Here’s why it works:

It’s all the questions we’re dying to ask Tiger ourselves, but can’t. It’s taking Tiger from a golf (and Nike) icon to a humbled individual. Instead of glorifying him, it’s subtly chastising him. It’s making him seem, for once, an actual person who makes mistakes instead of a sports image who can do no wrong. It’s honest. It’s gripping. It’s memorable. And it’s completely unexpected.

Here’s why it doesn’t work:

Skipping over the fact that it’s his DEAD father talking, there is something creepy about the commercial itself. Maybe it’s the fact that Tiger looks actually apologetic, opposed to his calm, rehearsed persona. Apart from that, there’s just something uncomfortable with staring at this new Tiger. In addition, it seems like a bit of a cop out. Almost like he is using his dead father and his newly humbled position to trick us into forgetting and forgiving the mess he’s made.

But, then again, maybe that’s just me. Decide for yourself.

As always, thanks for reading.

- Sharon

So… we loved it. At first sight, too.

Now we get that Super Bowl ads usually tend to lean heavily on humor. But Google’s ad was a refreshing break from the flying chips and the talking babies. Why was this ad so great?

Google…

• executed brilliantly with zero talent costs
• used their interface as the visual, making it about as ownable as you can get
• told a story (and a timely one at that with Valentine’s Day coming up)
• tapped into the emotions of viewers (little humor going on, little love going on, some surprises going on)
• had an ad that resonated through literal noise (think about how many ads you couldn’t hear because people were talking at your party)
• and of course, it aligned with their platform – user friendly with no clutter and clean communication

In case you didn’t see it, the spot told a love story in a nonconventional way. It was simple. It was memorable. It was ingenious.

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Have a great weekend. And happy Valentine’s Day.

And did we need it.

Budgets are getting cut, people are losing jobs, brands are killing their marketing spend in a time when they need it most. It’s not all fun and games on Mad Ave at the moment.

But this year’s spots offered a ray of hope. Generally speaking, they were smart, funny and memorable. Sure the “good taste” meter was tipped to the limit, but that’s expected. No malfunctions.

My favorite spot? The Monster.com moose spot. Why? Well, a few reasons.

Smart: This spot was relevant considering all of the CEO backlash that is currently catching headlines.

Funny: No need to explain – the humor is front and center.

Memorable: I’m writing about it and I’m sure you remember it. Thus, it was memorable.

Ownable: It relates to job searching. So many commercials these days create an obscure narrative taking the viewer all over the conceptual roadmap. But really, the ad should be effective. Creativity is great but only when it serves its purpose. A great professor of mine in college always said, “Good ads sell stuff.”

Stop reading and watch it for yourself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

As always, thanks for your time.

-thinker & writer

Well, now we kind of want to be like his advertising agency. They continue to produce great work – work that has truly elevated his brand. In tribute to yet another great spot that launched earlier this month, here’s one of our all-time favorites. It’s been around for a bit but still a very cool ad.

The “a-ha” moment – that rewarding occasion where all of a sudden you just get it. Life’s full of them and so is great marketing.

From smart logos and witty taglines to great television and radio spots, nothing rewards an engaged viewer like a clever reveal. These are the little moments that make a crappy Super Bowl worth watching. These are the little pieces of brilliance that make you rip an ad out of a magazine because you thought it was clever or funny. These are the ideas that inspire – or at least nerdy ad guys like us.

So with no further ado, some inspiration: an “a-ha” ad we stumbled upon named “Mr. W.” Click the link below. It’s worth the two minutes.

Mr. W