Via the Consumerist.com

The Consumerist writes that people are apparently watching commercials recorded on DVR devices more than no times. A lot more than no times. For some shows the numbers are estimated around 2 million extra commercial viewers, once thought Lost to advertisers.

The commenteers on their article probably rightly hit the nail on the head when they say its mostly a combination of people letting the program run while they leave the room, or simply forgetting they have the ability the fast forward. TV is both a passive and pacifying medium, eventually making the act of pausing and fast forwarding a chore unto itself.

Remember ‘Photoshop’ is not a verb

This video is part of Dove’s same campaign that brought us the Beauty Onslaught video. The advertising agency responsible is Ogilvy & Mather of Toronto, and the video won two Grand Prix at Cannes this year. Like the ‘Onslaught’ video, this production is a real triumph of editing and concept.

The Original Snicker’s Super Bowl Ad Super Bowl XLI Commercial

I had other things I really needed to do today besides talking about man-on-man kissing, but the advertising world has once again forced my hand. You can follow the video link from the still shot to see the Snickers ad that’s making some news, the one that featured men accidentally kissing, and then ripping out their chest hair to compensate for the taboo act.

(Oh there is more…)

I rap all day I rap all night Man I sure do miss my purple box kite

I will never forget the day Brittany Spears announced she and Kevin Federline were filing for divorce. Specifically, I will never forget because it was election day. I had been checking the news online, and of course election news coverage dominated all the front pages. I even speculated what news event could possibly trump the election and force it off the front page. It would have to be something huge, like a meteor hitting a city, and not just any city like Detroit, a meteor hitting Dallas or something like that. Then I saw this. CNN dot com added an urgent, red-alert level breaking news banner above the fold announcing the split. Awesome priorities, America!

Nationwide secured Brittany’s ex to appear in a Super Bowl ad, as part of their “life comes at you fast” campaign. You might remember their ad featuring Fabio navigating a gondala, then becoming an old withered man after they pass under a bridge. The content of this ad, apparently, portrays Kevin Federline daydreaming he is a huge rap star, then he snaps out of it and he is working in a fast food restaurant.

(Oh there is more…)

From USA Today

The news that Orville Redenbacher (the company) was digitally reviving Orville Redenbacher (the ex-human) escaped my notice, so seeing their flagship commercial during the Golden Globes was the first I knew about this. And even then, I wasn’t sure if they had just hired a look-alike, or gone all out and recreated him using dark sorcery.

This story in USA Today gives some good background information on the process and decision to do this. The accompanying video link is somewhat crappy, and unfortunately I don’t have the video to post yet. You can find the ad and some other original Redenbacher spots on the YouTube.

Unlike what companies like The Gap have done to disgrace dead celebrities, I don’t have a moral problem with what this new Redencacher ad does. Whether or not it gets good results, it’s not really grave-robbing to bring the man back to sell the product. After all, he did it while he was alive.

My only real question is, why not just find a look-alike? It seems like a (financially) painful process to go through to recreate a human being every time you need a new ad. In any event it looks rather nice, though from a content point of view it’s nothing mind-blowing.