Some TV Ads That I Like

The vast majority of the ads that run on TV are forgettable, boring and unpersuasive.

That's one reason why the good ones stand out and work so well, because they're surrounded by so many poor ones.

There have been a couple of really good new TV ads that have caught my attention over the past week that I'd like to single out for well-deserved praise.

Omega Watches

They're doing a wonderful job of capitalizing on the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing. In a riveting spot that opens with President Kennedy's speech about going to the moon and includes footage of the Apollo launch, moon landing and first walk on the moon, Omega reminds us that they are the only watch that's ever been on the moon. The spot is wonderfully edited and Omega has done a smart job of capitalizing on all the attention that has been generated by the 40th Anniversary of the first Moon Landing. Well done!


Mercedes Benz

They're launching a beautiful new coupe with a series of dramatic TV ads that put Mercedes Benz back where it used to be at the apex of automotive brand imagery. The spots feature a dramatic sequence where the new car appears to literally crash through a large glass wall in Mercedes' ultra modern office building in Germany. The car and its entrance both make quite a statement. I hope Mercedes is finally getting its ad mojo back, because for a long time, they seemed to have lost it.


Two "I Told You So" Ad Changes That I've Also Noticed

Geico

They have finally started to use the Gecko to tell their "value" story rather than that ill-advised stupid wad of cash with hooky glasses. I criticized them a few months ago and wondered why they weren't leveraging their two strong ad assets (the gecko and the cavemen) instead of creating a new (and BAD) third icon.


Budweiser

"Drinkability" seems to have finally bitten the dust. They wasted millions on this bad idea. I criticized them for this awful strategy months ago and I think they have finally dropped it. At least I hope that's what they've done. I haven't seen any of those dreadful "drinkability" spots lately but it may just be wishful thinking to hope that they have done away with it for good.

Geico: Hit, Hit, But Now a Whiff

Geico is an interesting advertiser to watch.  

First, they created their Gecko campaign, which was a very memorable and distinctive way to capture attention, create brand recognition and get people to listen to Geico's marketing messages.  Then, Geico topped themselves with the wildly successful Caveman campaign (Geico.com:  So Simple a Caveman Could Do It).  I don't think any other advertising campaign has ever been so successful that Hollywood made a sitcom out of it.  Well-deserved congratulations are due to everyone at Geico and their agency for these two advertising home runs.

Unfortunately, Geico has just launched a third campaign that's a dud.  It's focussed on how much money you can save with Geico.  Not a bad message in this time of economic distress, but why did Geico think they needed a third campaign to deliver this message?  Couldn't the Gecko or the Cavemen have communicated this message?  Yet Geico went to the time and expense of creating a third campaign.  Not only has this cost them time and money, but it has diminished their focus on two proven campaigns.  

I'm sure the logic behind this move had something to do with Geico wanting to keep the other two campaigns' messages "pure" and feeling that they needed a new campaign to focus on what Geico must believe is a very important "value" message that's obviously extremely relevant right now.  

I could ALMOST agree with this logic if Geico's third campaign weren't so poorly executed.  It features a stack of money with some weird looking eyeball type of thing sitting on top of the pile of cash.   This money/eyeball thing shows up unexpectedly to the background tune of "Who's Watching Me" and puzzles people (including viewers in my opinion) who wonder what the heck this stack of bills with the odd peepers is all about.  That's when the Geico value message kicks in. 

On the plus side, the new campaign has the same quirky brand personality of the other two Geico campaigns.  However, it lacks the appeal and humanity of the Gecko and the Cavemen.  As viewers, we LIKE the gecko and the cavemen.  There is nothing to like about this odd stack of money with the creepy eyeballs.   The casting of the spots is equally puzzling.  The people in them aren't funny or amusing or even appealing.  They're all kind of clueless, much like I have been every time I see one of these new ads.

No one hits a home run every time.  Geico's ad and marketing people have certainly performed far better than most.  They have two campaigns to be proud of.   I think the "marketing sanity" thing to do would be to retire this new effort sooner rather than later.   I hope Geico gives us more of their two powerhouse campaigns.  More of the gecko!  More cavemen!  

I HOPE that this new effort does not signal that Geico is getting tired of their gecko or getting bored with their cavemen.  They've got two thoroughbred campaigns.  They ought to ride them until they drop.  And both still look pretty darn fresh to me.