Dumb Marketing Moves: Tell me about Zoos

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Lonely Virgil: Oct 9, 2012

Video game marketing is the worst. Some infamous ones;

An ad for the infamous Daikatana.

Acclaim paying would be parents $10,000 to name their kid Turok.

Atari Jaguar's "Do the Math" ad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlRWqqWay7c

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:14

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 03:43

Arsonist Daria: Feb 27, 2011; ^{Requiescat in pace.}

Lonely Virgil posted:

Atari Jaguar's "Do the Math" ad.

Oh man, tell me someone took them up on this.

Game ads in the 90's were some of the weirdest poo poo. Sega had a deal with Howard Johnson to give away game tips for their lovely rear end games. How this benefitted either party, I'm not entirely sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnLxnG67VNc

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:20

Snatch Duster: Feb 20, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

Jastiger posted:

Right, but that doesn't mean they were successful in selling the products. I actually have a lot of fun with commercials. They can be funny or a good talking point.

But...I'm not rating it on how well it gets me to buy their stuff. So while it may be memorable and successful as far as sticking in our heads, they probably did little to actually push the product itself, and probably even (especially in the mac example) pushed people away.

At work and can't find it. How about those little rat things for the PSP?

The Mac ad campaign did help sell Macs. It brought over people who knew nothing about computers or how to maintain them, into a camp they could smugly stay within that had supposed superior technology. However, the main goal of the Mac campaign at the time was to make the majority of the people aware of an alternative to Windows. No better way to do this then be somewhat aggressive, but still friendly, with your ad campaign.

Since Apple fired their ad agency a little while back and brought advertising in house, their sales have been flat lining across all products.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:25

Jastiger: Oct 11, 2008; by FactsAreUseless

Snatch Duster posted:

The Mac ad campaign did help sell Macs. It brought over people who knew nothing about computers or how to maintain them, into a camp they could smugly stay within that had supposed superior technology. However, the main goal of the Mac campaign at the time was to make the majority of the people aware of an alternative to Windows. No better way to do this then be somewhat aggressive, but still friendly, with your ad campaign.

Since Apple fired their ad agency a little while back and brought advertising in house, their sales have been flat lining across all products.

That is interesting to know. My impression was that everyone hated the commercials unless they were already inclined to like mac computers. Hodgeman was always the funny one while Long was a person you wanted to punch in the face. Then again, at the time, most of the people I knew did know a bit about technology so they weren't fans at that kind of approach. Guess it worked better on folks that were already outside the tech realm.

Wasn't there a game company that offered ad space on tombstones or something? It was Acclaim, the Best Company, if I remember.

More game ad stuff, what about Aliens: Colonial Marines? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo

They built this up as a super awesome shooter and it ended up being a lot less polished and a bit broken in the game play.

I also know there was a lot of video game nerd rage about the newest Madden and how the marketing showed realistic reactions on the sidelines and more improved graphics, and it has absolutely none of those things in the game. I think this is relevant to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yizJnmd5xdM

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:33

Humboldt Squid: Jan 21, 2006

FutonForensic posted:

Oh, you mean... these???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bP6JGh3Bmk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqHd4UysK9k

It actually gets worse. Sony decided to market to the """"""urban"""""" demographic with the psp so they put up 'graffiti' like this

Reactions among the target demographic were less than enthusiastic.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:38

marshmallow creep: Dec 10, 2008; I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

Morpheus posted:

Jesus, the initial PS3 advertisements were awful. Like they were trying to create 'deep' and 'artistic' ads that featured...uh, crying baby dolls and...stuff. Other weird stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq9vHFKZHLE

Like what the gently caress.

It was all like this until they hired whoever created the Kevin Butler character - that was a stroke of genius.

They had this one ad that was some crazy long drama about people marooned in a dilapidated hotel in some jungle-y country and it was somehow supposed to sell the PS3.

There were ads for this ad.

marshmallow creep has a new favorite as of 22:45 on Dec 5, 2014

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:38

Captain Lavender: Oct 21, 2010; verb the adjective noun

Lumberjack Bonanza posted:

Game ads in the 90's were some of the weirdest poo poo. Sega had a deal with Howard Johnson to give away game tips for their lovely rear end games. How this benefitted either party, I'm not entirely sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnLxnG67VNc

This offends all my senses.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:46

Celery Face: Feb 18, 2012

I'll never understand why GE Energy decided to use a song that's clearly about wage slavery in a coal mining commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6ueDHn2HTk

This kind of dark tone would be good for a PSA but for a Life Alert ad, it's just sleazy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6ueDHn2HTk

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:49

Holepunchio: May 31, 2011

I don't know if the campaign flopped or not, but there was a time Quiznos decided to associate their subs with gross singing rodents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG042nkReBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZrks-BPeLQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtTQFrZAGhM

Like mmm I sure could go for toasted subs and some roadkill right about now.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:52

Bobby Digital: Sep 4, 2009

Snatch Duster posted:

Since Apple fired their ad agency a little while back and brought advertising in house, their sales have been flat lining across all products.

When did this happen? Their last quarter was good.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:53

Snatch Duster: Feb 20, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

Jastiger posted:

That is interesting to know. My impression was that everyone hated the commercials unless they were already inclined to like mac computers. Hodgeman was always the funny one while Long was a person you wanted to punch in the face. Then again, at the time, most of the people I knew did know a bit about technology so they weren't fans at that kind of approach. Guess it worked better on folks that were already outside the tech realm.

Wasn't there a game company that offered ad space on tombstones or something? It was Acclaim, the Best Company, if I remember.

More game ad stuff, what about Aliens: Colonial Marines? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z2qVebxlUo

They built this up as a super awesome shooter and it ended up being a lot less polished and a bit broken in the game play.

I also know there was a lot of video game nerd rage about the newest Madden and how the marketing showed realistic reactions on the sidelines and more improved graphics, and it has absolutely none of those things in the game. I think this is relevant to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yizJnmd5xdM

Yea I was trying to find Apple's new ads that failed horribly. The ads in 2013 for Christmas was made by their in-house ad company, which were the ones that failed. However I couldn't find them on youtube since Apple removed them which is pretty funny.

The ads were such a non-element that people forgot about the ad while watching it. If you could try to think really hard to try and remember them, the ads showed bunch of people being happy and doing stuff, but never showing the phone or product. Also another terrible ad was Robin Williams talking about poetry, this one I found.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiyIcz7wUH0

This ad scored around 430 with tv viewers which is way below the average for an impactful ad. The average if I remember right is ~540. Here is a great ad that elicits "inspired" emotion that Apple tried to get, but failed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9vFWA1rnWc

# ? Dec 5, 2014 22:54

Snatch Duster: Feb 20, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

Bobby Digital posted:

When did this happen? Their last quarter was good.

Summer of 2013. The agency has gotten better by bringing in stronger CDs, but they are still ham stringed by Apple's upper management and being too close to the product.

EDIT: Funny enough, Apples last agency went and did some Samsung campaigns for their Galaxy phones/tablets immediately after Apple dropped them.

EDIT2: here is an Ad Age article about it.

quote:

TBWA/Media Arts Lab was presenting fresh work to its signature client when the Apple executive across the table stopped the proceedings and handed over another idea, saying simply, "We like this better."

The favored ad was created by a rival agency: Apple's in-house shop.

Recounted by a creative who has worked on the brand recently, it's a scene that would have been unfathomable before the death of Apple's creative heart and soul, Steve Jobs, roughly two-and-a-half years ago. But today Apple is thinking differently about its approach to advertising and marketing. Very differently.
Amid criticisms that it has failed to innovate, Apple is increasingly taking marketing into its own hands. It's madly building an internal agency that it's telling recruits will eventually number 1,000 -- the size of Grey Advertising. It's pitting TBWA/MAL against this internal agency with "jump balls" to mine the best creative ideas, a controversial tactic with outside agencies, let alone an internal one. It's going after some of adland's boldest-faced names to staff its in-house shop -- in some cases, it's even poached executives from TBWA/MAL. And, in what once would have been seen as a sacrilegious breach of the Apple-MAL bond, it's been inviting some of the ad industry's top shops to pitch on major projects.

But Apple's grand ambitions so far appear to be just that. The company that only a decade ago was the creative standard is finding a frosty reception in some creative corners. "I don't feel that energy from Apple," said one top agency exec who was approached for a post. "The revolution has come and gone, and I'm not sure a job at Apple would be a creative opportunity. If I were going to go brand-side, there are a lot more interesting companies I'd rather work for, like Coke or Pepsi."

Apple and TBWA/MAL declined to comment for this story. But interviews with at least two dozen current and former employees of Apple, TBWA/MAL, ad-industry professionals approached by the company and those who have worked with Apple reveal a powerful brand searching to regain its creative edge.
Once the ad industry's maverick, the company has struggled to deliver a campaign that lives up to the "Think Different" legacy, marred by missteps like the Olympics 2012 "Genius Bar" ads that quickly got pulled.

Meanwhile, other tech marketers have eclipsed Apple with their creativity and cojones, a fact not lost on the Cupertino company.
An email to TBWA/MAL President James Vincent from Apple Senior-VP Global Marketing Phil Schiller uncovered during the much-publicized patent lawsuit between the tech giant and rival Samsung said: "I watched the Samsung pre-Super Bowl ad that launched today. It's pretty good and I can't help but think these guys are feeling it (like an athlete that can't miss because they are in a zone), while we struggle to nail a compelling brief on iPhone."

The words could be a call to arms or represent a certified marketing creative crisis. Meanwhile, in addition to surging Samsung, Google has proved to be one of advertising's most-emulated storytellers, with traditional ads and online experiences that deftly weave humanity into its brand message. In May, Google kicked Apple out of the top spot in BrandZ's annual ranking of Most Valuable Global brands, a position Apple held for three consecutive years.

Apple clearly sees the urgency.

Dialing numbers

In April, a Wall Street Journal article during the patent dispute between Apple and Samsung brought to light an early 2013 email from Mr. Schiller to CEO Tim Cook that said the brand "may need to start a search for a new agency. �We are not getting what we need from them and haven't been in a while."

Ad Age learned that since at least the beginning of 2013, Apple has been calling adland's hottest shops to work on various projects. One of those was to San Francisco-based Pereira & O'Dell, which conceived the Emmy- and multiple Cannes-Lion-winning "Beauty Inside" social film for Intel/Toshiba. According to Co-Founder/Chief Creative Officer PJ Pereira, Apple reached out to his agency over the past year for two projects, at least one of which would have been long-term. "We turned them down because we have relationships with both Intel/Toshiba and Skype (owned by Microsoft)," he said. People close to the situation say that Apple continues to call other top creative agencies in on projects.

In April, the brand went on a digital hiring spree and added four shops to its roster: WPP's AKQA, Interpublic's Huge and indie agencies Area 17 and Kettle (see Ad Age, April 9, 2014). Under Mr. Jobs' watch, the brand was famously "traditionalist" when it came to advertising, especially for a tech company. For the most part, its standout work was confined to TV and print. The addition of the shops suggests the brand is trying to bring more creativity and innovation to its digital marketing.

Last fall, Ad Age reported that Apple was looking to build out its in-house team to 600 people from 300. Today, according to a high-level agency exec recently approached, Apple has upped that number to a massive 1,000. By comparison, Google's lauded Creative Lab, which steers some of the brand's most high-profile work, is said to have fewer than 100 people, not all of whom are full-timers. Google's marketing, however, isn't done solely out of the lab.

To staff its internal agency, Apple is casting its net wide. One senior agency exec noted that within the same six-month period of being contacted by Apple, a number of other senior creative execs at both this person's agency and other shops had gotten calls. The broad outreach gave the impression "they were just dialing numbers." Another upper-level agency exec was unclear as to how many posts Apple has been trying to fill, but said, "All I know is all my talented friends have been approached. Apple has its sight on some of the best talent."
For various reasons, however, top talent has resisted the pitch.

In addition to Apple's flagging creative reputation, another recruiting hurdle for the company is its cost-prohibitive location. "Do you know how expensive Cupertino is?" one exec said. "Just run property values, and even on an Apple salary, it would be tough."

To be sure, Apple still has plenty of appeal. "There are probably only a handful of places that have that level of expectation of quality and can afford to pay people to do work to make it successful," said another exec contacted by Apple recruitment.

The brand has managed to snag a few top names. Among them is Bill Davenport, the Wieden & Kennedy partner who helped to launch the agency's entertainment unit, W&K Entertainment, and earlier in his career steered notable projects for Levi's and Nike, including the latter's famous "Bo Knows" spot. It's not yet known what role he will play, but people close to the situation say he was hired to lead in-house production. Executives close to the business said Apple has been beefing up production beyond Mr. Davenport and is looking to create a full-function production department capable of handling not just creative but business-side affairs.

In April, branding agency Wolff Olins' Global CEO Karl Heiselman told Ad Age he would be joining Apple in a marketing-communications role. Mr. Heiselman had been a design contractor at Apple in the 1990s before Mr. Jobs returned to revitalize the company. Another addition is Tyler Whisnand, a former Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, creative director who worked on notable campaigns such as Levi's "Go Forth" and Nike's award-winning "Chalkbot." People familiar with the situation say Larry Frey, another W&K creative alum who co-founded 180 Amsterdam and is also a commercial director, has joined the in-house team.

In March of this year, Brian Rekasis joined as director, worldwide marketing and communications. He recently served as senior VP-exec producer at integrated-production company B-Reel, a former Creativity Production Company of the Year known for its sophisticated multiplatform campaigns for marketers such as Intel, Doritos and Google.
Meanwhile, Apple has poached a number of former MAL staffers, including Creative Directors Hector Muelas and Ricardo Viramontes, and Creative Director Larry Corwin, who previously held creative director positions at Google, BBH, BBDO and Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

Apple has tapped former Madison Avenue recruiters to ramp up its head-hunting efforts. Among them, Linda Waste, a senior recruiting manager who previously worked at DDB Chicago, Energy BBDO and Euro RSCG; and senior recruiter Greg Christman, former talent director at TBWA/MAL and recruiter at Google Creative Lab.

At the same time, according to people familiar with the situation, TBWA/MAL has become more aggressive in its own recruiting.

While hiring efforts are in full force, Apple has changed its approach to getting creative work as it continues to increase its ad spending. In 2013, its advertising budget rose to $1.1 billion, up from $1 billion in 2012 and $933 million in 2011.

Much of the purview over Apple advertising lies with Hiroki Asai, who came up at the company through package design -- and is said by one creative to be "the creative director of all things internal" who has "really evolved into this very powerful person" at Apple. But his job is more complicated now than it once was, given the expansion of the internal agency and subsequent shootouts. In addition to overseeing much (if not all) creative internally, he is reportedly also one of the main client contacts for TBWA/MAL. "He's kind of judge and jury," said the creative.

'Most disrespectul thing'

Outside of controversial emails, Mr. Schiller plays a leading role as well. People familiar with the situation say it's under him that Apple has introduced -- or at least intensified -- a competitive dynamic between its in-house team and TBWA/MAL through creative shootouts. That's the type of warfare typically found between competing shops, not agency and client.

One creative who worked for Apple said the shootouts began last summer when the company was prepping to launch the iPhone 5C. This creative noted that it appeared as though the shootouts would continue, but not every project will go that route. For instance, Apple's holiday ad, featuring a loner teen who seems to pull away from his family's holiday festivities but ultimately turned out to be creating a surprising gift, was assigned to Media Arts Lab.

Among the first shootouts last summer, according to one creative close to the business, was for the "Intention" film, which debuted at last year's World Wide Developer's conference. TBWA/MAL's work won, earning a lot of attention in the design and fanboy community for reclaiming Apple's authoritative voice.

The addition of new agencies and the shootouts reflect what one person close to the situation said was Mr. Schiller's preference for having as many people working on the business as possible.

According to one former TBWA/MAL creative, this is not the way the partnership used to work. "It was never at this level before," the creative said. "It is one thing to open up your account to a bunch of different agencies, but to build out your own troops, give them the brief months in advance and then give it to the agency -- it's the most disrespectful thing."
One insider said "jump balls" have always been part of Apple's approach, but the process has become more apparent over the past year or so because, more often than not, "the internal teams have won."

"For whatever reason, MAL is seen as part of the old way of doing things," said a creative who has worked on Apple marketing. "The people running MAL made sense with the way Steve Jobs liked to work. They had Wednesday reviews, they'd fly up to Apple and show work, and there was a process with Jobs. Now that he's not there, they're not innovating because they're only doing what they know."

Apple originally made its creative mark with longtime agency Chiat/Day, and later, Media Arts Lab. Part of the TBWA agency network, the latter evolved from of the longtime creative partnership established at Chiat between its founder, Lee Clow, and Mr. Jobs, whose collaboration birthed iconic ads such as the "1984" Super Bowl spot and the 1997 "Think Different" campaign. TBWA/MAL kept up the creative pace with more recent winners including the "Mac vs. PC"campaign.

Fate of TBWA/MAL

Execs approached by Apple for internal jobs were told that TBWA/MAL would continue to be part of the picture -- but in what capacity remains unclear. Some say it will need to fill the service-side duties Apple can't handle internally. Others paint a bleaker picture of the shop's future with Apple.

For now, however, it seems it will remain a creative player for Apple, but as part of a growing, more competitive and more comprehensive marketing mix.

One person close to the matter said Apple's in-house marketing leads have permission from Messrs. Cook and Schiller to scale its marketing and communications resources to catch up to its business growth over the last few years. "The volume of work exceeds the resource," said the executive. Every Apple contractor, including TBWA/MAL, is "max busy."

"They said they have so much going on from a marketing-communications standpoint that MAL is part of their plan, but their expectations for marketing are much greater than what MAL is built to do," said one top exec approached for a post. "They're just expanding their practice. They were very honest that MAL was part of the plan, they're just not the only part of the plan."
It's hard to say whether the new approach has directly led to better product, but in the last few months, the marketer has clearly turned out better ads, work that helps forgive the "Genius Bar Guy" faux pas.

Recent ads created by the internal agency include the 5C launch spot dubbed "Greetings." It also handled last fall's iPad air spot "Pencil," as well as another that featured a voice-over of Robin Williams from the movie "Dead Poets Society." Meanwhile, outside of "Intention," TBWA/MAL delivered the brand's recent Pixies-fueled ad "Powerful" and the charming holiday spot.
The broader creative picture shows that Apple is lining up as much talent -- on all fronts -- to inject innovation back into its game. Outside of marketing and communication, in October of last year, Apple generated buzz when to revitalize retail it hired Angela Ahrendts, the Burberry CEO known for bringing the once-stodgy brand into the modern age with groundbreaking digital initiatives. The recent $3 billion acquisition of Beats also brings music entrepreneurs Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine into the boardroom as senior advisers on content.

Big moves, all proving Apple's determination to up its game. But reinvention won't be an easy process for the company or the agency that helped build it. To borrow a phrase from Apple's "Intention" film, "there are 1,000 nos for every yes."

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/apple-marketing-a-game/293605/

Snatch Duster has a new favorite as of 23:12 on Dec 5, 2014

# ? Dec 5, 2014 23:00

gnarlyhotep: Sep 30, 2008; by Lowtax; Oven Wrangler

Humboldt Squid posted:

Reactions among the target demographic were less than enthusiastic.

Haha, this is awesome.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 23:05

marshmallow creep: Dec 10, 2008; I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

Holepunchio posted:

I don't know if the campaign flopped or not, but there was a time Quiznos decided to associate their subs with gross singing rodents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG042nkReBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZrks-BPeLQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtTQFrZAGhM

Like mmm I sure could go for toasted subs and some roadkill right about now.

I remember seeing one of these ads and thinking it funny because I was a dumb teenager, but it didn't make me want to eat Quiznos, even ironically.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 23:11

Eldritch BiLast: Jul 7, 2009; Pummel Sylvanas
Melee Range
Instant

Jastiger posted:

I also know there was a lot of video game nerd rage about the newest Madden and how the marketing showed realistic reactions on the sidelines and more improved graphics, and it has absolutely none of those things in the game. I think this is relevant to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yizJnmd5xdM

The 2k series has always been far better than Madden ever was, which between that, and the low selling point that they released the game at. $20 bucks for a brand new NFL game that was lightyears ahead of what Madden had even attempted to do, with in game "broadcasts" from ESPN, and for the longest time was the top selling American Football video game released. Shame that EA opted to buy exclusivity and let themselves stagnate instead of improving the game in any sense of the imagination.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 23:22

Davros1: Jul 19, 2007; You've got to admit, you are kind of implausible

Lonely Virgil posted:

Video game marketing is the worst. Some infamous ones;

Acclaim paying would be parents $10,000 to name their kid Turok.

Acclaim was nothing but bad decisions. Shadowman, the game based on a comic from the same comic company that did Turok, was about a voodoo priest(?) battling the forces of darkness. So where else would you advertise it other than renting space on gravestones in cemeteries?

# ? Dec 5, 2014 23:43

BattleHamster: Mar 18, 2009

Holepunchio posted:

I don't know if the campaign flopped or not, but there was a time Quiznos decided to associate their subs with gross singing rodents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG042nkReBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZrks-BPeLQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtTQFrZAGhM

Like mmm I sure could go for toasted subs and some roadkill right about now.

Quizno's also had this commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LQpRQh2KSQ about a sexually suggestive toaster oven that totally wants long, hot sandwiches up its butt. Makes me laugh real hard but probably wasn't a great marketing move.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 23:57

darkhand: Jan 18, 2010; This beard just won't do!

There's a local scrapyard in Houston that did some commercials a few years ago. They came on the air, did their spiel about their services, then play their slogan, and it was over. Eventually they started putting in bloopers at the end of the commercial, which was still fine because it was still clear about their services.

Years later still, now it's just ALL bloopers and it makes absolutely zero sense seeing a bunch of haggard people messing up their lines and laughing, then the commercial ends. It's super weird. If viewers didn't follow the progression years ago I'm not even sure they know what they're selling.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 00:18

Wheat Loaf: Feb 13, 2012; by FactsAreUseless

Davros1 posted:

Acclaim was nothing but bad decisions. Shadowman, the game based on a comic from the same comic company that did Turok, was about a voodoo priest(?) battling the forces of darkness. So where else would you advertise it other than renting space on gravestones in cemeteries?

Acclaim thought that owning a line of comics to tie-in with all their games would be a good marketing decision, so they actually went ahead and bought the comic company that published Shadowman for $65 million.

Just in time for the comic book industry to collapse, I believe.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 03:50

gnarlyhotep: Sep 30, 2008; by Lowtax; Oven Wrangler

Metal Loaf posted:

Acclaim thought that owning a line of comics to tie-in with all their games would be a good marketing decision, so they actually went ahead and bought the comic company that published Shadowman for $65 million.

Just in time for the comic book industry to collapse, I believe.

Some real business-savvy motherfuckers right there.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 04:15

Jastiger: Oct 11, 2008; by FactsAreUseless

Can we talk about ads we think are GOOD in this thread?

The Samsung vs Apple ads I thought were super on point. They show people with the Samsung walking by folks waiting for the newest Apple product. They were down to earth, focused on features instead of brand, and showed how they benefitted the consumer in a way the apple product absolutely could not. A lot of the dialogue was hamfisted and smarmy, but it got the point across.

I wish all commercials were like that. Here is what it does, here is what it does better, and here is how it benefits you. No need for gimmicks, no need for spokesman, or even jokes. Instead we get..I don't know the FRAMILY or whatever the gently caress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BltL8vKpXD0

# ? Dec 6, 2014 05:45

mcbexx: Jul 4, 2004; British dentistry is
not on trial here!

This is how Germany's biggest savings bank decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 14:09

Jeherrin: Jun 7, 2012

Oh my.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 15:57

funkybottoms: Oct 28, 2010; Funky Bottoms is a land man

Morton Haynice posted:

I believe that was Paul Ryan, and the band was Rage Against the Machine.

The response Tom Morello wrote is loving glorious.

Michele Bachmann's crazy rear end was using Tom Petty's "American Girl," much to his chagrin (forgot about McCain/"Pink Houses" ((which also reminds me of his idiot daughter blogging about his campaign and listening to Stereolab))))

mcbexx posted:

This is how Germany's biggest savings bank decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

whoops.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 16:20

TOILETLORD: Nov 13, 2012; by XyloJW

funkybottoms posted:

Michele Bachmann's crazy rear end was using Tom Petty's "American Girl," much to his chagrin (forgot about McCain/"Pink Houses" ((which also reminds me of his idiot daughter blogging about his campaign and listening to Stereolab))))

whoops.

they should of built a giant zaku out of foam.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 16:27

Wheat Loaf: Feb 13, 2012; by FactsAreUseless

funkybottoms posted:

Michele Bachmann's crazy rear end was using Tom Petty's "American Girl," much to his chagrin (forgot about McCain/"Pink Houses" ((which also reminds me of his idiot daughter blogging about his campaign and listening to Stereolab))))

From the same campaign, I believe Ann and Nancy Wilson asked Sarah Palin to stop using "Barracuda" for her theme music (though that was more, "Stop using our song, we don't like you," than, "You haven't a clue what this song is about, do you?").

# ? Dec 6, 2014 16:33

venus de lmao: Apr 30, 2007; Call me "pixeltits"

I don't know why everyone is leaving out the best part of Tom Morello's response to Paul Ryan saying he likes Rage Against the Machine: "gently caress you, you are the machine."

# ? Dec 6, 2014 17:52

Arsonist Daria: Feb 27, 2011; ^{Requiescat in pace.}

Bertrand Hustle posted:

I don't know why everyone is leaving out the best part of Tom Morello's response to Paul Ryan saying he likes Rage Against the Machine: "gently caress you, you are the machine."

Oh poo poo, I forgot about that one. How do you misinterpret a band's message so badly?

# ? Dec 6, 2014 19:17

Bobby Digital: Sep 4, 2009

Lumberjack Bonanza posted:

Oh poo poo, I forgot about that one. How do you misinterpret a band's message so badly?

He seems like the type of guy that would consider the liberal media to be the machine.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 19:18

Lamprey Cannon: Jul 23, 2011; by exmarx

mcbexx posted:

This is how Germany's biggest savings bank decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Alright, I'm not sure I'm getting it. It's a banner with the logo of the bank on it, on a building near the Brandenburg gate. Is the building a famous one?

# ? Dec 6, 2014 19:43

Morton Haynice: Sep 9, 2008; doop doop
doop doop
doop doop
doop doop

That banner remind you of anything?

# ? Dec 6, 2014 19:47

Prolonged Panorama: Dec 21, 2007; Holy hookrat Sally smoking crack in the alley!

Bobby Digital posted:

He seems like the type of guy that would consider the liberal media to be the machine.

Here's a really good article about this: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/08/paul_ryan_vs_rage_against_the.html

And to Lamprey Cannon, look at the thumbnailed image, it's clearer there. It looks like an old Nazi banner, except missing the black swastika in the middle of the circle

# ? Dec 6, 2014 19:48

Zedd: Jul 6, 2009; I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here?

Lamprey Cannon posted:

Alright, I'm not sure I'm getting it. It's a banner with the logo of the bank on it, on a building near the Brandenburg gate. Is the building a famous one?

it sorta evokes this style of building draping "popular" during WW2:

# ? Dec 6, 2014 19:51

7 RING SHRIMP: Oct 3, 2012

mcbexx posted:

This is how Germany's biggest savings bank decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Incredible.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 20:15

RenegadeStyle1: Jun 7, 2005; Baby Come Back

I heard somewhere that in Germany it's illegal to have or showcase Nazi memorabilia, is that not true?

# ? Dec 6, 2014 23:24

flavor.flv: Apr 18, 2008; I got a letter from the government the other day
opened it, read it
it said they was bitches

Yes, and this is a perfect example of why that's a bad policy, just like banning sex ed in schools.

If you don't give them examples and explain what's good and what's bad, they're going to stumble into doing it in the worst way possible.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 23:51

Captain Lavender: Oct 21, 2010; verb the adjective noun

Morton Haynice posted:

That banner remind you of anything?

I'm really miffed that they couldn't be bothered to iron that banner before taking a picture of it - unless it was in a conscious kind of way. "Should we iron it first?" > "No, gently caress those guys."

# ? Dec 7, 2014 00:02

Frostyhawk: Jan 21, 2012; Bird Up!

darkhand posted:

There's a local scrapyard in Houston that did some commercials a few years ago. They came on the air, did their spiel about their services, then play their slogan, and it was over. Eventually they started putting in bloopers at the end of the commercial, which was still fine because it was still clear about their services.

Years later still, now it's just ALL bloopers and it makes absolutely zero sense seeing a bunch of haggard people messing up their lines and laughing, then the commercial ends. It's super weird. If viewers didn't follow the progression years ago I'm not even sure they know what they're selling.

But hey, they'll pay you in $2 bills!

# ? Dec 7, 2014 00:04

...of SCIENCE!: Apr 26, 2008; by Fluffdaddy

Lumberjack Bonanza posted:

Oh man, tell me someone took them up on this.

Game ads in the 90's were some of the weirdest poo poo. Sega had a deal with Howard Johnson to give away game tips for their lovely rear end games. How this benefitted either party, I'm not entirely sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnLxnG67VNc

I think my favorite :wtc:

90s gaming marketing was Johnny Turbo, in which the TurboGrafx-16 was embodied as a fat neckbearded programmer in an ambiguous relationship with his roommate Tony and shouted marketing slogans at evil alien drones representing Sega.

# ? Dec 7, 2014 00:28

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 03:43

Arsonist Daria: Feb 27, 2011; ^{Requiescat in pace.}

...of SCIENCE! posted:

I think my favorite 90s gaming marketing was Johnny Turbo, in which the TurboGrafx-16 was embodied as a fat neckbearded programmer in an ambiguous relationship with his roommate Tony and shouted marketing slogans at evil alien drones representing Sega.

The slapfight that was the awkward transition into next gen after the SNES and Genesis was amazing. So many stupid gimmicks, so many bald-faced lies, so many idiots who had no idea what the gently caress they were doing. And Sega followed them all until they were bled dry by the time they had a real console to offer. What a stupid, stupid company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbYkgDWAYAE

The uselessness of the 32X is beaten only by its ads.

Here, have another slightly less bad one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4I8zIJrg1U

Arsonist Daria has a new favorite as of 00:49 on Dec 7, 2014

# ? Dec 7, 2014 00:37

The Something Awful Forums > Main > Post Your Favorite: Carefully Curated > Dumb Marketing Moves: Tell me about Zoos

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