For those of you who were face-deep in the guac during the commercials, enjoy our biased topline summary. For those of you who missed the game entirely, be glad your face muscles got to relax rather than violently cringe while watching the 49ers try to defend the pass. Any pass. Eesh. The 34-minute blackout was more fun to watch than that shoulda-been-a-comeback final play. It’s ok, though, because GIANTS. And now a message from our sponsors.
The ones that made us laugh:
Oreo, “Whisper Fight”
If you know the Mortarblog, you know we love beating up on Microsoft. But we have to say, their new work from CP+B? Pret-tay, pret-tay, pret-tay good.
We could quibble with this and that…(EX: the "really?" thing is really getting played,) but overall, we're amazed that something with an actual concept made it out of the boardroom alive. Does someone at Crispin have compromising pictures of Steve Ballmer, Brett Favre and 500 gallons of Thousand Island dressing? Or could Microsoft's marketers actually be…learning? Either way, nicely* done.
*If the dang phone turns out to be explosive or something, we take it back.
So, why is this Kotex spot notable?
Because it's funny? Well, yes. Of course. This is the Mortarblog. But that's not the biggest reason. This spot is notable because it doesn't treat its audience like idiots. Forgetting for a moment how sad is it that Not Being Treated Like An Idiot is frickin' miraculous, let us say this: if your competitors are all doing one thing, consider doing the other. Especially if "the other" involves being honest with yourself, and with your audience. You'll know you're doing it right when you get this weird feeling of exhilaration. It comes from trusting your audience. It comes from having nothing to hide. It comes from being proud to make or sell or do whatever it is you make or sell or do. You'll be amazed at what you get in return. Well done, Kotex.