Friday, July 07, 2006

Adwatch

Samsung LCD HDTV

Oh yes. I couldn't possibly let the Adwatch series end without mentioning this gem.

I've still not quite managed to transcribe it all, but (paraphrased slightly perhaps) it begins: "Imagine you've scored tickets to the world football finals. Your friends wonder who you'll take. Even your boss is looking for an invite. But then you see his Samsung LCD HDTV. It's stunning. The design is brilliant...".

Of course, the upshot of it all is that "you" give away your tickets and instead invest in one of the aforementioned TVs on which "you" and "your friends" can watch the "world football finals". For this, "you" are hailed as a "genius".

There are so many things wrong with this advert, not least the fact that were you or I to do this we wouldn't be hailed as a "genius" so much as beaten to death with our own shoes. The use of the word "genius" and the unique selling points of the TV - "It's stunning. The design is brilliant" - make the script read as though it's dripping with sarcasm. But, somewhat incredibly, it's not.

So, how's about I out the dynamic creative geniuses behind the advert? Take a bow Leo Burnett, one of the largest worldwide agencies, who proudly proclaim themselves to be "ideas-centric". (Incidentally, they're also responsible for / guilty of the "I'm lovin' it" ads for McDonalds.) I'm guessing the office in the Samsung ad is based on their own - populated by impossibly young, savvy, dashing and expensively dressed "creatives" with a money-to-sense ratio of 50:1 who've never been to a football game in their lives and if they did would complain about the quality of the prawn sandwiches. Funny how Samsung sponsor Chelsea, isn't it?

1 Comments:

Blogger Matt said...

I'm so glad that you picked up on this one before the end of the tournament. I remember having to see this at least three times before I could actually believe it.

My favourite bit was at the end, with the boss looking slightly rueful at his decision to swap the tickets for his horrible great telly. You're going to the, er, football finals, man! (I'm guessing Samsung wren't official partners of the World Cup, then.) Never mind the bloody television!

9:42 PM, July 11, 2006

 

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