Ad breaks.
That 3- or 4-minute gap every fifteen minutes is what made Sky Plus such a success. That waste of programme time that only exists so that the broadcaster can rake in even more money. No one likes the ads.
But I love them.
I base my opinion of a product or service almost solely on the ad. If you have a good ad for me, I’m sold. If not, then I don’t want to hear about it.
I’m a simple creature.
Christmas ads are my idea of marketing perfection. The Coca-Cola trucks, the age-old Cornflakes one, Vodafone and Meteor have had their share of good, funny, Christmassy ads.
But then, we take a look at the companies that seem to have no pride in their advertising campaigns. Harvey Norman springs to mind, with their loud colours and voiceover man, repetitively shouting “SALE! SALE! SALE!”, adopting that British approach which is almost nauseating to watch.
Another one is Wall’s talking dog. Talking dogs are popular with the Brits, but I can just about take Churchill and Underdog with their vast ranges of insurance policies to fit my every insurance need.
But the Wall’s dog is a different story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fe16XkwJkY
However, I think that I could sit through absolutely any ad, anything at all, before I could watch the train-wreck that is UPC’s Craig Doyle-fibre-powered-broadband advertising campaign.
You know the one.
The perfectly groomed and fake-tanned Craig character is set loose, asking if I’m tired of putting up with ordinary broadband and rattling off facts about UPC and this fibre-powered thing that I don’t get, and frankly this ad does not entice me into learning more.
But if there’s any consolation, the “Après Match” Angela Merkel plans to eliminate Craig Doyle.
If you haven’t seen that one, Youtube it. It’s worth a watch.
And, Christmas is coming.
J.F.