Mark Wilson, Advertising Guru, Rates Popular TV Commercials
Let's talk advertising. It's my field. I've been in it for forty years now. I've written and produced thousands of commercials in my career. And I know what's good and what's not.
On TV I think that "Mayhem" is an excellent spokesman character for Allstate. I don't know what Progressive Insurance Company's advertising budget is, but it's a lot. They do a good job of keeping their "Flo" spokesperson fresh and entertaining.
Liberty Mutual Insurance entertains me because one of their spokesmen is an emu! Combine that with some "dad joke" ads, I enjoy those a lot.
If you know me at all, then you won't be surprised that I'm a fan of good use of music in ads. Chevy's "Listen To The Heartbeat Of America" was more than just a great jingle. It was a great song.
Same for when they were using Bob Seger's "Like A Rock" trying to sell their pickups.
Mazda's "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" was catchy.
I remember when Coke used "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing". And was quite surprised when I found out it was a real song done by the Hillside Singers.
But my favorite commercial (yes I have one) was the Reebok commercial used during a Super Bowl. It featured Terry Tate, office linebacker.
It was a series of shots of this very muscular guy tackling people in an office setting for various violations. "Coffee break was over fifteen minutes ago, WOOOO". Funny stuff.
Now the bad Mr. T who is working for Aarons. They do rent-to-own items. I have no problem with it. But when Mr. T pops up out of a washing machine and says "This is a job for the double A-team", I change the channel.
Dear Aarons, please get a better spokesman and/or slogan. Sincerely, somebody in advertising.