DirecTV Sez: Don’t Wake Up In A Roadside Ditch
January 2, 2012 4 Comments
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you spent it with friends, family, and perhaps your favorite intoxicating substance (whatever that might be). Now then…to what is a VERY early contender for funniest commercial of the year, by DirecTV.
So apparently, cable causes major life problems. It’s fun to look at how advertising influences future advertising. I see a clear parallel between this DirecTV spot and Old Spice’s The Man Your Man Could Smell Like. Both have surreal and compelling copy and you WANT to see where they’re going. And “don’t wake up in a roadside ditch” is one of the most memorable lines of the last few years, up there with “I’m on a horse” or “And can I get a hot tub?” When you’re watching the game with people and a commercial has everyone laughing, you know it’s a keeper. Thank you for cracking me up, DirecTV.
Bonus videos: So this is an ongoing campaign. Here’s the dog collar one and the animal hoarder one. Not quite as spot-on, but still amusing.
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Josh, funny spots. That’s true. But making the parallel to Old Spice is just sad. If anyone walks and talks, they’re copying Old Spice. And now, if the ads are ‘compelling’ and the viewer ‘wants to see where they’re going’…they’re also Old Spice’esque? Come on.
People walking and talking to camera has been done forever. Surreal ads, have been done forever. All good ads should be compelling, and make the viewer pay attention until the end. That’s the goal of advertising.
The Old Spice work is brilliant, and yes it’s often copied. This is the worst example ever: http://www.shaggybevo.com/board/showthread.php/69887-Old-Spice-esque-Politcal-Ad
But just because you like an ad, and you like Old Spice…doesn’t mean they’re the same.
I’m not even sure how I got here, or why I care. But this comparison, while often true, is way too often abused.
I see where you’re coming from. I think I went a little far in saying there was a clear parallel (and was sort of waiting for someone to call me out on it). What’s more accurate is that after watching DirecTV’s ad, I was reminded of the Old Spice campaign. And it wouldn’t surprise me if the DirecTV copywriters had Old Spice in the back of their head. But yeah, they’re not the same.
Folks: DirecTV campaign immediately called to mind a series of childens’ books I’d seen in Borders (RIP) back in the day. The first, “If You Give A Pig A Pancake”, chronicles his ever-more-outrageous demands,closing with the warning that one should “never, EVER…”give a pig a pancake. Likewise, “If you give a mouse a cookie”, et.el. Even the rhythm of the ads match that of the prose. Trusting those kiddie tales were the original inspiration, but the extrapolations are brilliant!
You’re absolutely right. I knew it reminded me of something, but it took a while to remember.