I came across two ads for Smart Cars the other day and thought they were genius. The first one blew my mind and while I was made aware of the fact the ad was there, I assume many people never notice it. But, for those who do, I have a feeling they appreciate it even more than I do (if they get it of course). See the ad here:

The ad is so simple, but clearly the placement was thought out and in effect really drives the point home. I'm not sure you can convey the convenience of the Smart Car's size any other way. I do find it interesting that there are two car ads on the sides. It creates a great visual that implies parking spots, but I wonder what happens if the ads on either side change to another product. Much of the humor and message is conveyed by being between two other cars and not just a small advertising space. 

The second piece is one right up my alley. I am a huge fan of extremely creative outdoor and guerilla advertising. This display does a great job conveying the idea that the Smart Car is fun and powerful despite its small size. Here is this ad:

I find this one funny because I could see myself driving by day after day when the bridge is down and thinking to myself "what is so special about this ad." On the day I drive by and see the bridge up I know I would laugh pretty hard maybe even get a legitimate LOL out there (and I can use LOL because I actually would be laughing out loud). 

I didn't know it, but Smart Car does some really great advertising. This probably has to do with the fact that they are relatively new to the US. You can check out more of their ads here. I look forward to seeing ads her in the States because I think those face an interesting challenge; we love our big cars. 

I feel like I should start of with one of my favorite advertisements. I don’t think the commercial itself is what made me go into advertising, but I d think the characteristics that make this spot great definitely have something to do with it.

It is from Sony and it was for their line of Bravia Televisions. Here is the full 2:31 spot:

So why is this a good spot? First of all, I will freely admit that the budget for this ad was bigger than some companies ever put towards advertising. It isn’t that I like large budgets (well, I do), but it allows for some very cool results.

Ignoring the fact that not all ads get budgets like this, what this ad does well is to bring together the individual elements that make a commercial and utilizes each one to really drive home the message. Sony has a history of great commercials for the Bravia line (my second favorite being the paint one). The visuals are incredible, the music fits so perfectly, the story is great, and the fact that they really let loose hundreds of thousands of bouncy balls down San Francisco’s iconic hills. Fallon, the agency that was commissioned for the project, did a fantastic job of combining all of these elements to produce an ad like no other.

Fittingly the tagline for the for the Bravia line is “like no other.” Sony sets the bar high for a category of commercials that often would be pretty generic. To me, this ad is rather awe inspiring. The grand scale of the project amazes me and while the commercial itself didn’t make me go into advertising, the individual elements, their choreography, and commercials with this creativity are what made me go into advertising.

The other thing that I loved about this commercial is that they made a how-to video for it. I love learning about anything and everything plus seeing any behind the scenes for almost everything.

So, this is the beginning of what is hopefully and interesting look at advertising and other things [re: ramblings]. Please comment, please criticize, please send me ideas for articles, and please share the things you find interesting.