AdJack

Truth in Advertising: Us at the Office

OMG, we’re talking about what’s funny again.

Did I fall down laughing when I watched “It’s Always No”:/ad/its-always-no, Capitol One’s spoof on the way some credit card companies do business?  Nope, but pretty close.  It’s a riotous little piece that pokes fun at a vulnerable male ego, displays the sadistic snooping boss we all love to hate, and the over-the-top havoc created when “quality control” goes wrong, all in 30 seconds.  Yea!  It’s the equivalent of a car crash for all you action fiends, but wittier.

Speaking of wit, somebody on the FedEx ad team applies a great sardonic wit to depicting workplace realities. “FedEx Office”:/ad/fedex-office/ describes a familiar go-get-‘em team in a few deft exchanges of dialogue. “Conference Call”:/ad/conference-call plays two points of view, a worker’s escapist fantasy juxtaposed with a hip boss. The tag line—“We understand.” Then there’s the wry comment in “Half Pipe”:/ad/half-pipe on the current trend of fun stuff in the workplace. 

A couple of advertisers tap the angst of unfulfilled promise, implying that if you’re beating time in a dead-end job, you should—and can—get up and boogie.  Career Builders have come up with three ads each worth 30 seconds of your time.  In “Help You, Help You”:/ad/help we witness Mike’s triumphant exit, with Mike himself in tow. A nice little surrealist pop. My brief mention of “Firefly”:/ad/firefly last week didn’t do this wicked little joke justice.  If you’re a Simpsons fan, you’ll enjoy the type of humor.  “Queen of Hearts”:/ad/heart has some gross-out fun with the idea of following your heart.  In “Stork”:/ad/stork, Monster.com covers a lot of ground and time in 60 seconds. The spot isn’t about making you laugh outloud, but it is amusing that the man the stork risked so much to deliver is rubber stamping documents when the bird pays a visit again.

For another dose of surrealist fun, click on “Tide’s Talking Stain”:/ad/talking-stain ad. Will anybody notice that stain? The answer is indelible.