Bud Light Real Men of Genius

I was looking at some of the older AdFreak posts, and found one for the 10 funniest commercials of all time. You can view all of the commercials here: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/10-funniest-commercials-all-time-132666?page=2

My favorite is the Bud Light Real Men of Genius campaign. I had forgotten how much I LOVE this campaign. Every time I heard one of these commercials on the radio or saw one on television I would laugh. The campaign was consistently humorous, and captured the essence of the brand personality. You can view/hear a couple of the commercials below, including the 'Mr. Really, Really, Really Bad Dancer' commercial that made it into the AdFreak top 10 funniest commercials of all time.

Mercedes Stars on Two and a Half Men

A new season of Two and a Half Men is starting soon, featuring Ashton Kutcher as a new star, but in the excitement of the new season, I wanted to point out another star of the show. That star is Mercedes-Bendz.

Charlie Harper, played by Charlie Sheen, has been driving a Mercedes on the show for a long time. Occasionally the plot line of the episode even highlights the vehicle. For example in one episode Alan takes Charlie's car to the Mercedes-Bendz dealership for an oil change, where he picks up a woman who later ends up stealing the car. In another episode, Charlie is worried about parking his Mercedes on the street at his girlfriends house because of the sap that drips from trees. And one episode even shows Jake, Charlie's nephew, bugging Charlie to let him practice his driving on his Mercedes, and of course he eventually gets his way through trickery.

I like this product placement because it really matches the character. Charlie Harper is a character with money, but he does not buy anything that is overly flashy. He lives in a nice Malibu beach house, has a nice but average wardrobe, and always complains that his brother is too cheap. I think a character like this would drive a Mercedes, instead of an Aston Martin, Ferrari, etc. Overall I think the placement is great, and realistic.

Product Runway

I have my DVR record Project Runway every week. I love the crazy challenges and watching the designers go through their creative processes. Of course, I also like to spot the product placements, and in Project Runway they are not hard to find.

The show has been around for a few seasons now, and has changed its product placements a few times. This season the main placements include Loreal Paris, Garnier Fructis, Piperlime, Marie Claire and HP. And, of course, each episode grants opportunity for product placements of its own.

Each of the main brands is mentioned throughout the show and shown in detail. For example, you can see the designers using hp computers throughout the entire show, and one week a designer even stated in elimination "you can see it on my hp computer!".

The Piperlime wall is the go-to for accessories that finish the deisngers'  outfits, while Loreal Paris is the makeup used and Garnier Fructis products style the hair.

Overall, I think that the product placements could be a little more subtle, however I do think that they are fitting for the program. Each product has a place and is not forced into the show for the sake of the brand. I can also say that I find hp computers a little more appealing thanks to their product placements in this and other programs.

Targeting Back To School Shoppers

Summer is coming to an end, and that means its time to start advertising back to school stuff. Usually you see so many back to school commercials this time of year that its hard to remember which one belongs to which store.

This year, I really like the Target back to school commercials. The commercials speak to parents, but are also fun to watch for kids and even young adults, like me, who have no need for back to school sales. Of course, the commercials are funny and creative, which is my main reason for liking them.

You can view a couple of the recent commercials below, and as you can see they showcase the bizarre teachers and unique classes that are the students favorite part of school, ending the commercial with a list of back to school necessities that are all available at Target of course!

 

 

 

Sex And The City Gets New Computers

Since the hit television show Sex and the City first aired, the computers in the show were Macs. The main character, a writer, was constantly seen typing away on her Mac laptop which contributed to the brand recognition that Apple has today.

However, when the first movie came out in 2008 all of the Mac computers were replaced with HP computers, except for Carrie's. This was a smart move for HP product placements because the recognition of Carrie's computer is so highly known.

Unfortunately, by leaving Carrie with a Mac, I am not sure it is entirely successful. If you happen to notice Samantha's computer, or another HP in the movie you may remember it later on or be impressed with the new style. The likeliness of you even noticing the new computer is slim though. And since everyone knows that Carrie has a Mac, the Apple brand will remain more strongly attached to the hit television show and movie than HP will.