El Gaffney

Super Bowl Commercial Highlights

It’s always an enlightening experience being the guy who works in advertising at the Super Bowl party. For the past five years it has fun being the de facto expert on commercial creative and strategy (and somehow feeling like you get credit for every laugh from the group); however, tonight I was constantly answering the question, “did they really spend $2.7 million on that?” And while I don’t think this year’s spots were significantly more disappointing than last year’s, I did start to feel a bit disheartened. I had been making the (unoriginal) case to listening co-couchers that although it may seem an excessive amount to pay, when you consider not just the reach of this event but (more importantly) the number of eyes that will actually be actively engaging with the content (watching/talking about each) during the game (as well as the coverage in the weeks before and following), it was probably worth it for at least some companies. But unfortunately when the game ended, the consensus was “the commercials sucked” (with the exception of Ferrell for Bud Light “suck one”). There didn’t appear to be breakout stars—brands that benefited from being “diamonds in the rough.” Instead, the negativity toward the collection was the final word. And I started to wonder how many more chances we all would get before people would rebel against (ignore, skip, channel flip, or call for a change in the model) our thirties and sixties the way they do during the other 364 nights.

In case you missed them and want to find your gems, you can watch them on MySpace. These are not my favorite commercials, but certainly the two standout moments…

The first is the Gatorade ad, “Man’s Best Friend.” I know from my work with Purina that the more frames showing a happy dog, the better. Yet, I connected to it because of the striking resemblance of the black lab to my family’s, Zeus (that’s his name).

The second moment was fulfilling because I was the first person to remember “where is that guy from?” in the Amp Energy commercial. Your turn to try (if you haven’t already).

Yes, you guessed it. Right? It’s Donkeylips (confirmed by Michael Bower Wiki entry) from Nickelodeon’s Salute Your Shorts. Amazing show, and really the only thing that made this commercial bearable.

It’s late and I’m too tired to go spot by spot, but quickly I thought Coke was unsurprisingly solid, E*Trade surprisingly good, and most of the rest forgettable.

Tags: coke, family, party, superbowl

Hill To The Heights

Wow, what a day. Today my sister graduated from Boston College (“the Heights”). Beautiful ceremony. Plus, the first sunny one in the last six, which our speaker attributed to the combined prayers of the Jesuits, Cardinal, the Catholic Church, and parents of new graduates. Our speaker was John M. Connors of Hill Holliday Connors & Cosmopulos. (Not sure about the spelling of the final partner’s last name, but know it’s not Katsopolis.) People call him Jack. (No, not Phil, Phil Connors, I thought that was you. -Ned Ryerson…) And never having met him, sitting the width of a football field away from him (if I was a real man, I’d know that distance to the inch) I felt like I could call him Jack. That’s the type of guy he is. To me, and the audience seemed to agree.

His audience was diverse. It consisted of students (nurses to philosophers to businesspeople from over 85 countries), faculty (and the pray-ers mentioned above), and supporters of the students (grandparents to teens – and younger, but they weren’t listening). He had undergrads and grads receiving doctorates. He had first time graduation attendees and others who’d heard 3+ “commencement speeches” in their lives. So how’d he seem to receive a unanimous two thumbs up?

By being himself. By telling his story of success (and failure). He used his connection to BC (an alumn) and the city of Boston to his advantage but didn’t overplay it. He was able to appeal to the everyman (and everywoman) by being sincere and hopeful. He kept it positive but didn’t shy away from some negative realities. He admitted he’s made a lot of money, but insisted giving back makes him most happy. In fact, he “highly recommended” the business grads make lots of money as well “AND share it with the nurses, teachers, scientists, etc.” My mother described it as all the optimism and challenge of a traditional address but special. There’s a right amount of trite – and he hit the nail on the head. My sister stayed awake after watching the sunrise with her classmates the morning of the ceremony. But he didn’t tell one good mini-autobiography. He told his story sprinkled with mini-stories and relevant cultural references. Calling on everyone from Jack Nicholson (“We can handle the truth!”) to Ted Williams (“even he got out 6 of 10 times”) to Judaism (“tikkun olam,” which translates to repair the world and suggests as he did, the world is broken), he in my friend Jake’s words “won the [audience's] hearts and minds.” He didn’t shy away from religion, but didn’t alienate or make it central. Yes, the Hebrew reference was particularly welcome by our Jewish family but he made “giving” central (in keeping with the Jesuit ideal) and ended by telling all to “Trust in God but lock your car.” (pron. k-ah)

And finally (he joked, “how many of you are happy to hear ‘and finally?’”) he kept it relatively short and sweet.

As someone in the advertising industry, I listened with different set of ears. For example, I was less surprised when he quit his job at 25 when asked to move to Detroit to work his agency’s car account. But I really listened to hear if he gets it. I listened to hear if he was going to address the changes in technology and communication and how they are changing his business and the world. If he’d say “blog” like he understands it and because of that can mock it. If he’d talk about his agency’s funniest commercials or most successful business results. He didn’t. He told a story of perseverance (his agency made $37,000 yr. 1) and togetherness and fulfillment (does it matter the race, ethnicity, or religion of the man or woman who finds the cure to Alzheimers?)

While he and his partners, in his words “modestly named the agency after themselves,” when you shorthand his agency’s name, the C’s usually miss out. But it was clear his agency would embody his values (respect and acceptance, hard-work and sense of humor). If you’re ever in Boston, I’d suggest stopping by.

P.S. It was one of the first agencies (especially in the bigger, more established ones) to turn its corporate website into a blog. It’s very good. Baba Shetty used to be over at Fallon and he’s very good too. Take a look here.

Tags: agency, bc, college, family, hhcc, speeches

Happy Birthday Yesterday, Mom

No, I didn’t forget Ila’s bday; I did call last night. However, I never gave her a shout out on the blog though. So here it is… with a picture I know my whole family can appreciate. They may have the cool Guinness ads in Ireland’s pubs, but they don’t have gems like this found in Gate E of MSP airport. Other notes from ayer: Gtown beats Rutgers, Ila and Vince see show in NYC, started reading Catcher in the Rye (I may be the only person who hasn’t ever read it nor have I had to or else I’d have read the Cliff’s Notes), Project Runway reunion special left much to be desired (though seeing Daniel V. say “it’s a mothafin’ walkoff, never gets old), Nantucket Nectars Half & Half at lunch (great drink), and speaking of favorite beverages, began working a bit on a new biz project for VitaminWater. It was also George Washington’s bday, but he can’t receive bluemoutain cards over email. Happy Birthday again, Mom. Can’t wait to see you and Dad tomorrow.

Tags: bdays, family, ooh

Sweet Dreams

Goodnight, God bless you, I love you.
-Another passionate and creative Vincent (with two ears intact, only one of which has been known to become bright red)

Tags: family