Personalized M&Ms

I really enjoy ads that take something ordinary and position it in a way that is unique and interesting.  This ad for personalized M&M's does just that.  There's subtle symbolism in the ad as well as a clever visual image.  You can send a message literally using a keyboard, and now you can send a message just as literally with M&M's.  It's not particularly deep symbolism, but it's still there.  The ad doesn't necessarily make me want to buy personalized M&M's, but I think it's clever.  So in some regards this isn't a particularly effective ad because it doesn't make me want to buy the product.  I like it when ads are sort of unexpected, and I think this ad is unexpected in a great way.

The Beetles

I love Volkswagon print ads.  What I like about this one in particular is that it takes an iconic image, well known and beloved by the public, and turns it into something different.  As I recently read in "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This," great advertising takes a cliche, and turns it on it's head.  It takes something we all know, and looks at it from a different perspective.  With this sort of clever imagery, there's no big flashy headline or body copy necessary.  That would just take away from the overall aesthetic and ultimately what makes the ad great.  Volkswagon has always understood simplicity and how it will always appeal to the public more than an overly busy ad with too much going on.  The message needs to be clear, without insulting the consumer.  The Beatles were cool...the Beetles are cool.  Obviously the above ad is a much more appealing way to portray that idea. 

Bob Rohrman Bloopers TV Commercial

I dislike this entire advertisement campaign.  It is this sort of crass, annoying advertising that gives the entire industry a bad name, in my opinion.  Tricking consumers into remembering your product through sheer irritation is not a desirable approach to marketing.  My favorite commercials are the ones that I actually turn up the volume on because I think they are funny or clever.  I change the channel when a Bob Rohrman commercial comes on.  I can't stand them.  They are the "Mr. Whipple" ads of my generation, and I wish they would just stop airing.
 

Michael Kors Print Ad for Nordstroms

What I love about fashion ads is that they tell a story, as most good advertising does.  I like trying to get to know the woman in the picture, and trying to find out if there's anything of myself in her that I can identify with.  A good fashion ad balances whimsy with reality.  When I look at a fashion ad, I want to be taken to a place that is more glamorous than my everyday life, but not so glamorous that when I look at it, roll my eyes and say "Oh yeah right."  I think this Michael Kors ad is a great balance.  This woman is traveling.  She looks like she's getting off of a private jet.  So I don't have a private jet...but hey, I travel.  I could be like her.  She's comfortable but sophisticated.  I could update my travel gear of sweatpants and a grubby t-shirt to some skinny jeans and a cardigan if I wanted!  This ad makes me think, I may not ever be a rich supermodel, but I can travel in style...maybe even in some clothes designed by Michael Kors.  It's unobtrusive, not too whimsical, it's classic and effortless.  It has all the makings of what to me, makes a great fashion print ad.