Polarizing advertising

I was surprised to hear radio jock talk about the Canadian Tire advertising and how much they hated the bearded guy (think Bob Villa) who is a spokesman for the retailer’s gadgets and products. Maybe it’s my middling ways, but how could people get so excited and passionate about advertising that featured a wholesome family peddling pressure washers and inflatable air mattresses? A quick water cooler poll suggested that it was not just radio personalities, but also coworkers who had a hate on for the ads.

The company says it’s “positioning Dad in a respectful role” and continuing the company’s tradition of featuring fathers in weekend moments with their kids. In the mid 1990’s the company moved away from its slogan, “more than just tires” and adopted “I’ll start with you” (originally a song released as a solo in 1992 by Paulette Carlson, the lead singer of country group Highway 101).

As part of this extension, the company now hopes to appeal to mothers who now seem to be courted by all the traditional “guy” stores, like The Home Depot. This advertising approach is backed up by the opening of new decorating-style stores; wedding/gift registry; and on-the-go stores based around a gas station.

But coming back to the point of this post, I’m sure Canadian Tire (yes they tried CTC for a while to drop the “Tire” but this was around the time of KFC and never caught on) didn’t set out to create a mockable character. But perhaps the casual hatred is a sign that the advertising has penetrated the consciousness of views and resonated—positively or negatively—with them. Does not a parody of serious advertising mean that you’ve truly reached the top shelf?

Overleaping ambition

OK, I’ve decided—during the dog days of summer—that I’d rather be outside playing than pounding on the keyboard, so I’m resetting expectations….

3000ads will deliver three thousand during the lifetime of this blog not during the next year. It’s impossible!

Which leads me to think, “how is it possible that anyone could be exposed to 3000 advertisements in a year?”

Company Names

Corporate Confusion
The ad on the side of the truck read:

ACME Inc. We contain all your solutions. 555-1212

I was dumbstruck right in the middle of the crosswalk. Only the honking of the oncoming cars brought me back to my senses and encouraged me to consider the use of riddles in company taglines and to get out of the middle of the road. After some head scratching I realized that this company probably made containers into which one could put liquids of various kinds. While I readily admit I am part of the population that makes MENSA possible, a mysterious corporate description probably isn’t the best approach if you want prospects to call you. Heck, I was so caught up in the idiom I didn’t even remember the phone number or else I would’ve called and suggested:

ACME Inc. We make containers for (hazardous) liquids. 555-1212

You got a solution for ACME, click on the comments button to add your $0.02.

Trends in logos

The visual component of corporate identity, a logo, is a fascinating evolutionary being. Graphic Design USA covers the new and emerging trends each year in a round up of what is new. For fun, try and count the number of logos you saw today.

How many advertisments do we see each day?

The often-cited and much hyped number is... can you guess... 3,000.
Google pulled some research together on how many advertisements do we see each day. The subject is of great interest to me and I hope to build a site that looks at some of these ads. My goal is to post 3,000 ads on the site over the next year.