By my quick and unofficial count last night, three in five television ads can be considered "bad", one "good" and one "indifferent". Why this is the case I have never understood. I trust that corporations, which have the majority of ads shown, genuinely are trying to make good advertisements. So why is it so difficult to create effective or interesting advertisements?
The particular ad which sparked my interest was this effort from Tim Hortons, announcing their new "Caramel" theme. (Sorry for the poor quality of the video, and ad).
The particular ad which sparked my interest was this effort from Tim Hortons, announcing their new "Caramel" theme. (Sorry for the poor quality of the video, and ad).
The most egregious part of this ad is that I know that the one actor is a brilliant professional. Her name is Jenny Young and I saw her give a wonderful performance in "The Women" at the Shaw Festival this summer. This refuted my initial reaction that the actor yelling "so much caramel" just didn't have the chops to handle such depth. So if the acting in TV ads isn't (always) to blame, what is? I can't say that Tim Hortons just doesn't care or try with their TV ads because here is an example of a fantastic and effective ad from them. (Note: this will make you cry).
All of the things Tim Hortons is trying to accomplish in this ad are realized. Getting back to the first ad, the only thing it seems to be trying to accomplish is the annoyance of TV viewers, which I suppose it does realize.
Tim Hortons spent $190 million on advertising in 2009. Now, only a portion of that is going to be spent on TV ads (numbers based on Tim Hortons 2009 Annual Report page 119, found here). But still, that is $190 million!(!!). Certainly Tim Hortons has one of the higher ad budgets among corporations, but you can get an idea of how much is being spent yearly on TV ads. So why aren't we seeing better efforts more consistently? I don't have the answer just yet, but hopefully in the coming weeks and months we can sort it out in this blog.
Although the first commercial is ridiculous, I think it is has done its job - people know about the new drink.
ReplyDeleteThe nature of these two commercials are very different; maybe that has something to do with the "quality" of the commercial?
I agree the tone has something to do with the "quality"; I just think if you're good at one type of ad, stick with it. Why create negative associations with your product/brand?
ReplyDeleteI think that both commercials do a great job of serving the purpose that they are ment to. Lets be honest here, no one wants to see an ad over and over again that make them emotional. Also, if it is seen to much I don't think that it would have the same sort of impact that it was ment to have in the first place because we will become numb to it. I think the corporation was smart in breaking it up with a commercial that serves the purpose of just promoting new products.
ReplyDeleteI find both commercials to be somewhat irritating. The first one is over the top; I mean its just caramel. The second one tries to link Tim Horton's to being Canadian, which in a way is true, however I doubt a cup of sub par coffee is the first thing she wants after fleeing her country. Tim Horton's should stick to hockey related Ads.
ReplyDeleteI thought both commercials honestly were not that bad, from a business/marketing perspective they relayed the message quite well. The product is evident here and lots of brand recognition/connection is happening for viewers
ReplyDeleteI love the Tim Hortons commercials. They always capture the true Canadian spirit. For those of us who are addicted to their products, we like it.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the second commercial. I know it can be seen as cheesy, but it's really something a lot of immigrants can relate to.
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