Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On

Here's an example of just too much going on in a one-page ad. Some nice photography of the band. Then we get to see the edge of the carpet to see that it's one inch pile. Not just a love seat behind them, but we also get headphones on one side and some other piece of unidentified electronics on the other. (My wife would have a fit! Someone will end up sitting on it and break the equipment - and possibly their own equipment as well!) Let's surround them with cameras - because no one will understand that it's a reality show without cameras. Oh wait! We need a tagline too! But we can't make it too big  because we still have to fit in tune-in information . . . and an album slug . . . oh, and let's list some channel listings . . .and we can't forget Facebook! Simplicity is key in print advertising. A key mantra should always be: boil it down, and then boil it down again.


Ugh. At least all this info draws my attention away from seeing how lame and cliched the tagline of "It's Make It or Break It!"With all the other info, and with such little originality on a tagline - why even include it?


This is clearly an example of when print should not be used. If they feel compelled to list the channel positions, it's apparent they have some tough placements. Why not use local cable where TV Guide Network could dynamically tag their ads with the channel position on that particular cable system? Since I found this ad on the back of TV Guide Magazine - it is likely the ad comes through some barter system - so money was likely not an issue. Still . . .


Should have bought more TV!   

TNT Belgium Stunt

Ok - we're breaking from the usual format - but this is too cool to pass up. By now every network and every major movie company has put together a flash mob to promote at least one show or movie. So most of the flash mob ideas tend to be yawn-inducing as of late. But this one grabbed my attention and had me laughing and excited. Probably because you'd never be able to pull this audacious stunt off in the US (this one is in Belgium). Let me know your thoughts.

Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files

Today, we get the first appearance of what I call "The Flying V." This is when there is a group cast shot rather than a concentration on an individual and they are grouped in a V formation. We'll probably see this formation numerous times as this blog continues - and it is a very old stand-by for many an advertiser. So much so, that its use has become cliched - at least in my mind - and shows little attempt at imagining other creative solutions. Syfy broke with the V ever so slightly by the bespectacled nerd fifth from left though - so that we are left with . . . What? An upside down, italicized N?


A ton of life happening in this artwork - unlike Magic City below. The individual expressions did make me dwell on this ad a second longer than normal - and that's a good thing. However, it becomes clear that these are individual shots photoshopped together with eyelines not quite matching. But I'm not a "Photoshop Nazi" - and I'll leave the deeper critiques of that to others. We also get a strange UFO-type cloud design and strange blowing leaves - or are those pencil shavings? 


So, the artwork has grabbed me slightly, but what is it telling me? Not quite sure if this is a reality show like a Mythbusters - or if this is a scripted series. I'm going to go with scripted - but only because I've investigated the ad deeper here - and the average consumer will not. For me, the "Original Series" slug seems to indicate scripted - as well as what appear to be the standard characters for an ensemble investigation show (like an NCIS or a CSI).


I can't help it, but every time I read the tagline, "The Unexplained Has Got Some Explaining To Do," I always hear Desi Arnaz saying it. The line really doesn't add anything to me that I don't get from the title. In fact, I would rather not have the line interfering with the UFO-effect since that's a little more grabbing.


Overall it's a fair effort. Nothing really special, but passable enough to grab a few folks that might have interest. So . . .


Worth the page!

Magic City

To paraphrase the copy line, the review is about to get ugly. Entertainment advertising is always a great category to observe. Unlike many other categories, almost every ad has to launch a new product or a revamped version of a product (a new season). So, there is a wide breadth of hits and misses since each campaign needs to be put together before much public perception can be gauged. A true notion of exactly what the most intriguing and most differentiating elements must be put on a page. This typically leaves out a huge amount of content that will be valuable once a viewer arrives - but may be cluttering up space when trying to make a quick 1-2 second sale in print or on a billboard. 


So, with that said, if you look quickly at this ad, and then take your eyes off of it - what are you left with? For me, very little outside of a brief reminiscence of Reservoir Dogs. There is nothing memorable about any of the faces I'm seeing - two of those faces obscured by sunglasses. No real emotion coming off of the page - just a cool distance. No setting either to fill in the blanks. 


Then you add the color palette. Sometimes even bland key art can jump with a use of a bold palette to at least shout loudly "look at me!" (think of Fox's New Girl campaign or even Kathy below). Here the color palette is willing me to fall asleep. These might be good colors to decorate an office - but not to announce a new show! 


With a title like "Magic City" my imagination should be firing on all cylinders. Instead, all I see is another period drama that looks like it desperately wants to be another Mad Men with well-dressed men smoking a lot. How is the "beautiful life" going to "get ugly?" Nothing here tells me! I have no further idea of what this show will be. Only the copy line gets me any info - and they made it to small to stand out.


Efficient tune info - but again in dull, drab colors with a blocky uninteresting font.


Should have bought more TV time!       

Kathy

Our first bit of television key art: Kathy on Bravo. Or at least I think it's Kathy - the logo could be for a show called Kath. Perhaps a bit too clever trying to make her silhouette into a "y." Still, outside of that questionable show logo - I think this is a pretty effective ad. Very quick read - and I get the key elements right away. For me, I know right away it's Kathy Griffin and she's going to be as risqué as ever. Even if you don't know Kathy that well, she is recognizable and you know she's going to push barriers with the "caution tape." 


"A New Primetime Talk Show." Well, at least it's straightforward and gives me the note I need. It's not a standup special and it's not another reality show. 


Besides the logo - the other area that could use some improvement is the tune-in info. A bit jumbled and chaotic with the premiere date, the day and time, the network logo, and the Twitter hashtag all jammed into the bottom inch. (A bit of a rant here. Do advertisers really need the Facebook button? Isn't that redundant by this day and age? Unless there's specific info - it just gets in the way!) Still the most important data, Thursdays @ 10p, is clear with the white background - and jumps forward.


All in all, an effective ad. Since this is my first review, let me lay down how I'll judge these. No star ratings or point scales. I have always loved the efficiency of Siskel & Ebert's thumbs - and I know they are copyrighted. So, I'm going to simply judge these TV ads on whether I believe the cost of the magazine page or billboard was worth it for the creative - or if the network would have been better off spending more dollars on TV or digital - showing the show in video.


Worth the page!