Are Superbowl Ads Not Good for Kids?

“…I wasn’t too happy with ads for erectile-dysfunction drugs popping up every 15 minutes whenever I watched a football game with my daughters in the room.” ––Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope, 2006

NFL Commercial Superbowl LogoCommon Sense Media released a study on the content of TV ads & commercials shown during NFL game broadcasts. They studyed nearly 60 games covering 180 hours of game time coverage. Within that period there were nearly 6,000 commercials and the easy conclusion was that it is impossible to watch a single game without visually taking in messages of sex, violence or Viagra.

The CEO of Common Sense Media, James Steyer said “Nearly 5.3 million kids watch football each week, yet one in six of the ads shown during the broadcasts features content that’s wildly inappropriate for kids — that’s every other commercial break…”

“The game of football is great fun for families, but it can be really awkward for parents when they have to explain erectile dysfunction on a Sunday afternoon, or have to dive for the remote during violent promos for network shows. I know we speak for millions of football fans and parents everywhere when we say this situation is really getting ridiculous.“ — James Steyer CEO of Common Sense Media

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Creativity: Superbowl TV Commercials

It’s that time of the year again. Superbowl! Though most people don’t care too much about who wins the big game, everyone wants a reason to get together and enjoy some good food and good company.

Another tradition of the Superbowl is the million dollar TV commercials in between the coverage. Advertisers spend several million dollars and pour hundreds of man hours try to capitalize on the large Superbowl viewer base. Due to the expensive nature of these TV Commercials, these TV advertisements get critiqued and scrutinized on how creative and effective each spot is. Hundreds of articles and top ten lists discuss how good or bad each Superbowl TV Commercial was. Hundreds of sites will take polls and stream every Superbowl TV ad to be viewed again and again long after the game is done. But what about the cleanliness of the ad? How about ethics?

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Creativity: Powerful, Slow Motion Social Service TV Commercial Videos

The following videos are service ads shown on TV or other mediums in order to send a social message. Each of these TV spot videos are done in slow motion to enhance the message. The first video has to do with fire arms. The second video has to do with slowing down driver speeds in residential areas and the last is promoting the use of seat belts. Each of these videos use some powerful imagery to shake people into thinking about these issues.

Bullet Slow Motion Video


Disclaimer: I am going to spoil a bit of the punchline but I need to get this disclaimer out. Those who are faint in heart, there is a portion here where the ad leads you into thinking something is going to happen, but it doesn’t. Just know this is a CLEAN video.

(Lesson of the Day: “Faint in Heart” is correct. “Feint in Heart” is not. Feint means to trick or deceive. So the ad “feinted” or did a feint… but it’s not for the “Faint in Heart”.)

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Creativity: Great TV Commercial Series and Athletes – MasterCard & NBA

What happens when you take the a great TV Commercial idea and add athletes? A wonderful TV Commercial with, you guessed it, athletes. Companies take great care to only use the most clean cut of athletes to promote their brand.

Mastercard “Priceless” Commercial: Peyton Manning
Below is one such example of using Peyton Manning, the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, in one of the most creative campaigns in TV history – the priceless Mastercard series. Following that is two very well made TV series by the NBA.

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Creativity: Nokia N96 – Bruce Lee Ping Pong Nun Chuck Commercial

Nokia’s Recent Bruce Lee Ping Pong Viral Commercial has been making the internet rounds. I would have to assume this is a TV Commercial being shown in China? It’s one of the top viral videos online and it is not surprising. Take a look as “Bruce Lee” as he plays Ping Pong with a pair of nun chucks. Throughout the video you have no clue what the commercial is for, but it ends with a note referring to the phone. How effective is it? I am not certain at this point, but cleaver enough to draw enough eyeballs and have it shared throughout the net.

Two videos are posted. See Below!

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Creativity: Toshiba Timesculpture Advertisement Video

This advertisement was shot using 300 Gigashot Cameras, the highest number of moving image cameras ever used to film a sequence. Utilizing full looping action in 360 degrees view, this involved 20 Terabyte (that is 20,000 GB) of data which took 4 weeks of 24 hours a day video processing time. New editing software was built just to carry this out. The Cost? Word is going around that it costs nearly $4.7 million dollars. The music is originally by Crystal Castles called “Air War” but remixed by Advert Shock Remixes (NKNB).

Toshiba Timesculpture Advertisement

So how did they make it? See below!

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Powerful Impact of Media on Children

Impact of Media on Children

Every single day millions of children are constantly bombarded by media. Television, Internet, Movies, Video Games, Music, Videos are some of the many forms of media that continues to feed particular messages and ideas into our children and ultimately into our culture.

Dr. Douglas A. Gentile, a developmental psychologist and assistant professor in Iowa State University’s Department of Psychology, offered an explanation.

With the 21st century offering a greater number of media than any other period in history, younger generations can view or listen to almost any sort of content at the touch of a button.
“I think that alone makes the fair question, ‘Might it have a different effect than we’ve ever seen before in human history?'” Gentile said.

Gentile would go on to discuss how our concepts of normal behavior, our values, sense what is acceptable and unacceptable develops from our “spheres of influence”. First from Family, then community and the rest of society.

Influence of Media via Culture and Family

“The media influence us not just one-on-one when we watch them. They also influence us by influencing our families. They also influence us by influencing our communities. That’s one of the reasons it’s hard to tell if you’ve ever been affected because it’s not just a simple one-to-one relationship. You’re being influenced in multiple directions all at the same time,” Gentile said.

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Study Links Pregnancy with Watching Sexy TV Shows

New research found in the November Issue of Pediatrics, suggest that pregnancy rates are far higher in teens who watch a lot of “sexy” TV shows that involve sexual behavior and dialogue. Teens who watched such shows were twice as likely to become pregnant over the next three years.

This research focused on shows that highlight “positive aspects” of sexual behavior without properly showing the risks involved. Such shows can lead teens to have unprotected sex. This study follows previous research from the same group that have already found that watching a lot of sex on TV can influence teens to have sex at earlier ages.

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5.3 Billion Spend on Federal Political Candidiates

Today was election day! Hope everyone has gone out to vote! Not just for the presidential candidates but for all the propositions and local positions.

To be honest I don’t like writing about politics, but in the spirit of voting day here is another!

Media Spend by Candidates Breaks Reocrds
So as everyone knows a candidate’s spend on media will have a direct influence on how we view the candidates and ultimately who we vote for. So how much has been spent on this election?

The country will have spent $5.3 billion on federal political candidates. 27% higher than 2004. The presidential race? $1.5 billion by mid-October, on track to be closer to $2.4 billion by the end according to Center for Responsive Politics.

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Creativity: Apple vs Microsoft. Mac vs PC Marketing

By now most of the public has seen at least one of the many creative Mac vs PC commercials. If you are like me I find them hilarious and very memorable. Already thousands of spoofs have been generated using a similar type of message delivery. The Mac vs PC campaign is so unique and memorable it will most likely go down in history as one of the best.

Microsoft however was not amused. After Vista failed to meet expectations and criticized across the board, Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft blamed the commercials for the poor view of Vista. Microsoft than launched a $300 million dollar ad campaign to fight back.

I find this “battle” quite amusing because the type of ads that are produced are only further affirming the image the public has of each company. Microsoft as the out of touch, big bad company that throws money to get what it wants. Apple as the hip young company who are well in tune with what consumers want and one of the best at marketing it’s products. I’ve summarized their campaigns embedded the relevant videos below. Definitely check out the Apple ones.

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