Two of my LEAST favorite current TV ad campaigns
In my previous post, I discussed two commercials for Scott's and Subaru that I found to be excellent examples of effective advertising. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and many of my readers asked me to review commercials that I didn't find effective. In response to their requests, I decided to analyze a couple of advertisements that missed the mark and failed to deliver their intended message. In this post, I will be discussing two commercials from the past week that, in my opinion, were a complete waste of money. These ads were confusing, lacked clarity, and missed their mark, leaving me and perhaps many others scratching our heads about their purpose. Let's take a closer look at these commercials and analyze their shortcomings.
The first ad is for Maersk, a global shipping company. The ad, titled "Tune: Favors the Curious," features a young girl sitting on a hillside, gazing out into the distance while listening to a tune on her mobile phone. She then embarks on a journey to explore the world, visiting different countries and cultures. The ad attempts to highlight Maersk's global reach and the opportunities it provides for people to explore the world. However, the metaphorical messaging gets lost, and there is no clarity regarding what the commercial is all about. It leaves the viewer wondering if it is a mining ad or a Raiders of the Lost Ark sequel. The small target audience for this ad is also questionable since it is hard to imagine how a global shipping company can count its target audience in the hundreds or thousands. It is dark with poor lighting, in caves/mines? I just didn’t get what they were talking about and the production confused me even more.
The second ad is for Caesars Entertainment and features J.B. Smoove and Halle Berry. The ad, titled "Performance," depicts Smoove as Caesar, sporting gold chains and a gold jumpsuit as he performs a song about Caesars Entertainment rewards from its app. After crash landing, an unscathed Caesar continues the show and dances towards Cleopatra, or Halle Berry, with a bouquet of roses. Berry says the Evel Knievel-esque stunt was a liiittle much for him. The ad is another example of an overproduced spot with little clarity as to its message or purpose. The music, costumes, and stunts are all eye-catching, but the metaphorical messaging gets lost in the production value. The ad leaves the viewer wondering what the point of the ad is and why they should care.
Both of these ads demonstrate the dangers of overproduced production value and lack of clarity in messaging. Ads that are too metaphorical or abstract can be difficult for viewers to understand, leading to confusion and disinterest. Additionally, when ads are produced to appeal to a small target audience, they risk alienating a broader audience, making the ad ineffective.
Great advertising is about simplicity and creativity with imagery that captures someone’s imagination through persuasion. These two spots fail by this criteria.
Marketing campaigns are essential to the success of businesses. However, not all ads hit the mark, and some can even miss their intended target altogether. The examples provided demonstrate that overproduced production value and a lack of clarity in messaging can lead to an ad's failure. As such, it is essential for businesses to ensure that their ads are clear, concise, and appeal to a broad audience to achieve maximum impact.
In my previous post, I highlighted two commercials that effectively conveyed their intended message to viewers for Scott’s and Suburu. However, in response to numerous reader requests for what commercials I disliked, I decided to review two commercials that, in my opinion, missed the mark and failed to deliver their intended message. These commercials for Maesrk and Caesars Sportsbook App were confusing, lacked clarity, and missed their mark, leaving many viewers scratching their heads about their purpose.
The first ad is for Maersk, a global shipping company https://bit.ly/3ZhelcZ The ad, titled "Tune: Favors the Curious," features a young girl sitting on a hillside, gazing out into the distance while listening to a tune on her mobile phone. She then embarks on a journey to explore the world, visiting different countries and cultures. The ad attempts to highlight Maersk's global reach and the opportunities it provides for people to explore the world. However, the metaphorical messaging gets lost, and there is no clarity regarding what the commercial is all about. It leaves the viewer wondering if it is a mining ad or a Raiders of the Lost Ark sequel. The ad's metaphorical messaging gets lost, leaving viewers confused about what the commercial is all about. Hey, it is only 30 seconds long. The small target audience size itself for this ad is also questionable.
The second ad is for Caesars Entertainment and features J.B. Smoove and Halle Berry. http://bit.ly/40ixYCF The ad depicts Smoove as Caesar, performing a song about Caesars Entertainment rewards from its app. The ad is overproduced, with little clarity as to its message or purpose. The ad's music, costumes, and stunts are all eye-catching, but the metaphorical messaging gets lost in the production value. The ad leaves viewers wondering what the point of the ad is and why they should care.
About Inward
Inward Strategic Consulting is a 26-year-old management/creative consulting firm that helps clients achieve high performance by developing comprehensive business strategies and cultures aligned with their goals, processes, and resources. They specialize in internal/external branding strategies, change management, brand purpose, and market research. They offer proprietary methodologies such as Visioneering, Inward Marketing, Dialogue Marketing, Best Practice and Benchmarking, and Qualitative and Quantitative Market Research. They have worked with Fortune 100 companies including Walmart, McDonald's, Aetna, City of Hope, and many others.
Allan Steinmetz CEO