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Pigs eating pigs to sell cell phones?

I would LOVE to see this client pitch because I have no idea to sell cannabalism to a client.

Nutri-Grain strawberry yogurt bars are one of my favorites. Great spot although I could do without the alarm sound…I despise that sound.

I love a good PSA. This one from Nickelodeon is interesting enough to catch your eye but straightforward enough to make a point. 

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I’ve gone on record declaring my love for Discovery’s Shark Week.

Discovery does some great work on their own promotions and advertising for the week long extravaganza, but I have yet to see decent advertising within programming. With the amount of loyalty faans have for Shark Week I am incredibly surprised by the lack of new creative for spots. I stumbled onto this one for MoveOn.org which is, sadly, the only spot I have ever seen created for the Shark Week.

What ever happened to category exclusivity in TV spot breaks?

An explanation for any non-media readers out there – typically when you place a buy at both the local and national level, you will be granted category exclusivity for the spot breaks you purchase and any good media buyer will demand it. Meaning that within the a two minute and thirty second commercial break those other four :30 spots you’re running with will not be one of your competitors.

Your competitors could be in the next spot break, they could be in every one after yours, but they should not run in your break and certainly not after your spot in the same break. Sometimes it happens, rotators get stuffed in any avails and when inventory is tight mix ups are bound to happen. But these days it seems as though category exclusivity is totally done with.

MTV seems to do this the most – a two minute break just aired three direct skin care competitors, one after the other.

Local news ran a competitor car spot in the same break they announced a program feature was sponsored by another local dealership of the same make. (Car dealerships are a bit more flexible in that two makes can run in the same break as long as they don’t directly compete – BMW and Chevy can share a spot break because people shopping for a Chevy would not then turn around and buy a BMW).

I’m surprised with the amount of inventory that this is even happening, but media companies and reps are too focused on making money to stay afloat. Unfortunately, its hard for a media buyer to track what other spots are running in the spot break as invoices only contain the date, time and rate of your own spots. Unless you (or god forbid) the client happens to catch it, you’ll never know.

Do you think exclusivity is a thing of the past or will it come back when stations don’t have to whore themselves out to stay afloat?

I honestly don’t know which is more disturbing – encouraging ladies to mow their lawn through a song or a how-to video teaching  guys to trim the underbrush “so the tree looks taller”. Oy vey…While I can appreciate its a hard subject to get across through video I don’t know that a song or how to video are really the best choice. 

Ladies

Dudes

There are some great TV spots out in rotation right now – here are my top 5 (in no particular order)

Check them out after the jump

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I saw this spot mixed in with the usual education connection, proactive and strip tease workout spots that make up the commerical breaks on MTV in the morning. My immediate reaction was – oy someone in traffic fucked up putting an intelligent and witty spot about something important in the world on MTV.

Finally a commercial that about something important that isn’t boring, blah and stuck on A&E or History Channel. Just because I watch MTV doens’t mean all I care about is how I look or how to go to college in my PJs (I hate you education connection)! 

I love this spot and its waaayyy better then any of Al Gore’s “We” campaign ads.  

The Clean Coal spot was directed by the Coen Brothers and concepted by Crispin Porter + Bogusky. 

CP+B is f’ing brilliant (full disclosure, I have an agency crush on CP+B) .

Continuing on my TV spot kick for this week, here are a few of my favorite spots that I’ve recently noticed. 

H&R Block “Whisper” by Campbell Mithun 

H&R always has some good humerous tax time ads. This defintiely seems like something I would do. 

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I have been campaigning for recess and nap time at the office for years now. I used to kill at four square and handball in my elementary school days!

I absolutely have no idea how Diet Pepsi is youthful, I think of soccer moms chugging the stuff, but BBDO Toronto seems to that it is. At least the ads are hilarious! 

Check out Receess

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