BrandsAmongMany

Advertising, in its most rudimentary state, is supposed to inform people on products and services. For me, advertising is so much more than just a, “paid form of communication.” The ideas and creativity in advertising is inspiring and it’s not just me.  Sure, I hope to make a career in advertising and I’m probably not the best example, but if people weren’t so inspired by great ads, why would someone view this commercial 3 millions times? Or this commercial 2.8 million times?

Many ad-gurus have been calling the television spot dead for years, slain by the internet and user-generated content. That’s ridiculous. Whether the spot is on YouTube, Vimeo, or the regular old television, a good ad evokes emotion and ignites action. Seems to me, with the help of the internet, the so-called “dead” television spot has even more potential. With Facebook, Myspace, e-mail, blogs, forums, message boards, and whatever other ways people connect on the world wide web, a television spot has literally unlimited reaches. The interactive age of advertising calls for better, more creative, and more inspiring commercials. And heck, a nice micro-site that tags along with a spot doesn’t hurt either.

Brands like Nike, Burger King, Volkswagen, Toyota Trucks, and Apple have been pretty successful on the web. Windows was doing pretty good when they had Seinfeld in their ads, but once they dumped the project, who even cared anymore?

From the Great Schlep to Gobama, Barack Obama has taken over the interactive “air waves.” Some of the most popular videos on YouTube in recent months directly support Obama’s campaign for presidency and the dozens of celebrity endorsements doesn’t hurt. The “Probama” user created content is significantly helping Obama gain popularity amongst young voters, especially considering the time they spend watching movies on YouTube or forwarding funny videos on Facebook. Obama is sucessfully winning the interactive front of the presidential race. The most recent work of Obama loyalists is Wassup 2008.

Recognize those dudes from the Budweiser commercials? Yeah, that’s them alright, back from an eight year haitus. In case you need a refresher watch this, this, or this. Nice to see these guys back in their element and no longer hosting the show, “The Best Commercials You Have Never Seen and Some You Have.”