Archives for September 2009

I’m a sucker for innovative ambient work, which used to be called guerrilla advertising — and probably still is in some circles. What’s great about ambient work is that it’s so unexpectedly disruptive. Advertising so saturates our society, so assaults us from every roadside, radio frequency and corner of the Internet, that are minds have a hard time processing it all. We go into cruise control and let most ads wash over us without their little seeds taking root in our subconscious. After awhile it all becomes noise. (I’ve probably been exposed to 50 web banners today, and I can’t remember a single one.)

But ambient work, with its grandiose scale and unexpected placements, jolts us from our ad-averse reverie and forces us to take notice.

Two perfect examples are these beauties from Cossette.

How do you advertise free coffee at McDonald’s? Well, you transform a light post into a pouring pot of coffee. Duh!

Seriously, in a thousand years I’m not sure I would have thought to do this. Brilliant.

And then there’s this one, which works just as well and has the added benefit of stressing to consumers that time is running out. Everyday the coffee bean count goes down. Again, brilliant. I only hope they don’t actually brew the coffee using these beans. Eck!

Click images to see bigger.

The newest addition to the longstanding Mac/PC campaign feels like a straw dog in an otherwise stellar campaign. I’ve said before that I consider this campaign from LA-based agency TBWA Chiat Day one of the best in advertising history. Smart. Funny. Brilliantly simple. And perfectly cast.

And I stick by my claim.

But this new spot, entitled “PC Innovation Lab” feels unfair and a bit cruel.

Now, before you start sending in your hate mail and labeling me a PC sympathizer, note that I’m writing this blog entry on my MacBook. When I leave this life, you’ll have to pry my Mac from my cold, dead fingers.

So why am I siding with PCs on this one? Because to suggest that PCs aren’t innovative simply isn’t true.

Granted, PCs live in a fragmented market instead of a single company like Macs, so it’s harder for a PC consumer to track innovation. But to suggest that PCs are stuck in the Stone Age with nothing new to offer comes off as a weak, desperate argument.

Come on, Apple. It feels like you’re running out of things to say. The attack-Vista approach was aggressive, yes, but at least it was true. Vista was a disaster. It made sense to capitalize on that failure. But now that Vista is a non-issue with the new Windows operating system, it feels as if Apple is scrambling to find a chink in PCs armor.

Sorry, Mac. I’m still on your team, but better luck next time.