Cable Provider Inadvertently Gets all Reggeaton on Our Unsuspecting Selves

I love this commercial for IO Optimum Triple Play. Check it: the chola mermaid hos, the fast-rhyming wetback sea monster who's getting his tail chopped off, the pillaging Boricua pirates, the rapper dude's decidedly fashionable Latino-thug hairdo... It's all so ludicrous, the camp almost goes unnoticed. But pay a smidge of attention and you'll be hugely rewarded with a dumbfounded dose of ethnic absurdity.

So what if it plays off of a musical movement bent of taking out moral values and musical artistry everywhere the salsa sun shines? It's too funny. Estamos? Below the lyrics to this advertising mess-gone-right:

Mi gente, Optimum Triple Play is in the house!

IO Digital Cable
Watch a lot of channels, whenever you're able.
HD is free, let me put it on the table
For $29.95, you get to sign the label

877-393-4448!

Optimum Online, so fast so fine,
Dial-up and DSL you gonna leave it behind.
C'mon mi gente, let's get online
For $29.95, it'll blow your mind.

877-393-4448!

Optimum Voice, call your mom, call your date
Call all you want from state to state,
Puerto Rico and Canada just one flat rate.
For $29.95, do I have to translate?!?

Remember you can get Optimum Voice Worldcall
Talk with anybody in the world, so call!

877-393-4448!

The savings are for real,
The Triple Play is the deal.
Estamos.

Jazz Up the Internets with Sonic Images and Sound Events

Reading is a highly visual exercise, not only because eying a snippet of text is a visual act in-and-of-itself, but also because words and phrases call on memory and abstract association to evoke shapes, moving images and mental pictures.

This is especially true when it comes to ad copy, as most advertising is crafted so users “see” precisely what it is they're about to gain or miss out on. Evoking mental images through brisk, pithy and colorful writing is a proven, seductive way of piquing consumer interest, and produces effective calls to action.

Something I also try to do when authoring any piece of writing is to cater to the sense of sound. Whenever possible, I use alliteration, loud words, musicality, onomatopoeia, and other sonorous literary devices to spark auditory buzzes in the reader’s mind. This way, words not only pop in a user’s head, but seem also come at them as if mouthed from within earshot.

And today, the interactive space is not simply about seeing, it is also about hearing. As I roam online for juicy bits of information or plug away at work, I’m almost always listening to streaming radio and pretending I’m droppin’ it like it’s hot. Every so often, I’ll also download a podcast or two. And for the most part, I’m pleasantly surprised when I land on a corporate webpage that employs sound in ways innovative.

Do you know the difference between a sound event and a sonic image? You should, if you wish to learn how to leverage audio online without annoying the hell out of everyone. Check out this insightful article from iMedia Connection for a crash course on auditory website enhancements. It’s an eye- (or ear?) opener, and includes several real-life examples of how on-target audio cues are used by companies to further consolidate their branding online.

Does this ring true to you? What do you think are the best ways to use sound effects as auditory flashbulbs on the Web?

Creative Spotlight: Orangina Amps it Up with Lusty Busty Wilderness

Here’s one for the books: Orangina just came out with a smutty ad campaign of sexed-up human-animal weirdness that’s so silly and off-kilter it hits the creative nail right on the marketing head. It’s the kind of proposition that’s so sexually over-the-top and cartoonish, it’s at once prudishly offensive and completely inoffensive. Which is why it's such a fun ad campaign to showcase—after all, the TV spot features a Flashdance reference!

No doubt, this “Naturally Juicy” campaign does a hell of a job of getting the Orangina brand name noticed and out there, even if at first it garners wide-eyed incredulity; watching the television ad is sort of like darting into a kaleidoscope-colored sex shop for the first time out of curiosity—you can’t help but feel a little bit dirty, even though you’re only looking. The entire campaign is so incredibly odd, so unapologetically in-your-face in a “sex sells” kinda way, and so fruity and explosive, you simply can’t look away.

Todd Mueller of Psyop, who worked with French-based FLL PARIS to produce this wacky marketing campaign, proudly defends it by pointing out that “it goes without saying that when you get the opportunity to spray Orangina all over the chest of a sexy bunny girl, you go for it." Wha...? Whatevz, it works (smirk).

Sure, it’s eons beyond anything this maker of fizzy-pulpy orange drinks has crafted before to market its stuff in Europe, but this titillating take on the otherwise lackluster refreshments is already making waves, leaving it’s fair share of WTF-blog entries and noisy ad campaign analyzes throughout parts of online.

Take note: After watching this television spot, you won’t be able to buy an Orangina during your next visit to the zoo. Actually, scratch that. I’m sure you won’t be able to NOT buy an Orangina next time you go to the zoo. It’s too much fun not too. Right?

Advertising Rising — And We're Watching

There’s nothing like a snarky blog ripping on a ridiculous ad campaign to really get me going. That’s why I love the Internet and everything that spews out of it. The parody, the sarcasm, the lively ads. The Web makes for a digital platform that gives us a chance to examine and tear apart the marketing almighty with a distinct guerrilla edge.

And I must say, ads today rule. I’m sorry, but they really do. Not only are they an increasingly valid form of artistic expression, they also have the power to color and enlighten anyone’s day, and can even raise awareness by providing fantasy fodder for frustrated frumps. They can also severely offend.

Ads range from the dim-witted to the super clever, from the kill-me-know creepy to the LOL funny. And one thing’s for sure: Advertising pushes creative to the limit. After all, how many viral videos are actually quirky, inspired ads that hit a comedic bull’s eye, surprising us from where we least expect it?

A well-executed ad campaign is a tasty treat for media junkies like myself. And if an ad blows chunks, it’s all the better. We can go off on it online. This is because Internet has paved the way for a new kind of ad consumption, helmed by the deconstructive skill of nonplussed advertising watchdogs ready to point out how deliciously absurd the business of selling really is. No doubt, ads have become true pop cultural compasses.

To better wrap your head around what I'm talking about, check out this review of the Snorg tees ads, courtesy of Logged Hours. It’s a riot. I haven’t laughed this hard since running across Adrants’ assessment of the Quiznos’ “not lacking any meat” campaign, featuring a (sexually frustrated?) sappy Asian woman letting out a spastic laugh. Awesome. Both are poignant observations on the ludicrous yet alluring nature of the advertising industry.

So what do you think? Are ads adding something positive to our cultural discourse? And if this is so, can we effectively bite back at advertising execs through online and hold them accountable for crappy creative?

Unwords: Words for All Affairs

I am captivated by the ways in which technology’s precipitous development has an impact on the way a lot of us communicate. Recently I was reading a great post in Notes from the Digital Frontier where one of the regular bloggers recalled his dismay while texting with a friend. He pointed out that, because his friend’s phone’s dictionary did not recognize a certain term, his friend opted to type in a different word instead. Huh. "The input method changes our communication style," he perceptively concluded. This has actually also happened to me, various times. I can’t think of a more obvious example of technology’s influence over language and communications. And then there’s Cingular’s recent advertising campaign “idk, my bff Jill,” that aside from comical, signals just how fast language is evolving. The first two TV spots from the Cingular campaign together have gotten more than a million hits on YouTube, not simply because they are funny, I suspect, but also because they ring true with a large segment of American (and global) society. If you haven’t seen the ads, click here.

Which brings me to another issue that I feel is also super-interesting: that of creating words to describe new experiences, situations, and ideas to help these become commonplace in digital media and contemporary society. Say hello to Unwords.com, the site that "makes it possible for you to share your words with the world." I’m sure a lot of English professors would be appalled with some of the words users have submitted, and many a crusty English nazi would take issue with the fact that the site simply exists. For me, however, this is as exciting as language gets. Not only is it evolving at hyper-speed, we now have digital observers documenting and fueling the phenomenon.

I believe that it is part of a writer’s job to introduce and coin new terms to describe and define emerging phenomena, especially if said writer wishes to push open societal restrictions and explore new frontiers. It creates knowledge exponentially and paves the way for others to do the same. As a society, we all benefit. Recently I was waiting to board a plane at Miami International Airport, when we were told to wait so the arriving passangers could "deplane." I’m sure the word "deplane" did not exist 50 years ago. Now we all know what this means, even though the word might not be in any dictionary (it is, by the way--as an intransitive verb). So what if other, older words start dying out too quickly? IDK, NBD, from my point of new.