Ad Nonsense

The Erroneous Mythology: #1 of 3 Blind Spots That Make Really Funny Commercials

Here’s the first of 3 classic blind spots you can use to make really funny commercials. The blind spots we reveal by what we say and how we behave are rich raw material for creating funny, even poignant commercials. A blind spot is a specific lens through which a character sees their world. It both informs their… Read More »

You can learn a whole lot from ads that miss their creative mark

I have a huge collection of bad ads. Knowing what not to do is a killer way to learn what to do. Here are three of my favorites. They’re fantastic examples of mistakes agencies and clients make again and again. If you’re putting together your portfolio, you have an obligation to yourself to not make a… Read More »

Mercedes Benz ad as bad as a dumb beer joke

Okay, let’s start out with this dumb joke supposedly told by Mia Maestro for September’s Esquire: This guy comes home one day to find a note left by his wife on the fridge. It says, “It’s not working. I can’t take it anymore. I went to stay with my sister!” He opens the fridge, the… Read More »

Snapple: A grand example of brand myopia

I saw this ad for Snapple on the New York subway. Snapple is pleading with New Yorkers to help the sell it to the rest of the country. It must seem ridiculous to any one riding the subway who’s not from New York. But it’s equally ridiculous, hubristic and embarrassing for the brand if you… Read More »

Adiocracy’s Super Bowl ‘Top 5 WTF?!’ (not a ‘Best Of’ List)

Since this year’s Superbowl ‘Best of’ lists were already assembled and ready to be blasted the moment the final whistle blew, I debated whether to do a Superbowl roundup. Plus, every blogger from mommies to WOWers have been offering up their opinions. So I decided to make this year’s Super Bowl list the ‘The Adiocracy… Read More »

Australian bank stand-ins free lucky ones to see Football Final

I love the idea behind this campaign created by Clemenger BBDO in Melbourne. The conceit is, the National Australia Bank sponsored a contest and picked 20 lucky winners who would not be able to go to the Football Grand Final game day on September 29th, because they had to work, but they chose to go for ‘the silly’ and lost out on a bigger opportunity.

Bizarre Stedfast paper shredder ads make what point exactly?

First of all, “What The F*ck?!” is this print campaign for Stedfast paper shredders, out of DDB Mudra, India. The fever-dream visuals are accompanied by a single line: “They’ll never put the story back together.” Who is ‘they’? And what’s it supposed to mean? That if you shred this image you’ll never be able to… Read More »

Post cereal promises adventure in a bowl!

We came across this wonderful nugget of inanity for Post Trail Mix Crunch. The big position is that it’s the ‘sensation of trail mix for breakfast’. Not the real trail mix mind you, just the sensation. Okay, we’ll give them a pass for trying. But it’s the last line of copy that slays us: ‘Enjoy… Read More »

Charles Barkley sells obesity for Taco Bell.

We found this Super Bowl ad by the bloated Charles Barkley to be a pretty ridiculous choice for Taco Bell. Of all the aging players they could have picked, why choose a guy who’s practically flaunted his overweight-ness to sell their super high fat, super high cal meal deal. Watch him shimmy his girth through… Read More »

File under ‘extremely painful’: Mullally sings strategy for butter substitute.

If you want to cringe, and we mean curl-your-toes cringe, watch this ad for ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter’ by Mindshare media’s Mindshare Entertainment, if you haven’t already seen it. This is jaw-droppingly awful. It actually makes Brett Ratner’s recent spot for Atlantis resort seem sophisticated. Somehow the agency and client approved this horrific thing,… Read More »