Wendy's

Bad ad: "Bob, my office. Now." Bob leaves behind his Wendy's burger with bacon. The aroma of the unattended bacon and burger causes all of Bob's coworkers to swiftly advance on Bob's vacated cubicle in an attempt to be first to snatch the food. Smashing through inner windows, shoving competitors into water coolers, and leaping from the tops of cube walls are just some of the antics Bob's friends(?) put themselves through in the process.

My Aditude: Why on earth would Bob just leave his lunch on his desk in the first place? Wouldn't he at least wrap it up to keep it warm? Obviously the coworkers overreact to the situation, and that's the point Wendy's is trying to make -- that their food warrants such behavior. It doesn't. Not that I don't enjoy food from Wendy's once in a while, but this approach turns me off from making a purchase whether I'm hungry at the time or not. Hello, Burger King.

Marketing failure: This ad tries to appeal to hungry NFL fans. The way to appeal to them is by showing great food, not stupid office workers. This may have some interest for children who like slapstick but not for the rest of us.

AutoTrader Big Guy

Bad Ad: [Cue "Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult] A giant human picks up cars -- smashing dealership windows as needed -- to examine them close up in order to make an educated decision about which one to buy.

My Aditude: This is supposed to illustrate that AutoTrader is changing the way consumers shop for new cars. The bulk of the ad doesn't really show that at all...I understand it's a metaphor, of sorts. At the very end, the Big Guy is shown in front of his laptop searching through the offerings at the AutoTrader Web site. Obviously that's what he's really been doing all along, but the idea doesn't transfer well from the earlier scene (where he's scaring a lot of people half to death) to the online research scene.

Marketing failure: This ad is supposed to attract the attention of drivers who want a new/different car and who are also NFL fans. Maybe if the Big Guy had been wearing a #4 jersey (green or purple) it would have had more appeal. Maybe. ... Nah, it's just too silly.

Geico - Take 3

Bad Ad: A pothole talks about the damage it has just done to a car that rolled over it. "Did I do that?" a la Steve Urkel.

My Aditude: Seriously? There's nothing witty or surprising about this ad. It's frankly rather boring.

This is the last review I hope to do about Geico. Some will probably despise the gecko commercial line as much as the three reviewed here, but I think Geico should stick solely with the little green guy. Be careful, guys, not to let that inept human VP get too much air time though. He's had his 15 minutes (or seconds). Let the gecko do the talking. Nice touch with the glasses he's been holding lately too.

Marketing failure: The intended audience here is insurable drivers who like Family Guy. Family Guy may include some lame scenes from time to time, but most of it is far more intelligent than this talking pothole. It doesn't convince us to switch to Geico.

Geico - Take 2

Bad Ad(s): I'll mention two Geico ads here that use the same theme -- a wad of wrapped bills, with a pair of googly eyes on top, that is intended to look like a human face. In the first ad, a young man is practicing freethrows on a basketball court. Someone (or something) off-camera throws a ball that hits him in the arm, distracting him from his shot. He turns to see the wad of cash. The music starts, and he smiles.

In the second ad, a man is eating in a small diner. His gaze turns to the counter where he spots the wad of cash. The music starts. He walks over to remove the clear cover from a plate of donuts and place it over the cash, softening the music. He should leave it there but instead raises it slightly. The volume rises, and he smiles.

My Aditude: The money is what these guys supposedly could be saving if they switched to Geico. Why are they happy to see money that's not theirs? It should make them as sad as the cavemen in the other Geico commercials because they have insurance from the "wrong" company.

The wad of bills is almost as creepy as the smiling king in the Burger King ads. Just go away.

Marketing failure: As in Geico - Take 1, this ad is intended at least for insurable adults who are American football fans. Again Geico fails to convince them to switch, this time because of the creepy cash and the out-of-place smiles.

Geico...Take 1

Bad Ad: Two cavemen buddies are enjoying a game of bowling. A caveman friend, with face downcast, enters the alley, and the two invite him to join them in the game. He is overjoyed. After several frames of a rollicking good time, they finally notice something printed on the pin resetting machinery at the far end of the lane. It says, "So easy a caveman could do it. Geico." Their night is shattered, and presumably they will leave the alley shortly thereafter in despair over how the world (or Geico, at least) thinks of them.

My Aditude: This is just one in a series of ads from Geico involving cavemen. The first one, maybe two, were mildly humorous. Those put out recently are sadder than the cavemen themselves.

Why are there apparently only two or three cavemen in the world? Why are there any at all? Haven't we supposedly evolved* into something better than that? If so, why are these guys still around?

I like bowling, but do these down-trodden cavemen have nothing better to do than go bowling? Why aren't they out creating a better reputation for themselves? Or.... Oh, wait. I just figured out why they're bowling by themselves. A couple of them ditched a pair of very nice young ladies in an earlier ad!

But the thing that really gives me a bad aditude here is that they don't notice the hurtful slogan down by the pins for several frames into the game. Did someone suddenly slap the decals onto the machinery halfway through the 6th frame? Were they having such a great time that they simply didn't notice it earlier? Or are they perhaps rather dull and deserving of the stereotype that Geico wants to pin on them?

Marketing failure: The intended audience includes insurable adults who like the National Football League (NFL). I don't think that group of people are swayed to turn to Geico because of this ad. They would more likely think that Geico is not up their alley.

-----
*I don't believe in evolution of the Darwinian type.