An annoying trend

[Gary Gillatt]

There seems to be a New Favourite Gimmick for TV advertising creatives, which is to give physical form to some aspect of human behaviour.

At the moment, Cadbury's is trying to convince me that my inner Happiness may take the form of a sheep with a twitchy ear, which might be inclinded to twirl me around my office on a swivel chair at the merest sniff of a Dairy Milk. Abbey (formerly National) suggests that My Money might be a little version of myself. Then there was the yoghurt (was it a yoghurt?) who claimed that we each have an Inner Self best depicted as a small blue bear.

If we're going to be anthropomorphic, My Boredom actually takes the form of 32-year-old skinhead from Preston, with two convictions for ABH, and My Patience is currently serving time in Broadmoor. Neither of them take well to being tested, and should another advertising campiagn in this style come along soon, I'm going to send them both round to kick the shit out of whoever is responsible.

G
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[mikemk]

I'm not sure it isn't just a desperate attempt to get some sort of furry creature into the advert and jump on that particular bandwagon. Add to your list the Co-op sheep, the Woolworths dog and sheep (I wonder how long it took them to come up with Wool=sheep, er, Worth=dog?), the Charmin bears etc.

Come back, Nick Park, all is forgiven.

[Gary Gillatt]

MikeMK said:

I'm not sure it isn't just a desperate attempt to get some sort of furry creature into the advert and jump on that particular bandwagon.

Also big at the moment is The Crudely Animated Paper Cut-Out Animal, such as the dancing penguins - who pledge their troth to allow Switch to become Maestro - and the manic kitten band adverting Crusha Milkshakes; possibly my favourite commercial at the moment.

G
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[jode*]

But those two examples are created by the same man - Joel Veitch.

See www.rathergood.com

[Annette]

The Inner Self was the acest thing in an advert ever!
I want one.

[QuincyMD]

Yartek said:

the dancing penguins - who pledge their troth to allow Switch to become Maestro -

I see this advert but I have no idea what they are actually trying to achieve or tell me and I have no idea what chocolate bar the woman with the giant pussy under her bed is trying to sell me.

[Lita]

I love the inner self. And loved it even more when my friend Nick told me that the Inner Self reminded him of me for some reason.

I hate the My Money and Inner Happiness though, they are crap rip-offs.

[Steven]

MikeMK said:

(I wonder how long it took them to come up with Wool=sheep, er, Worth=dog?)

Just throwing this out there, but:

Sheep = Wool
Dog = Woof?

Woolwoofs, you see.

For the record, the Switch/Maestro advert where they sang 'Save Your Love' was probably one of my favourite ads of recent years. I have no idea why.

[Cherubic]

The new Switch-is-changing-its-name-to-Maestro/Maestro advert offends me somehow. I don't like how the Maestro penguin explains that Switch is changing her name, for her. That she can make that choice is fine, but it's presented in a way that suggests she had no choice in the matter, and was sold off in marriage for a iceberg, six trout and a cornetto by her patriarchal penguin dad, who's more interested in his acreage of Antarctica than the welfarre of his daughter. If I was Solo, I'd run away from home, lest paternal avarice forced me into a marriage of convenience to a lusty Puffin in exchange for a nesting site with sea views. Or something.