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Headline, Industry News
AD Nauseum: Hey IKEA, where’s the IDEA?
Wednesday March 24th 2010AD Nauseum
The weekly Advertising Critical Review
The opinions below are those of the author and don’t necessarily reflect the views of TO411 or its staff.
Feel free to communicate your responses/ideas/suggestions by writing directly to AD Nauseum: adnauseum@to411.com. No animals were harmed by these barbs…
First of all I think this lifestyle/home store is an amazing concept and an incredible retailer.
They have it all going.
Their product line-up and new idea innovations, their annual catalogue, and the overall shopping experience are all second to none.
As a keen observer and listener of TV and radio creative, I was always been taken, for the most part anyway, with their creative.
The “Start the car” spot made me laugh out loud. It communicated without hitting anyone on the head. It used a brilliant idea, a great talent, and then allowed us intelligent consumers to connect the dots.
The current pool of commercials on air using David Hyde Pierce as the voice over is a prime example of masking crummy creative with a recognizable voice and hoping that it’s enough to save the spots.
Trust me, David Hyde Pearce and his mid-Atlantic, sort-of-maybe-but-not-quite British accent, isn’t enough to save any commercial.
Take the kitchen ‘organic crunchy bites’ spot as an example.
First of all, if that jackass eating the cereal thinks that little of his wife that he believes asking directions to his ‘organic crunchy bites’ will prompt the utterance of a ‘mother complex’ comment then they both should consider marriage counseling or, better still, the divorce courts.
Is the fact that the dimwit knows where his ‘organic crunchy bites’ can be found in his kitchen full of cabinets supposed to communicate something? I guess so.
Oh, and by the way, the use of the word ‘hormones’ in this commercial – or any commercial that isn’t actually about hormones is inappropriate and unnecessary.
Let me add to my rant by saying who says ‘dog house’ in this day and age anyway? And adding the word ‘proverbial’ doesn’t make it any better.
Moving on to the bedroom commercial. What does the dialogue, “all of her 73 pairs of shoes not falling on him not causing Trevor to utter…”
“not causing Anne to say something, something – Trevor you have small feet” mean?
I don’t get it.
Is that funny?
Anyway, who lives like that? A drawer for his ties, one for her shoes, a sock drawer, and a jock drawer… what no bra drawer? Bloody dump.
I suspect that the whole ‘place for everything’ is the concept, but it could also be ‘having one of their kitchens or bedrooms will guarantee marital bliss.’
Is it really that hard to create a bunch of commercials that position, sell, and entertain at the same time?
I don’t think so. Particularly when you have a product like this company who has a history of pushing the creative advertising envelope.
For the love of all that is sacred in the ad world; send that phoney baloney voice talent back to America, lose the crunchy bites and small feet and start all over. You’re giving me heartburn!
By Ad Nauseum
Headline, Industry News
AD Nauseum: Hey IKEA, where’s the IDEA?
Wednesday March 24th 2010AD Nauseum
The weekly Advertising Critical Review
The opinions below are those of the author and don’t necessarily reflect the views of TO411 or its staff.
Feel free to communicate your responses/ideas/suggestions by writing directly to AD Nauseum: adnauseum@to411.com. No animals were harmed by these barbs…
First of all I think this lifestyle/home store is an amazing concept and an incredible retailer.
They have it all going.
Their product line-up and new idea innovations, their annual catalogue, and the overall shopping experience are all second to none.
As a keen observer and listener of TV and radio creative, I was always been taken, for the most part anyway, with their creative.
The “Start the car” spot made me laugh out loud. It communicated without hitting anyone on the head. It used a brilliant idea, a great talent, and then allowed us intelligent consumers to connect the dots.
The current pool of commercials on air using David Hyde Pierce as the voice over is a prime example of masking crummy creative with a recognizable voice and hoping that it’s enough to save the spots.
Trust me, David Hyde Pearce and his mid-Atlantic, sort-of-maybe-but-not-quite British accent, isn’t enough to save any commercial.
Take the kitchen ‘organic crunchy bites’ spot as an example.
First of all, if that jackass eating the cereal thinks that little of his wife that he believes asking directions to his ‘organic crunchy bites’ will prompt the utterance of a ‘mother complex’ comment then they both should consider marriage counseling or, better still, the divorce courts.
Is the fact that the dimwit knows where his ‘organic crunchy bites’ can be found in his kitchen full of cabinets supposed to communicate something? I guess so.
Oh, and by the way, the use of the word ‘hormones’ in this commercial – or any commercial that isn’t actually about hormones is inappropriate and unnecessary.
Let me add to my rant by saying who says ‘dog house’ in this day and age anyway? And adding the word ‘proverbial’ doesn’t make it any better.
Moving on to the bedroom commercial. What does the dialogue, “all of her 73 pairs of shoes not falling on him not causing Trevor to utter…”
“not causing Anne to say something, something – Trevor you have small feet” mean?
I don’t get it.
Is that funny?
Anyway, who lives like that? A drawer for his ties, one for her shoes, a sock drawer, and a jock drawer… what no bra drawer? Bloody dump.
I suspect that the whole ‘place for everything’ is the concept, but it could also be ‘having one of their kitchens or bedrooms will guarantee marital bliss.’
Is it really that hard to create a bunch of commercials that position, sell, and entertain at the same time?
I don’t think so. Particularly when you have a product like this company who has a history of pushing the creative advertising envelope.
For the love of all that is sacred in the ad world; send that phoney baloney voice talent back to America, lose the crunchy bites and small feet and start all over. You’re giving me heartburn!
By Ad Nauseum
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Headline, Industry News
AD Nauseum: Hey IKEA, where’s the IDEA?
Wednesday March 24th 2010AD Nauseum
The weekly Advertising Critical Review
The opinions below are those of the author and don’t necessarily reflect the views of TO411 or its staff.
Feel free to communicate your responses/ideas/suggestions by writing directly to AD Nauseum: adnauseum@to411.com. No animals were harmed by these barbs…
First of all I think this lifestyle/home store is an amazing concept and an incredible retailer.
They have it all going.
Their product line-up and new idea innovations, their annual catalogue, and the overall shopping experience are all second to none.
As a keen observer and listener of TV and radio creative, I was always been taken, for the most part anyway, with their creative.
The “Start the car” spot made me laugh out loud. It communicated without hitting anyone on the head. It used a brilliant idea, a great talent, and then allowed us intelligent consumers to connect the dots.
The current pool of commercials on air using David Hyde Pierce as the voice over is a prime example of masking crummy creative with a recognizable voice and hoping that it’s enough to save the spots.
Trust me, David Hyde Pearce and his mid-Atlantic, sort-of-maybe-but-not-quite British accent, isn’t enough to save any commercial.
Take the kitchen ‘organic crunchy bites’ spot as an example.
First of all, if that jackass eating the cereal thinks that little of his wife that he believes asking directions to his ‘organic crunchy bites’ will prompt the utterance of a ‘mother complex’ comment then they both should consider marriage counseling or, better still, the divorce courts.
Is the fact that the dimwit knows where his ‘organic crunchy bites’ can be found in his kitchen full of cabinets supposed to communicate something? I guess so.
Oh, and by the way, the use of the word ‘hormones’ in this commercial – or any commercial that isn’t actually about hormones is inappropriate and unnecessary.
Let me add to my rant by saying who says ‘dog house’ in this day and age anyway? And adding the word ‘proverbial’ doesn’t make it any better.
Moving on to the bedroom commercial. What does the dialogue, “all of her 73 pairs of shoes not falling on him not causing Trevor to utter…”
“not causing Anne to say something, something – Trevor you have small feet” mean?
I don’t get it.
Is that funny?
Anyway, who lives like that? A drawer for his ties, one for her shoes, a sock drawer, and a jock drawer… what no bra drawer? Bloody dump.
I suspect that the whole ‘place for everything’ is the concept, but it could also be ‘having one of their kitchens or bedrooms will guarantee marital bliss.’
Is it really that hard to create a bunch of commercials that position, sell, and entertain at the same time?
I don’t think so. Particularly when you have a product like this company who has a history of pushing the creative advertising envelope.
For the love of all that is sacred in the ad world; send that phoney baloney voice talent back to America, lose the crunchy bites and small feet and start all over. You’re giving me heartburn!
By Ad Nauseum
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