The 4 am Rush Hour

Ever have that rush to the heart kind of sensation when you have no clue what so ever about what is going on? This commercial gave me that very feeling. Take a minute and see what you think!

Surprised by the ending message? I sure was, all that upset just to go shopping! But not just any shopping, JC Penny’s huge Day after Thanksgiving Sale! I truly believe this commercial was well planned, well written, and effectively gets across their message.

When first watching this, I had no clue what it was even for. From the mom going to the window to look outside, to bursting into the girls room, waking them up, making them put on clothes, to running down the stairs and grabbing food from the cabinet, to jumping into the car, locking the doors and driving away, it is all fast paced and questionable to what is going on. The dark lighting and music have an eerie tone that reminds one of a scene from a scary movie.

Locking the doors of the car sets of a sense that there is something to be afraid of. All the people outside with flashlights toward the end seem to be like they are going after them as they pull out of their driveway. The viewers are left clueless until the little girl finally asks her mom what is going on and she finally fills them in that they are going to the JC Penney after Thanksgiving Day Sale! The looks on the girls’ faces are priceless! This is the climax of the commercial when you are just dying to know what is going on and then chuckle after discovering the real reason. The mom pulls out and heads toward the sale with the other people in the community. This gives one the feeling that everyone else is going, so you should too.

Seeing this on TV actually made me want to get up at super early on the day after Thanksgiving and be at JCPennys by 4 am! Not just anything can get me out of the bed. THAT my friends, is one effective commercial!

How Can I Tell You That I Love You?

With the holiday season now underway, television is flooded with advertisements for anything and everything. The DeBeers Christmas “Morning Surprise” commercial advertising their Journey Necklace is one I have enjoyed watching the past two years.

In my opinion, Cat Power’s “How Can I Tell You,” song is what makes the commercial so great! Its calmness matches the flow and actions of the husband who is quietly giving his wife the necklace. Without this song, the commercial wouldn’t have the same meaning. The well written lyrics are what convey the message to show the meaning behind DeBeers Journey Necklace.

As the end of the commercial says: “This Christmas, say everything, without saying a word.” (The lyrics are: How can I tell you - That I love you - I love you - I long to tell you - That I'm always thinking of you - I'm always thinking of you - But I can't think of the right words to say)

With the night time setting, the lighting is somewhat dark, and the colors are dull. This allows the necklace to better grab the viewers attention when finally displayed in the woman’s hand.

This commercial is shown throughout the year, just with everyday settings replacing the snow and Christmas tree screens. The closing text is also changed to fit the appropriate occasion.

For some reason, I have always been under the impression this was a commercial for Kay Jewelers until I searched for the commercial on YouTube. One problem I found within this commercial is the company’s name is not displayed. One line of text at the end could easily solve this simple confusion.

Overall, this commercial is just so sweet and romantic. I’m sure many men have seen this on tv and realized how perfect of a gift it would be for any special occasion. After all, what lady would not want her man to surprise her like this?

Give The Gift Of A Dad!

Finding the perfect present for someone isn’t always the easiest task, especially when that person already has everything they could ever need or want. An ad in People Magazine’s June 25^th 2007 issue has the perfect gift for those who may not be as fortunate as those who are difficult to buy for. Before you get your hopes up, let me break it to you gently: This is NOT a Christmas ad, instead, it is advertising for the perfect Father’s Day Gift!

And just what is the perfect Father’s Day Gift you may be wondering? It is not the typical neck tie or Hallmark card, but involves a trip to Wendys! That’s right! Of course everyone loves food, but that’s not really it either. This ad’s tagline reads “Give the Gift of Dad” and contains a vintage drawing of a little boy whose arms are thrown up in the air with excitement standing beside a tall wrapped present resembling the shape of a man. The body text at the bottom explains that during Father’s Day weekend, fifty cents of every frosty purchased will be donated to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. So, take dad out for a frosty on Father's Day and you'll be giving two gifts!

After seeing the excitement of the cute little boy and reading the body copy, this ad really played with my emotions. I then pictured myself in the little boy’s position and just imagined how exciting it would be at his young age to receive the lifelong gift of a dad. How wonderful would that be?! A gift that would keep on giving, and keep on loving!

This ad’s placement in People Magazine is a great spot to attract its target audience. The colors and vintage look of the ad improvises the time aspect of their phrase, “Finding Forever Families for Children in Foster Care.” Overall, I believe this is a very effective ad causing Wendy’s effort to support adoption appealing to others.

TEACH MAKE SHOW ART

I was getting off the elevator in Breck this past week when a multicolored flyer caught my attention. To no surprise, this awesome advertisement was from the Art Department, promoting their Art Faculty Show.

What I really like about the design is the way the text is lined up to where it spells out in black, the most perfect description: TEACH MAKE SHOW ART. As far as color scheme goes, they done a great job incorporating sequence of a rainbow by starting with red toward the bottom and ending with a shade of violet toward the top.

Although I find this to be very creative and impressive, I would suggest increasing increase the space between the groups of text or putting a shadow on the black text to better distinguish the idea of the formation of the letters into words.

Finding the placement of this flyer was a smart move for the art department, since many of their students, or those who are at least interested somewhat in art, are also advertising majors or minors and have numerous classes in Breck. I consider this a job well done on pin pointing their target market.

Overall, I believe this is a really impressive ad. It gets its point across in a very creative manner by displaying the faculty’s names as a piece of art and has actually convinced me to check out the Art Faculty Show for myself! In all honesty, I wish I had designed this poster. You better bet I would be taking all bragging rights!

Can't touch this! Or can you?!

Multi touch meets multi applications

Just to let everyone know, I am pretty jealous of this “Nick Haley” guy, a student who just received a nice “donation” from Apple for creating a commercial showcasing the new iPod touch.

I had no clue what so ever that this type of iPod was on the market until I watched this commercial. I am amazed that in a matter of thirty seconds, with the help of sharp editing and a fast beat song, the ad nicely highlights every feature of the device which are available by a simple touch of the screen.

With both the images and song appealing to wide range of demographics, this tells the viewer the iPod touch is for everyone! Also, with a solid black background and the idea of yourself being the person in the ad, carries on the same well known iPod style. Its sleek design and sophisticated shiny black color makes it very appealing to the eye, yet with the same classic iPod feel.

With the merge of music, video, photo, and internet capability, this is the perfect gadget for any multitasker. I also noticed that when displaying the music choices, it shows the newest hit songs such as one of my personal favorites Bubbly. Mentioning Facebook also targets many of us college students. All this allows me to better relate with the product by imagining having everything I enjoy at the tips of my fingers. Honestly, in my opinion, this iPod is the next best creation to the apple iPhone!

The apple logo appearing numerous times is a real eye catching strategy which is used as a great call to action! Also, I like the way apple’s website also gives a link for web surfers to purchase the song from the commercial from iTunes. Smart thinking!

Although it doesn’t mention how much it costs, the ad is certainly designed well enough to convince me to add it to the top of my Christmas wish list!

This commercial actually leaves me wondering though… why do our everyday desktops and laptop computers not have touch keyboards? Humm… now that’s something to ponder about!!