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Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by ARTelevision
Cynthetiq,
Your efforts lately to keep us informed here regarding these important issues is invaluable. Thanks for putting things we need to hear within range of our critical awareness.
Appreciated,
Art
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Just working it.
This article comes from Dec 24, 1992. The images that we can see as we read the point show how the power of advertising really saturates.
Quote:
View: THE MEDIA BUSINESS -- ADVERTISING; Seasonal Messages That Appeal or Annoy
Source: NYTimes
posted with the TFP thread generator
THE MEDIA BUSINESS -- ADVERTISING; Seasonal Messages That Appeal or Annoy
December 24, 1992
THE MEDIA BUSINESS -- ADVERTISING; Seasonal Messages That Appeal or Annoy
By STUART ELLIOTT
ONE more day! One more day!
That is not the joyful chant of children eager to see what Santa Claus will leave under the tree, nor of workers anticipating a long weekend. It is the grateful cry of American consumers, counting the hours until Christmas arrives, bringing to an end the annual spate of coarse, crass and overcommercialized Christmas ad pitches.
Even those who believed themselves inured to the frenzied hyper bole of the holiday season must be dismayed at how deep the bottom turned out to be this year. A prestigious group of clergy even wrote a contentious open letter to Madison Avenue's "advertising lords," castigating them for having "reduced Christmas to a carnival of mass marketing."
It's enough to spur a sequel to "It's a Wonderful Life" in which George Bailey wishes that Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn had never been born.
All that is not to say that holiday themes should be verboten to advertisers. The season's spirited joys and harmonious impulses are particularly appropriate after a year as troubled as 1992. After all, as Angela Lansbury sang in "Mame," "We need a little Christmas" -- but, please, take note of the word "little."
What follows is a review of this year's holiday advertising highs and lows, as ranked on a special seasonal rating scale of "Ho, ho, ho!" (as welcome as Santa himself) or "Bah, humbug!" (an ad only a Scrooge could admire.)
Absolut. A colorful print advertisement for the vodka carrying the headline "Absolut Harmony," showing the New York Choral Society performing before the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, inspires festive thoughts. Ho, ho, ho! Agency: TBWA Advertising.
Campbell. "Have a red and white Christmas!," urges a print ad in which a can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup wears a stocking cap, complete with pom-pom, and a striped scarf. Santa Claus as soup can -- not even Andy Warhol concocted such a travesty. Bah, humbug! Agency: Backer Spielvogel Bates Inc.
Coca-Cola Classic. In this seasonal spot, a boy who sees Santa Claus pausing at a Coke machine alerts his father, who thinks he means the picture of Santa appearing on holiday cans of Coke Classic. As syrupy as a soft drink before the fizz is added. Bah, humbug! Agency: McCann-Erickson.
Energizer. The battery brand's omnipresent bunny barges its way into a parody of those annoying Christmas music commercials, featuring a harpist who plucks implausible tunes like "Rapping with Santa." The satire is wickedly accurate, down to a toll-free telephone number briefly flashed on screen; dial it -- 800-729-0730 -- and the bunny interrupts a recording informing callers that imaginary order-taking operators are "presently busy." Ho, ho, ho! Agency: Chiat/ Day.
Hershey. A print ad wishes chocolate lovers "Happy holidays from Hershey's Kisses" with a photograph of Kisses in seasonal red and green foil (in addition to the regular silver variety.) The headline: "Free gift wrap." Ho, ho, ho! Agency: Ogilvy & Mather New York.
Marlboro. In a print ad reminiscent of a greeting card, wishing smokers "Merry Christmas from Marlboro Country," two cowboys on horseback, one with a tree, ride through a snowy Western night. Perhaps they're on their way to the hospital to cheer up a friend after his lung-cancer operation. Bah, humbug! Agency: Leo Burnett U.S.A.
Marriott Residence Inn. Dominating this charmingly low-key print ad is a sketch of Santa climbing down a chimney. "This time of year," the ad advises, "a fireplace in your hotel room could really come in handy." Ho, ho, ho! Agency: the Martin Agency.
Nestle. Farfel, the floppy-eared dog from Nestle ads of the 1950's and 1960's, comes home for Christmas, joining a choir of canine puppets to introduce a line of miniature candies in holiday wrappers. A sweetly whimsical and delightfully silly commercial; one puppet holding a Butterfinger candy bar keeps dropping it. Ho, ho, ho! Agency: J. Walter Thompson New York.
Roy Rogers. Pieces of fried chicken and biscuits are arranged in the shape of a wreath as "Deck the Halls" is heard on the soundtrack. The punch line: "Seasoned greetings from Roy Rogers." Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean you can play with your food. Bah, humbug! Agency: Earle Palmer Brown.
U.S. Postal Service. Even pun-lovers -- all 43 of them -- are groaning at the seasonal modification made to "We deliver for you," the Postal Service's regular slogan. Whoever thought up the holiday version -- "We deliver for Yule" -- ought to be sent to sort dead letters in Juneau in January. Bah, humbug! Agency: Young & Rubicam New York.
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