Thursday 6 March 2008

HEY GIRLS, ARE YOU THIRSTY?

Sometimes it makes me wonder how big companies, whose budgets for marketing are so huge it's hard to realize, still end up with so crappy commercials and printed ads. Sure, the aestethics of advertisements varies a bit between the continents and also between countries, but some ads are just very stupid, or very ygly. I've comt to noticed that a lot of these bad ads are the ones ment for women.

Here's what I see as a great example of a wtf!?-ad:


On the first glance there seems to be nothing badly wrong with it. Obivously, it's not great graphic design, but hey, it's only an ad for the most bought soda in the world, people are going to buy it anyway. But on a closer look, it's full of small annoying details. This ad is clearly made for the female soda drinkers - it's light. Guys only drink cocacola zero so they'll stay cool when they run in to their exes and get all the women around to turn in to hot strippers when they're breaking up with their soon-to-be exes.

But back to this ad for some close-ups:

"Message: Lunch". OK. So they want to tell you that cola light is great for when you're having lunch and want to drink something without sugar that's not water for example. Fine. But come on, why does it actually have to be in the ad that these ladies had to sms each other about having lunch. And what's up with all the small sms-icons flying around? Did they send many messages back and fort before they decied on where to go or what. See, these cool girls had so many options. Or maybe it just symbolizes the text message making its way through the, eh, mobile network or whatever.


But first of course, they went shopping. That's what all women want to do before lunch.


These awsome girls (drawn quite badly, like vectors from the nineties), are having a lot of fun while drinking their cokes and, once again, using their mobile phone for some more sms:ing or so. Notice yet another thing, apart from the shopping and the lispstick mark, that obviously is ment to be very typical for a woman: a masacara! Did they just buy one? Or are they talking about make up in general (always a hot topic in discussions between females)? Or does this ad just want to show that the cool urban coca cola light woman always wears mascara or what. Uh.

But now, to the grand finale:

What is this!? Really, what is this!


Well clearly, it's a man. With a tool belt, A construction worker of some sort. But what is he doing here, among all the giggling and make up and other things! WTF? Why.

OK, he might have been checking these hot babes out from across the street. Maybe even given them a wolf whistle. But no, not in this ad. You see, these are modern, inependent women. They are checking him out. See how the chick is sensually touching her cola can, while wathcing this smoking hot hunk? This is woman county, where the women are not being stared at by chauvinist men, no, this is the land where women can laugh and luch and shop and have what they want, all while zipping on an ice cold cola. Without calories.

I'm actually a bit thirsty now. I think I'll go get myself a Pepsi Max. Or on second thought, just a glass of cold water.

8 comments:

Eli said...

Advertisements always try to play on our sensibilities and stereotypes to attempt to sell themselves. I really think it must be a roundtable of really old out of touch men doing these things. They're causing more harm than good.

Anonymous said...

That was a good text, and I got really thirsty for Coke while reading it... =)

Nanó said...

Haha, I laughed trough the whole text! Weird ad. Very very weird ad.

LDF said...

Agreed! That ad is cringe worthy. Trying to sell me what they think I want my life to be.
I've never had a diet soda.......

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

Those details are very odd.

ArtfulArtsyAmy said...

That dude is creepy. But, in the U.S. an ad campaign ran forever about the "Diet Coke Man." He was a guy in a toolbelt working outside who took a break to drink a diet coke (usually missing a shirt) at the same time everyday. The women in the office across the street would all rush over to watch the "Diet Coke Man" take his break.

Maybe this is who the creepy dude is supposed to be?

The Freelancer's FashionBlog said...

Ms Amy - that kind of explains part of the stupidity yes :)

Dave Feucht said...

Have you seen any of the Japanese Dr. Pepper labels, such as these? :) Talk about disturbing advertising...

http://flickr.com/photos/98105458@N00/1415043605/

http://flickr.com/photos/overread/1212379430/

http://flickr.com/photos/jonlachance/1001177814/in/pool-10-2-4