Tag Archives: ad

Online Video

Must-See Parody on Advertising Guys

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Barats & Bereta

Barats & Bereta, the online-video comedy duo best known for Mother’s Days, have posted a series called “Ad Guys” that is “must see” comedy for advertising executives. 

I’ve long admired the Canadian team for their sharp writing and acting, but this represents a brilliant marketing move as well. By satirizing advertising, they’ll quickly catch the attention of the very target market that can make them successful. I’m puzzled why the guys don’t have more sponsors given their tremendous popularity on YouTube and other online-video sites. They are now represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and are rumored to be cooking up an NBC sitcom. 

Check out Ad Guys episode one below, and visit their channel to see the next 3 episodes.

Grant, nothing tops “Truth in Advertising,” but this is good comedy.

advertising, book, Nalts, Online Video, Video Advertising, Viral Video, Yahoo Video, YouTube

Top 10 Best Superbowl Ads (and 3 worst)

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Best & Worst Superbowl Ads of 2009

 

What were the best Superbowl commercials that will help you survive the watercooler this week? Check out Charlie and I as we do a video review on YouTube of the best (and worst), (see it on Google video too) and click here to view the entire ads on various online-video sites.

Note that this post and video were done before the game actually finished, so we may see some unexpected surprises and need to revise accordingly. What do you think? Have some favorites I didn’t mention, or some losers of your own?



 

Here’s a Hulu widget that lets you watch the Superbowl ads in HD…

 

Now here’s my top-10 list (you can also see Adweek for some coverage).

  • Number 10 was Coke”s avatar ad–  visually appealing and sentimental. 
  • Number 9 may be the most quoted ad: “Think With Your Dipstick Jimmy” by Castrol. Annoying at first, but it grows on you like fine wine or oil sludge.
  • For spot 8… I don’t often like repeat campaigns but that eTrade baby did it again with talking babies. 
  • Position 7 belongs to Dreamworks animated film “Monsters Verus Aliens” and the clips rocked even in 2D.
  •  Number 6 belongs to CareerBuilder for reminding us that these symptoms may indicate it’s time to brush up the resume. 
  • Number 5 goes to Denny’s who flip off iHop’s foo-foo pancakes. We need more Giggledrops, baby.
  •  The fourth best ad belongs to Coke with its medley of animated insects. Ladybugs, like cows, sell.
  • The hotly debated number 3 ad is Pepsi’s Refresh mosh up of Forever Young featuring Bob Dillon and Will.i.am. 
  • The second greatest Superbowl ad this year goes to Pedigree Dogfood video, which features no dogs but will be the most talked about. Rhinos in cars? Common, peeps. If you didn’t laugh at that ad, check you funny pulse.Now for number 1: Miller Light’s “Deliver Guy” ad by Saatchi & Saatchi  is the indesputable winner of pre and post game buzz. Windell Middlebrooks spent 17 hours taping these 1-second spots, and it worked.
Now the losers?
  • Spot 3 is the absurdly forced Gatorade ad featuring a collection of athletes and animated lizards. Puleez- 1996. 
  • The second loser award goes to GoDaddy.com for still pitching hosting solutions with hot babes.  That campaign is beaten to death, and is almost as bad as Peta’s banned veggie campaign. The absolute worst ad belongs to the biggest sellout since me. Ed McMahon’s Cash4Gold.comlong after we care.
  • I know many liked this “amateur” Doritos advertisement, but I was almost tempted to put it in the worst category. What? I’m not a sore loser or anything. Right Reubnick? Okay- here’s my losing entry to Doritos “Crash the Superbowl” contest.
Finally, some cool quotes to give you extra credit at the watercooler. Use them as your own if you wish…
  1. Gawker’s Joshua Stein: “A girl shoving a stalk of broccoli up her cooter doesn’t make me want to stop eating meat even a little.” 
  2. Although the economy meant fewer startup ads, Techcrunch Michael Arrington’s favorite is Technorati, although they cheated by using footage from one of my favorite movies. His readers were polled and agree. 
  3. “It’s sure not 2008 any more,” said Nathan McKelvey, the CEO of Jets.com. Poor executives…

Now what do you think?! And here is YouTube’s “AdBlitz” channel that now features all of the ads…

Youtube AdBlitz Superbowl Videos
See 2009 Superbowl Commercials on YouTube

 


advertising, book, Contest, Video Sites, Viral Video, YouTube

YouTube Sketchies (and Stupid Thumbnail Ad by Dove)

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sketchies.pngYou have until March 3 to enter your comedy video into the first round of YouTube’s Sketchies II. Corolla, leveraged popular YouTuber LisaNova to promote the contest (she was second place last year with this “LisaNova does George Bush” video).

I spoke with LisaNova via phone for the first time on Saturday, when TheMightyThor1212 was good enough to put her on the line while at the YouTube San Francisco gathering.

Here’s a recap (wish I had videotaped it since it doesn’t quite translate as a manuscript):

  • dove.pngNalts: Hey, Lisa
  • Lisa: Hey
  • Nalts: Are you getting bombarded?
  • Lisa: What?
  • Nalts: I’m a big fan. I liked your recent video about the comedy contest.
  • Lisa: Which one?
  • Nalts: You know- the one on the beanbag. With your face on the homepage.
  • Lisa: Oh- the Sketchies.
  • Nalts: Yeah. Will you do the BubbleGumTreeShow? (a show featuring viral creators, like Mark Day, who will perhaps be juding the Sketchies?).
  • Lisa: Sure. Just send me the information.
  • Nalts: Kay. Have fun.
  • Lisa: Some kids is asking me to autograph their shirt.
  • Nalts: Go make their day. Nice speaking with you.
  • Lisa: Nice speaking with you too, Renetto.

Too bad I don’t have a screen grab of the YouTube homepage when it featured LisaNova’s video. It was framed so the ridiculously huge gray play button doesn’t obscure LisaNova’s face. Unlike the image here by Dove.

Honestly. Who lets an ad like this go live?

dove2.pngJust before I posted this, I hit refresh and found this version. Now instead of featuring the Dove host, they’ve got an image from the winning entry (by Celeste Wouden) of the Dove Cream Oil Body Wash advertisement contest.

Hmmm. Two-star rating with the last 4 being the lowest possible. Hmmm. Either the YouTube audience doesn’t care for this video or some of the losers are launching an attack on this video.

Too bad about the thumbnails. You know, Dove, this gal isn’t going to drive nearly as many clicks as a woman with a slender neck and face shaped like a play button.

advertising, book, Making Videos, Online Video, Video Advertising, Viral Video, YouTube

Apple MacBook Air is Obsessed With Thin

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Apple MacBook Air commercial parodyLast night I got an e-mail from Mac that showcased the new Apple MacBook Air. The product is interesting and the spot was simple with a contagious song called New Soul by Yael Naim. Although I was already well into my nightly Ambien, I felt I couldn’t pass on a quick parody. About 19 minutes later, I uploaded “Apple MacBook Air Thin Obsession,” which parodies the ad.

My work HP computer (I wouldn’t treat my own so poorly) is watching the ad, and goes on a binge & purge diet. Fortunately my wife had taped a recent episode of Oprah which featured a tearful discussion about weight loss, which lent itself well to the portrayal of sadness the HP feels watching the new models. The parody culminates with my HP bent over the toilet, vomiting its optical drive.

I didn’t monetize the clip on YouTube, because it contains the original song and clips from Oprah. But it’s topical and seems to be well received, although clearly not “PC.” It’s currently the fourth highest rated comedy of the day on YouTube (which usually doesn’t happen within 8 hours), and we’ll see if it viralinates or gets pulled…

I suppose the lesson here is that what this clip lacks in polished production in editing it perhaps makes up for in topicality, quirkiness, and speed. Given that it took less than 20 minutes to conceive, shoot, edit and upload. It shows that there are other variables to viral that are more important… Like making fun of a society obsessed with beauty and thin, and capitalizing on what I’m sure will be a fairly intense media blitz by Apple.