Pharmaceutical companies spend more on ‘placeless’ ads than research and development

We’ve talked at some length on this blog about the placeless places used in pharmaceutical ads.  Would you believe that the industry spends more on those ads than they do on research and development?  One study suggests so.

Depend on Grandma

In a follow up to the Depend on Grandpa post, we declare "Viva las undies!"  Grandma is back in action again thanks to the "best protection" available, and she’s taking a swing at the good life:

Since the last ad in which grandpa got carried away checking out the girls on the beach with his grandson, [...]

IBM Do ~ Avatar Island Commercial

IBM has a new ad out as part of their "Do" initiative:

It’s about the online world, avatars, and of course the little islands that they create.  I think that it’s pretty much a direct reference to Second Life.  I’m not really sure what islands have to do with "Do."  Sounds like a bit of "doo" [...]

Creepiest ad smiles

This ad for Wellesse Glucosamine supplements contains some of the creepiest smiling people I have ever seen:

They sure do appear to be enjoying their boating adventure.  There’s a huge SNL "jealous" hiding behind those eyes.  Those fiery life vests are something.
This is from The Costco Connection January 2008 page 53.

Retirement ~ the beach allusion and illusion

Paradise retirement images range from the literal beach ads, like this T. Rowe Price one, to this very subtle Charles Schwab colors-only ad:

You have the beach, ocean, and clouds here — all in one otherwise hidden image.  The same colors were later adapted and added to other ads.  For example, there is this one for [...]

Sony Bravia ~ bunnies wave to a whale

I didn’t expect this Sony Bravia bunny commercial to resurface this year, but Wired has posted it as one of "The 10 Best Gadget Ads of 2007":

 
The weird part is that when I originally watched this I figured that it was a bunny ad that would probably have no significance to the Rapidsea cause (even [...]

T. Rowe Price Beach

Hours of conversation are possible on the topic of retirement, especially where images of paradise are concerned.  We are programmed throughout life by images that tell us that at some point in our lives we’re supposed to stop working and start relaxing, and if we can start relaxing on the beach, we’ll be more fulfilled.
This [...]

Diamonds require no tech support

After the diamond rant, I went on the hunt for ads that are a little less about prostitution.  I found a decent one on the back of Money magazine’s December 2007 issue:

This ad is a simple, elegant picture of the Journey diamond jewelry line that plays to the holiday gift-giving crowd.  In other word, [...]

Ford Escape Hybrid ‘most fuel-efficient SUV’

You wouldn’t know that this opening shot of a Flash ad from NationalGeographic.com is for an SUV:

Just because a car is more fuel efficient than others doesn’t make it fuel efficient or green.  But Ford wants us to believe that the Escape literally sits in a beautiful field of sunflowers:

I’m not buying it.  Literally.  I’m [...]

Blumarea Dive School ~ Water-Loving Cat

Today is a busy day, so I leave you with an amazing award-winning ad that needs no commentary:

It’s for a dive school in Rome.  The ad, by JWT, was translated from the Italian as "We’ll make you love water."  More details on the ad can be seen here.  You can also visit Blumarea’s homepage here [...]

« go back — keep looking »