The disappointment of the stork
In so many ways, this is a beautiful, affecting, and probably very effective television ad. Before I say more, take a look.
The story, visuals and music seduce the viewer, until the bittersweet ending delivers the payoff. The stork drops his head and the raindrop tears flow down the glass. How many of us watch and then wonder about ourselves and what we’re doing with our lives? Are we just disappointment and wasted potential? Might not any of us just for a moment consider how much more we’re worthy of?
It worked for me. I’ve been there—late nights, sometimes all night—yawning through the extra hours to get the job done, just grinding away at my computer, coding, testing, fixing. No-one there to appreciate the effort. Testing, coding, testing. There’s nothing at all glamorous about it. Sad, really.
But then I realize… I’ve created some of my best work and felt the greatest sense of accomplishment after those all-nighters. It’s what I do. When push comes to shove, I push on through to do the job right. I’m a Flash guy. I earn my pay and I’m proud of what I do.
Nothing wrong with that.
Whoa. Advertising Age also did a review of the Monster “Stork” ad—Yawning Production Flaw Keeps Ad Half a Second From Genius. I think perhaps they bent over backwards to find the fault they did.
“Gonna Fly Now” or not?
It’s the day after Super Bowl XLII. We’re all talking about the game and we’re talking about the commercials. As usual, there were some fun commercials, but overall I can’t help but feel disappointed. Okay, nothing new here—every year I feel disappointed. You hear how this is the Big Event and how much it costs to air a 30-second spot and you think they’ve got to be more than just good. They’ve got to be worth all that money and all that hype.
Why can’t the ad industry, or the clients who pay them, meet the challenge? There are some amazing and effective spots out there all through the year, so why don’t we actually see more of the best during the big game?
Maybe our expectations are just too high. Or could it be that the ads are so damn good, we’re quickly sated and nothing stands out?
I don’t think so.
Maybe it’s just me. Apparently even the experts have difficulty agreeing on the ads that did work. David Armano, whom I truly respect, says via Twitter, “Laura Ries picked Budweiser ‘rocky’ for best SB ad? I want whatever drugs she’s on.” She likes it and he isn’t that impressed, though he doesn’t say why. Is this an “in crowd” thing—as in, if you really understood advertising, you’d know why the Budweiser Rocky commercial isn’t so great? I liked it. Apparently a lot of people did.
Or is general popularity an ironic kiss of death when it comes to television advertising?
Update: David Armano comes through again. Via Twitter, he refers us to “The BEST Superbowl Ad you never saw on Superbowl Sunday”. Excellent.