3, 3, and 3: Part 3

And now, only having already praised the good commercials, I must wag my finger at the bad. These are the irresponsible, the ethically unjust ads that give advertising as an industry a bad name. Previously in this blog I've tipped my hat to Weiden + Kennedy for their work with Levi's. Now, comparatively, I am disturbed by the "Live Unbuttoned" campaign done by BBH London for the same company. These ads irresponsibly utilize sex, sexiness, and innuendo to sell a completely unrelated product. Have a one night stand, break the rules, disregard all intimacy in the pursuit of pleasure. These are the messages I receive when I watch these ads. And it's even more upsetting to think that with a few small changes, the ads could be tastefully redone to get a proper message across.

Next up is a rather recent Verizon ad by McCann Erickson. Now I'm not sure if it's only because I work at Apple, but this ad strikes me as a direct insult to all that Steve Jobs and the iphone have done for the world. By stating "there's a map for that" in direct comparison to iphone commercials' "there's an app for that," I feel you have sunk to the lowest form of advertising: if you can't beat em, mock em. And mock they have. Verizon has, for me at least, left a lasting sour taste in my mouth with this one. Do something a little more clever next time, guys. Please?

Finally, I'd like to mention a series of ads done by Goodby Silverstein out of San Francisco for Cheetos. In each of these, potentially annoying people are made victims of "Cheetos-related" crimes. The spots seem to be advocating vengeful or hateful acts rather than appropriate conflict resolution. Context is clearly an issue here, and should Cheetos (a chip marketed towards children) really be sending this sort of message? I'd like to think not.