Boom-di-ada, Boom-di-ada, boom-di-ada, boom-di-ada.

3 comments June 10th, 2008

MSNBC.com’s media blog - Test Pattern - is again hosting its annual “Best Of” television ad competition. It is an informal affair driven generally by user comments posted online, in other blogs and in other ways I’ve yet to formally discern. (Complete ground rules here).

It seems the Discovery Channel’s “I Love the World” promo is picking up steam this year:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/V5BxymuiAxQ" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Last year’s winners were:

2007’s Worst Ad: Sour Skittles “Milking Man” ad

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/LG0zDltjL_o" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

2007’s Best Ad: PetSmart Bulldog puppy ad

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/BtN4GhlOyBw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Advertising moves the national conversation and, for better or worse, is one of the common denominators in our culture (How many people watch the Superbowl now just for the ads?). So, take a peek at some of the ads that are floating around and join in the conversation.

PS - Taking its place in the viral litany of add-ins, and for those Deadliest Catch geeks like me, Discovery Channel also lets you download the “Boom-di-ada” song as a ringtone, MP3 or images from the campaign as wallpaper. Check it out here.

Direct from the AAF National Conference

Add comment June 10th, 2008

Last week a couple of daredevils scaled the New York Times building.  Stewart Elliot, Advertising Columnist at the Times, said he was grateful for the event. Though he said he thought that only the people inside the Times offices were climbing the walls, it cured him of his writers block for the keynote speech to the American Advertising Federation luncheon yesterday.
Elliot said he wasn’t the only one suffering from writer’s block lately. Mr. Big has trouble with his wedding vows in the new Sex and the city movie. And the all male copy writing staff of the tv drama, Mad Men did too when, in one episode, struggled with an ad concept for a new client which provided a chance for a female secretary to break the glass ceiling.
Elliot pondered how Don Draper and Roger Sterling, the 1960’s ad execs, would adapt to the challenges of advertising today. Consumers are younger, mere tech-savvy, more diverse and at the same time harder than ever to reach. Then too are the new media, including user generated content, mobile marketing, behavioral adertising and environmental claims. And certainly they’d wonder why they couldn’t smoke and drink at the office.