Great Moments In Advertising
Some time ago, a beautiful super model was on a morning talk show hawking a cosmetic line. She mentioned “foundation” which I’m thinking is a sort of base covering, and said, “Of course, I, personally, don’t need foundation.” At that point my wife threw a bag of potato chips at the television and both dogs and I hastily left the room concerned about further fallout. I’m sure the model’s effectiveness plummeted at that juncture.
But it reminded me of a famous commercial from the 80s with a world class beauty purring at the outset, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.” At first I said to myself, well, this is a highly paid actress, who’s gorgeous, in beautiful clothes, coiffed perfectly, standing there in stilettos. But maybe the point is she must also be a college graduate, a business woman, and talented enough to make it in show business, so she’s saying, “Don’t assume I’m an airhead because of the way I look.” The opening line was certainly edgy, but I can’t remember the name of the woman or the cosmetics firm and I’m deliberately not looking it up. Most women I tried to talk to about it didn’t want to talk about it.
It prompts me to think of what must have been a “Mad Men” moment when McCann-Erickson pitched “It’s Miller Time” to Miller Brewing. There must have been orgasms of glee in that pitch room with cigarettes lighted and scotch uncapped. Great idea. Sell rivers of beer.
Of course, immediately thereafter, most consumers said, “It’s Miller Time, let’s have a Bud.” Wrong river.
I’m reminded of the great punch line, “The dogs just won’t eat the stuff.”
I’m just saying what’s so. Don’t hate me because I’m brilliant.
