Trying Too Hard

For today, three commercial messages that are trying too hard to be relevant or meaningful or... something.


I don't know what to make of "technical cashmere," let alone supercharged cashmere.


This poster from my local Bruegger's Bagels wins the silly competition both for its headline and its stock photo, which is right up there with the stock images of women laughing while eating salad.


Beer promotion is, as a whole, vapid and usually involves implying men will get sex if they drink a particular brand. This Michelob ad tries too hard to appeal to a different kind of male interest (success), but it also has a subtext of isolation and sadness. This guy is celebrating his success by himself, alone in a city of millions. (Oh, and the "subliminal seduction" voice in my head can't help pointing out how the upright bottle clasped in his hand echoes the skyscraper in the background. They're both taller than they are wide and so therefore are phallic symbols, as my Egyptian history teacher used to say.)