Ad contest so far: Skating babies! Armpit hair!

Posted: Monday, July 27, 2009 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: TV commercials

So summer's half over (NOOOOO!), and where does our commercial contest stand? We've had some great discussions about stereotypes in ads, fast-food mascots, ads that tackle the tough economy, adults-only ads, ads that people either love or hate, and more. That's all great, but at the end of summer, I need to award a "best ad" and a "worst ad" award, and there are still a lot of contenders for those crowns.

TODAY

The Evian babies have skated into some viewers' hearts.

Here are some of the ads that have come up repeatedly in our discussion. But we're not done yet! Just because an ad isn't listed does not mean it can't still top the contest. Describe it in the comments.

BEST ADS
I'm not quite sure what computer-generated roller-skating rapper babies has to do with drinking Evian, but darn if this ad doesn't stop me in my tracks and make me watch. Has anyone actually seen this on TV yet, or just on YouTube? Here's an article about the ad's popularity.

This Prius commercial, in which people dressed like flowers, grass and other bits of nature pop up as the car drives by, is still a favorite of many, and a leading contender. But some people just find it creepy.

Front-front, back-back, side-to-side. The Kia Soul ad with giant hamsters driving a Kia past others of their species stuck in dull wheels entertains some, but others think it's a weird way to sell cars.

Why so many car ads among your faves this year? In this VW ad, a Jetta TDI and an old Beetle talk to a neighbor who owns a Prius. Reader Dan O. says: "I love the VW commercial that compares itself to the Toyota Prius -- after its owner makes the quiet engine noise the VW still says 'that's cool'.... That's cool."

Some commercials create a fictional spokesperson that just makes people hate the product he or she represents. (Plastic-headed Burger King, that's your cue!) But Dos Equis' Most Interesting Man in the World seems to be earning more fans than foes. ("Police often question him just because they find him interesting. ... His blood smells like cologne.")

WORST AD CONTENDERS
When you first see this ad, for Boost Mobile, you may think that's just the girl's lovely long tresses blowing back into her boyfriend's face. Then you realize it's her armpit hair, which apparently has grown to Sasquatch-length. (Boost Mobile also has this horror, where a man carries another adult man in a baby carrier strapped to his chest. In the end, the man in the carrier says, "I also like breast milk.")

Here's another major contender for worst: In Dannon Light and Fit's ad, a beautiful blonde so can't resist their product that she opens it and sucks it down right in the supermarket. The slurping noises send the ad right into "disturbing" territory.

When I first mentioned this Quizno's ad, where the oven wants the employee to "put it in me, Scott," a couple of readers accused me of homophobia, apparently because the employee is male and the oven has a male voice. I can assure you, I was creeped out by the idea of any employee, male or female, putting any body part in a hot sandwich oven. The sexuality of the oven in question never once entered my mind.

Red Bull's slogan is "Red Bull gives you wings" (or, in their lingo, "wiiings") but in this ad, the drink, and a woman on a nude beach, are apparently giving the little cartoon guy something else, as indicated by the way his black censorship bar takes an upward twist.

I can imagine the pitch session for this series of Geico commercials: We're saving them money, why not show them the money? And make it cute, with googly Muppet eyes. But why is it stalking me? That creepy-but-catchy Rockwell song doesn't help matters.

Are any of these ads your pick for the best or worst of the year, or do you think other commercials need to be mentioned here? The comments are open.

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