00.000-04:00

You've noticed the silence. I got a DVR recently. I'm never, ever going to agonize over shitty advertising ever again. Thank you and good night. >>End Weblog<<

Depend on a Shock

2004-08-24T18:09:00.000-04:00

It's very, very rare that an TV commercial can come entirely out of left field and wallop me across the face. By and large, I can accurately guess the direction of a spot within the first five seconds. Picture, though, this little tickler: A lady in her sixties, looking faux-energetic, beside a convertible talking about taking a road trip with her girlfriend. Man, more diabetes paraphernalia,

The Lexus Golden Opportunity Sales Event

2004-08-24T03:10:00.000-04:00

Lexus ads don't stick out in my memory as particularly bothersome. They also don't stick out as particularly genius. Their marketing may have turned a corner. Recently I've had the pleasure of the spots trumpeting their "Golden Opportunity Sales Event" promotion. Each spot features an unlikely person proposing an even unlikelier business opportunity to a potential investor. One spot seems to

Winn Dixie

2004-08-23T10:26:00.000-04:00

I try not to discuss regional marketing or entities -- I'd just be leaving out too much of my audience who live outside the region. It's limited enough as it is -- only those in North America can really get any take-away from this blog. I'll make an exception in this case simply because my comments have more to do with business than advertising. I saw a Winn Dixie ad the other day. Their slogan

WiFi @ Best Buy

2004-08-21T22:13:00.000-04:00

You know that Best Buy ad where the marionette puppet walks into the store and gets a hard-on when he learns about their wireless internet gadgets? You know, the one that was cute for the first five times but now makes you wretch with fury each time you see it? Or maybe that's just me. In any case, I really wish they would make it go away. Particularly now that they're slapping on additional

800-CALL-ATT

2004-08-21T02:29:00.000-04:00

When is AT&T going to cut out this Carrot Top shit? I'm not going to gratify these ads with a description here. Most everyone has seen these at least once in the last two or so years. It's not that Carrot Top isn't funny. He's actually, by all accounts, a pretty darn good comedian. He comes across as an obnoxious ass on television, but those who see his Vegas show hold it in amusing regard.

Ameritrade

2004-08-20T17:55:00.000-04:00

Stewart is back! During the dot-com boom era, electronic stock trading companies were big business. Along with this big business came big advertising. A favorite was for Ameritrade, an online broker whose ads featured a red-haired fellow named Stewart. Though he was a consummate slacker, Stewart's technical skill was unimpeachable. The early Ameritrade ads featured Stewart guiding his boss, "Mr.

Geico, redux

2004-08-19T17:03:00.000-04:00

I'm going to have to retract a little of my irritation with Geico. Over the powerless weekend, I was using my battery powered radio as sole means of entertainment. I heard an ad that went something like this, regarding a mattress factory. "No payments, no interest until 2017!" My interest was piqued. I need a new mattress. Mine really hurts my back and shoulders. The ad continued about the

Priceline

2004-08-18T14:42:00.000-04:00

Initially, I sort of liked the Priceline ad where the inimitable William Shatner is, to his chagrine, replaced by Leonard Nimoy, his longtime Star Trek co-star. I'm a trekkie, I'll admit it. I also really like both actors. It's getting a little stale, though. In recent weeks, the fitional brinksmanship between the two talents has become a little blah. So blah that I don't even have the energy

Blogger Bar

2004-08-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

Thank you ever so much to the folks at Google and Blogger, who recently decided to drop the super ugly AdWords bar on the top of Blogspot hosted blogs. The replacement Blogger Bar is much more sexy and matches my template. Bravo, for again making the best free blog service ever.

Excellence

2004-08-18T03:05:00.000-04:00

Since I started this blog, I've been hearing the same general query from people I know: "You realize advertisements are meant to sell products, right?" And the answer, naturally, is yes. The point to critiquing advertisements has less to do with my desire for entertainment than it does my desire for excellence. For a great many companies, television advertisements leave the first and most

Charlie Footage

2004-08-16T14:15:00.000-04:00

Here's some video of Charley I shot on Friday. Really wild weather. You'll need QuickTime. Oh, and those who asked, I'm doing fine. Electricity is still spotty, so I have to borrow it from others, but I made out okay. The ones to pity are those hardest hit on the west coast of Florida. Prayers be with them. UPDATE Link fixed.

Charley

2004-08-15T14:18:00.000-04:00

If you don't mind my getting a little extra-curricular, I'll tell you a bit about my meeting with Hurricane Charley this weekend. Friday started off normally enough, with just a little rain, which is normal enough for Central Florida. My Fiancee, Ashley, was getting a little nervous -- or a little excited -- by the early afternoon. It was premature, though. The fun wouldn't start until evening.

AFLAC

2004-08-12T19:17:00.000-04:00

I have a curious affection for all variety of waterfowl, including the lovable duck. It will come as no surprise, then, that I have always enjoyed AFLAC ads. I mean, that AFLAC duck is awesome. That is all.

Charley

2004-08-12T15:59:00.000-04:00

As you can see from the below graphic, I'm right in the path of Hurricane Charley. Which means that I might lose electricity. Which would then mean I couldn't watch TV. Or Blog. Map courtesy The Weather Channel.

Nascar on TNT

2004-08-12T11:47:00.000-04:00

I was watching The X-Files on TNT the other day with the missus and noticed something really, really lame. Mulder and Scully were discussing something fairly important in hushed tones. It was an essential plot development moment. SCREECH! Then, from nowhere, this obtrusive, ugly NASCAR graphic pops into the frame, complete with tire squeal sound effects. I gritted my teeth, hoping it would

TBS: Not very funny

2004-08-12T01:40:00.000-04:00

I've been seeing a little of TBS lately, for reasons I can't remember. I think I wanted to know if Sex and the City was still watchable without the frontal nudity or explicit language. One thing I've noticed is that they're taking a full sixty seconds to do some of their station ID's. I guess TBS is trying to position itself as your one-stop shop for primetime comedy. These sixty second

Office Max

2004-08-11T03:16:00.000-04:00

A few months back, there was a pretty peppy but otherwise enjoyable ad for Office Max, sporting the song Rubber Band Man, by the Spinners. It featured an afroed supply guru pushing a cart replete with office consumables cheerfully through a corporate workspace. In the midst of office crises, this Rubber Band Man was there just in time with organizational tools, cleaning goodies and other fun

FedEx Kinko's

2004-08-10T08:26:00.000-04:00

FedEx ads have never, ever sucked. They've always been informative on one hand and really enjoyable on the other. I've lost count of the FedEx ads I've declared as favorites over the years -- so many new and funny ones come and take their place that it's impossible to keep track. Kinko's has also pleased me with their advertising repertoire. Sometimes funny, sometimes simple, always tasteful.

Ditech.com

2004-08-09T16:59:00.000-04:00

Now, we'll all agree that good things like pie are very nice to eat. Very tasty and satisfying. People will also agree that despite the goodness of pie, it would be ill-advised to eat a slice every ten minutes. Every day. For months. Why, you would get obese. You would get sick from filling your tummy beyond capacity. This delicious pie would cease to be delicious. You would fail to love pie

I'm Not Lovin' It

2004-08-08T15:23:00.000-04:00

I hate McDonald's ads. I always have. They're such contemptible bullshit. But I think that Maddox can explain a bit more effectively than I can.

Cable's Gift to America

2004-08-08T15:11:00.000-04:00

I recently learned that C-SPAN, the cable channel dedicated to televising congressional business, turns 25 this year. Several spots highlight this on the various cable channels. People from many varied walks of life gush synthetically about their love of... C-SPAN. The ads end by calling C-SPAN "Cable's gift to America." You know, I consider myself a pretty literate and informed individual. Few

Dairy Queen

2004-08-07T01:16:00.000-04:00

There are few creations on earth that have earned my complete and life-altering disdain. Members of this exclusive excrement club include Richard Simmons exercise videos and all those made-for-cable movies on Lifetime. There's also Dairy Queen ads. Few things can be accomplished in a mere thirty seconds to inspire my seething, murderous rage. Showing me a Dairy Queen ad, from any period in the

Jaguar

2004-08-04T18:22:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the dearth of updates. School has kept me busy and when I'm busy I can't watch television. Today, though, I was shocked to discover an unlikely pair: Jaguar and Catwoman. I'm not sure how long these ads have been running, but I couldn't help but crack a derisive grin. This is, after all, the same movie which has inspired quotes like "A stinky hairball on the soiled rug of the summer