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The Sun Also Rises

July 9, 2007

Roger Federer won his fifth Wimbledon today. Sans the French Open, he’s pretty much the best thing that happened to tennis since synthetic strings.

Rooting for the guy who has won seven of the last nine Grand Slams is easy and satisfying. He’s the Yankees of tennis, but instead of an exorbitant payroll, he has an arsenal of game winning shots. Like a Yankees fan, I feel entitled to wins and I’ll take them anyway I can get them. Nadal dominated Federer for most of the match, but the Swiss linguist pulled through in the fifth set, which was good enough for me.

During the tournament, Nike ran an effectively maudlin ad voiced by Tiger Woods that celebrated Federer’s career (see above). Sports reporters love this friendship, and I imagine that IMG, which manages both athletes, does as well. But really, what could these two have in common other than dominating their respective preppy sports? Well, for one thing, they’re all about the Francs.

Related: OMG, UR W/IMG? We’re BFF

Posted in Advertising, Sports, YouTube | No Comments »

Don’t Stop (Believing)

June 21, 2007

In a history seminar my senior year, my professor asked the class if we thought ads were manipulative, and then asked if we felt manipulated by them. Sometimes self-awareness is useless: everyone raised their hands to both questions.

The story reminds me of my reaction to the Hillary Clinton ad.

For an official interpretation of why the ad works, I recommend The Washington Post. For me, the Sopranos references align so well with the country’s relationship with the Clintons. Hillary saying “remember the good times” echoes the Sopranos’s series finale, but also parallels how she wants Americans to think about the Clintons. Sure, there was Monica, health care, the lack of peace in the Middle East, but who didn’t have a great time in the 90s with Bill in office and Hillary on the wings? The Chelsea/Meadow parallel parking joke works in the same way. We’ve known Chelsea since she was 13. From braces to the gawker stalker, we’ve watched her grow up and she’s been a great first kid. Even Bill and Hill’s bad acting is winning.

The ad is supposed to make Hillary appealing to the average voter. And it does, but Clinton gets points from me for the ad’s artistry and understanding of the new importance of YouTube. Or maybe I’m just rationalizing just how well the ad has manipulated me.

Before this week, Barack Obama had almost accidentally been winning the YouTube campaign front with user-generated spots like Vote Different and I Gotta a Crush … On Obama. But in 90 seconds, Hillary reminds us how a Clinton campaign rolls. I hope they’re making The War Room 2.

Posted in 2008, Advertising, Politics, YouTube | No Comments »

It’s Not TV

June 20, 2007

Looks like Team Hillary finally figured out how to use Bill.

Posted in 2008, Advertising, Check It Out, YouTube | No Comments »

Suckers and Lazy Shoppers

June 11, 2007

Advertisers take note: I’m open to your pitch. Before college, I bought an Apple iBook for no other reason than its beautiful advertising campaign. I was completely aware that I had no reason to prefer Apples to PCs. Every time my iBook failed me, which was often, I had nothing to say for myself other than I had been a sap. After a few years of working on an iBook with a non-functioning mouse pad, I bought a Fujitsu laptop. Other than a brief problem with a virus that sent my Internet browser directly to a gay porn site upon login, I’ve been happy with my switch.

But after using an iMac for over a year at work, I’m thinking about switching back again when I need a new laptop. Along with their snazzy ads, I prefer their interface and search features. A new computer is the most expensive purchase I could make, my version of buying a home. Like perspective homebuyers, I would want to wait for a favorable market, except as Sean Cooper pointed out on Slate, Apple products don’t go on sale.

I think this has as much to do with Apple’s accessibility image as their bottom line. Do you know how much a 15-inch laptop with 1440 x 900 resolution and a 2GB memory should go for? Neither do I, and it’s not something I want to know. Apple says it should be $1,999.00, and that’s how much I would pay for a MacBook Pro anywhere. Since it’s hard to get good deals on Apple computers, buying one is as simple as using one, minus the whole credit card debt thing.

Posted in Advertising, Computers, Theories | 1 Comment »

Is New York Overcompensating for Something?

April 18, 2007

New York City has been giving out free subway-themed condoms since February. Protecting against STDs and unwanted pregnancy is great and everything, but let’s keep it real: this whole thing is a PR stunt. With a few million prophylactics, the city government is saying to the world, “Come to New York. We have sex here.” Apparently that has more appeal than a 24-hour subway system.

Maybe if these had come out earlier, we would have gotten the Olympics.

Posted in Advertising, New York, Sexy Time, The Subway, Theories | 1 Comment »

OMG, UR W/IMG? We’re BFF

September 11, 2006

Like others in the impossible pursuit of perfection, I’ve been watching a lot of tennis lately. I feel pretty, and yes, I’m excited for my match today.

Through out the tournament, I’ve been hoping Roger Federer would win his third US Open title and ninth grand slam. Rooting for Federer is like rooting for the sun to rise. My wishes came true last night, when Federer beat Roddick in four sets and this morning, when the sun did in fact rise.

But one thing: This Tiger Woods friendship is totally absurd. As the Times’s pointed out, IMG manages both athletes. They’ve never met, but suddenly Tiger Woods is hugging Federer’s long-term gf, Mirka Vavrinec and Dick Enberg’s first question to Federer after winning his ninth grand slam is about a golfer? Whack. The whole thing is photo-op for a management company, but everyone is treating this as a legitimate friendship between two athletes.

But in RF’s defense, he has bizarre dearth of American endorsements. This guy is obviously unafraid to lend his name for some Swiss Francs. But he didn’t have a tv spot during the tournament, while Roddick had two. I don’t think it’s a xenophobic thing either. Maria Sharapova’s ad ran nearly continuously during the past two weeks. So, what’s the deal? Federer is handsome, talented and witty. Shouldn’t he be selling me something?

Another thing I noticed: neither Roddick nor Federer wear watches while they play tennis, but both put on some bling time pieces for the trophy ceremony. I have a feeling it’s in their contracts.

Posted in Advertising, Sports | 6 Comments »

May Cause Internal Bleeding

June 21, 2006

Lately, I’ve been suffering stomach problems. The specifics of the aches aren’t interesting, even to me. But because of this problem, I’ve taken special interest in Dannon’s ad campaign for their new yogurt line, if yogurts can have lines, Activia. It’s pretty clear that Dannon is selling its yogurt as if it were a pharmaceutical. And as most people who have ever watched tv know, pharmaceutical ads are generally creepy. If you’ve ever had trouble falling asleep, one non-tivo’ed viewing of 60 Minutes will convince you that you need to take a drug that may or may not cause kidney stones. The whole time I was watching the ad, I kept waiting for the voiceover woman to inform me that this new yogurt had crazy side effects. Since it’s just yogurt, not medicine, it doesn’t. Dannon, or the people who market Dannon, are quite smart. Because even though the association with pharmaceuticals is weird, it made me, a white woman between 18-25, think that their yogurt had health benefits. In fact, I plan on buying some today for lunch. I hate that understanding I’m being manipulated isn’t the same as not being manipulated.

PS My friend Youngna has put her photo portfolio online. If you’re in the market for a new desktop background, any of her photos would do.

Posted in Advertising | No Comments »

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