Monday, February 8, 2010

mad ave vs. main street

Another reason I'm enthusiastic about BrandBowl, I suppose, is that its robo-pollsters confirm (at least as of this writing) my choice of Google for Superbowl 2010 winner. No half-naked men (or women), no pyrotechnics, no appeal to base instincts. Just the most powerful form of salesmanship there is: a simple story well told to dramatize product benefit. Nice play, Google. But, to demonstrate dispiriting chasm between Mad Ave and Main St, the spot ranks a measly #43 on USA Today's ad meter.



Brandbowl and I part ways on E-trade, however. Call me a sucker, but I love E-trade's talking babies and admire that Grey New York, hard as it must have been to rail against change artists, stuck with a concept that's charmed people for years into handing over their lucre. It's #15 on Brandbowl, but #7 on USA Today. Which I prefer to think means I'm not totally out of touch with mainstream consumers.

5 comments:

Ad Broad, oldest working writer in advertising said...

Cross pollinated comment from FB where I also posted. A friend IRL writes:

"The local Dallas commentator rated the Google spot his absolute favorite. His name is Tom Maurstad and his column appeared in today's Dallas Morning News:

'The commercial I admire most is the Google ad: no flash, no special effects, no naked women, no talking babies, no screaming chickens. But it's such a smart idea, telling a love story (and telling it really well) through a procession of search questions, The arc from the unentangled beginning (student questions about programs in France) to the final "how to assemble a crib" is just beautifully, sweetly done. And it deepens your appreciation of the Google brand and what it does.' "

Glad to know I'm in his discerning and articulate company :)

fiftyfootelvis said...

I completely agree, that's a great spot.

Kelli said...

The Google spot touched me, it was poetic and beautiful. It was relatable, and well, people love love.
And as far as the talking babies are concerned, I still love them. I know I probably shouldn't, but he makes me laugh. Problem is, he doesn't make me want to use eTrade.

California Girl said...

I like the E Trade talking babies, particularly the one w/ the girlfriend. I loved the Evian Rollerskating babies. They were killer and you couldn't take your eyes off them.

My husband's take on the E trade spots was, "Why would I want to trade with a company that appeals to babies?" But I think he is disingenuously missing the point. He hates cutsey stuff.

Anonymous said...

Google and Etrade...
I'm with you. Best of the lot from Super Bowl.
-Steffan