Most Favorite

The commercial that I think did the best job of combining humor and a good cause was the Pedigree adopt a dog commercial. Right from the beginning, they set a comical, yet slightly believable situation. The Rhino running through the door as the woman calls “Rusty” for a walk is perfect. The spot continues to build upon itself with animals that are odd but not so crazy that it’s unbelievable. There wasn’t a lion or tiger, which I really appreciated. The spot closes with a good link between helping a puppy with adoption and bringing joy into your life with that puppy.

Least Favorite

The commercial that I think did the worst job of combining humor and a message that consumers are interested in was the Cars.com “confidence” spot. The spot itself isn’t terrible. It’s a good idea, but there is a disconnect between this ultra smart, self-confident individual and the consumer. I understand that commercials often ask you to suspend disbelief to accept, say a baby talking. But if I’m going to believe that someone as smart and confident as this person, the person who performed open heart surgery with a pen, needs help with confidence in buying a car, there needs to be a bigger pay off from the site. Did the site give him some fact that even the salesmen don’t have?

Now don’t get me wrong. Working in the automotive sector, I know that the buying experience is one of the biggest roadblocks for car manufacturers and dealerships. I just think the character was a little too out there.

What do you think about these two spots? Is my analysis way off? What were your most and least favorite spots?

-The Ultimate Account Guy