2 Ads I liked and one that I did not like

The first commercial that I really liked was the one for Heineken where some Dutch space researchers send a robot into space to discover a new planet. They are really excited when the robot lands on the planet and also really proud because as they say if there is life on this unknown planet, the Dutch will have discovered it (which, of course, is an allusion to Heineken being a Dutch brand). However, they are really surprised when they see that the little robot is actually opening a beer bar for Heineken instead of exploring the planet. I think the commercial works really well because it applies to the humour appeal very well which also matches the image of Heineken and their target audience which mostly consists of young men. The commercial builds up suspense by showing the researchers in their research center when they shoot the robot into space. Everybody is really excited about what is going to happen next and the tension is suddenly released and turned into laughter when the robot reveals its actual plans. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMAKJjGJpXo) The second commercial that I picked because I think it was really good in appealing to consumer wants and needs is a commercial for Porsche that was part of a viral marketing campaign. I think it was really successful in getting across the intended message, because it did not only trigger the consumer appeal of sex and therefore promoted the “sexy image” of the car brand, but it also approached the consumer appeal of humour at the same time. In the commercial, a really nice looking woman who is not wearing more than underwear and a coat sees a Porsche parked in a dark side street. She is really attracted by the car (which is also underlined by the background music ‘Weil es Liebe ist’ which means ‘Because it’s Love’), falls in love with it and suddenly opens her coat and reveals her sexy underwear to it. The car then ‘responds’ in a funny way: It lifts its back part in ‘joy’. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9VsGjXkHeg) As I already mentioned in my last blog, the first commercial that I chose as the worst ad I have ever seen was the one for Pepto Bismol with the randomly dancing people. The second worst commercial I picked is one of the first commercials for Calvin Klein underwear starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss. It seems like a good attempt to use celebrities for these kinds of commercials and the CK ad is also trying to trigger the consumer appeals of sex and humour, however, this does not really work out which makes the commercial come across sexist and shallow. Mark Wahlberg is constantly touching his groin area in the commercial and jokes around about it. The most disturbing and offensive part of the unsuccessful attempt to focus on the consumer appeal of humour, however, is when Mark Wahlberg says that the best protection against AIDS is to keep your Calvin Klein underwear on. This topic was really big in the 90s when this ad came out. In my opinion it is not the right approach to treat it humorously in an ad for underwear though. Maybe this was what their target audience was looking for, but looking at it from today’s perspective, the ad is not very successful. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h0S80qdjOI&feature=related)