Chase, Serena Williams, And “Mama Said Knock You Out”

Tonight, Serena Williams will make her return to the US Open. This comes a year after facing life-threatening complications while giving birth to her first child, Alexis. But don’t call it a comeback. This Chase ad is rousing, and features both Alexis and a voiceover with the lyrics of LL Cool J’s classic “Mama Said Knock You Out.” It’s the second recent high-profile spot Serena’s done for Chase (no, I don’t know where to get that necklace to answer some of that post’s comments). Nike also released a new Serena Williams commercial today, alternating between footage of her training as a child with her father and highlights of her as a tennis pro. Nice work from both Chase and Nike.

White Castle And (Bacon) Threesomes

I guess menage a trois suggestions are trendy in advertising these days. Recently, I wrote about HotelTonight’s “Threeday” spot. Now, White Castle is promoting its $3 Bacon Threesomes. These ads are juvenile, attention-grabbing, and also look like they cost about three cents to make.

Geico: Office Gossip Travels Fast, Especially Amongst Meerkats

Meerkats are highly social creatures. So in Geico’s latest, they’re imagined in an office setting, dishing on the latest gossip about Craig and Sheila’s breakup. Sheila is played by Sarah Hudnut Brody.

Duracell: You Need The Most Trusted Batteries In Your Wireless Mouse So You Don’t Autodraft A Kicker In The Seventh Round

If you’ve done fantasy football before, you probably know about the pratfalls of autodrafting. And you probably also know that taking a kicker in the seventh round is a terrible idea, even if it’s an elite kicker like Justin Tucker. But that’s just what happens to this hapless guy who didn’t use Duracell batteries for his wireless mouse, and now has Mr. Tucker as his Round 7 selection. Whoops. Though you would think if he was that serious about fantasy football, he’d also have an app on his phone to prevent an autodraft tragedy like this.

HotelTonight Wants You To Have A Threeday (Oh, You Heard Something Else?)

Puns, in particular, saucy puns, are quite common in advertising. Earlier this week, I wrote about a Jack in the Box commercial that’s generating a lot of attention. This HotelTonight spot reminds more of  Sling TV’s “We Are Slingers.” In it, a few women comment to their male friend that they’d love to have a “threeday”, as in a three-day weekend. But in a clever touch, the “d” in “day” is obscured, making it sound like something a bit different. The male friend is left befuddled and intrigued. There are a few other ads from HotelTonight’s Threeday campaign that aren’t on YouTube yet, but you can catch them in Adweek’s article.

White Castle Sells Its Chicken Rings In This Amusing Home Shopping Parody

Here’s a funny one from June. White Castle is selling an exquisite collection of 12 chicken rings for only $2.99! And with sauces! The delivery of the hostesses in this one is just great…particularly the semi-psycho eyes of the blonde. The blonde is played by Allegra Edwards, and the brunette is Elyse Brandau.

Jack In The Box Talks About Jack’s Bowls

The joke here is that “bowls” sounds like “balls.” That’s it. So Jack in the Box just runs with it for this whole ad. After a brief introduction to Jack’s Teriyaki Bowls, Jack comments about a male coworker’s nice bowls. Female coworkers also compliment Jack’s bowls. That’s when an executive breaks the fourth wall and says the lawyers aren’t comfortable with “try my bowls.” Also, “people love my bowls”, “check out my bowls”, and the billboarded “enjoy my balls” aren’t acceptable. I chuckled a bit, but only because I’m a child. Adweek absolutely hates it, saying that the commercial is completely tone deaf in the #MeToo era. I just think it’s not that creative, going for the cheap laugh. It’ll be interesting to see if this one lasts. What say you?

Chase: Serena Williams And “I Put A Spell On You”

In this new Chase ad, Serena Williams is on a run, when she sees a blue necklace at a market. She just has to have it, and fortunately she can get cash at a Chase ATM with just a tap of her phone. As noted by a few commenters, the nice necklace is Rain Drop by Hayley Style. The entrancing song is a cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You”, performed by Barns Courtney. And until I find a better version online, this one someone took off their TV will have to do.

Yahoo Fantasy Football Will Make You Feel Much Better After A Breakup

Yahoo may have lost a lot of its mojo, but it’s apparently still the #1 app in fantasy. These Yahoo Fantasy Football commercials actually came out in July 2017, but I guess I missed them. Mike’s girlfriend dumped him mid-season and he thought nothing would fill the void. But then he found a 6’7″ tight end with velvet soft hands on an opponent’s roster, and all was good again. And Tim won his fantasy football league once, in 2008. He’ll be gloating about it for eternity.