Remember that smarmy, smug-faced buffoon from the Underground poster? Well I'm sorry to bring the horror back all over again, but there is more that needs saying. CP and I were faced with the hateful ad over the weekend and while scowling at it, we took a moment to actually read the text. It's disgraceful!
Dirtbag!
It's lucky that he's thick as well as being a conceited, aloof love-rat. Once his wife spots the ad he's screwed. It may well be a short journey from long face to giant smile, but it's a not particularly long trip from smug face to Decree Nisi either Chris! Ha!
And with that I'm going to stop giving free advertisements to a company with zero morals and shocking taste in promotional material design.
10 comments:
I’m one of the creative team responsible for the ad. so I thought I’d give you my perspective…
1. The ad campaign is all about what different character types do with the time or money they save by going to Cargiant.
2. There are four ads in the sequence - a good family man with a tiresome mother in-law, a young woman who hates smarmy sales men, a young buck who wants to outsmart the office know-it-all and Chris, the slimy sod.
The campaign, and if you use the underground/look at the backs of buses you will see all of the creatives… which give ‘Chris’ a context.
In short it’s not about CarGiant it’s about what we as individuals want when we’re buying a new car, what it takes to put a Giant Smile on our faces… save a weekend, treat the mother in law to a long holiday to the old country, wipe the smaile of a rivals face… or ‘Chris’…
3. He is a smarmy sod isn’t he - you can see that we made a point of choosing a smarmy self satisfied ‘look’. He is not symathetically portrayed.
4. This sort of toungue in cheek humour has been the bedrock of British comedy since (and before) tyhe days of carry-on
Anyway, even if you don’t agree with me, hopefully that gives some context. The aim is not to offend just to give a little ‘head smile’ and get the cost saving message over.
Mac
Crikey.
Thank you for the clarification. The entry only went up this morning and I was stunned to check back and find this. How did this blog come to your attention? Regardless, thanks for the response.
I must admit that I have not seen the other 3 ads in the series (I don't know if they are in different areas of London/the Underground) so my comments are based entirely on the fact that I've unfortunately been surrounded by 'Chris'. You may think that I'm some 'Christian Voice' style nutter deploring the degradation of society. I'm not, I virtually everything on here attempts to be lighthearted, but - based upon that ad alone - there is an element of seriousness there. I was genuinely quite taken aback at the content, and the fact that he had been portrayed in a deliberately tongue in cheek manner had passed me by I'm afraid.
We always take a look at what's being blogged about our campaigns and then try to reflect positive and negative back into the next stage.
I'm going to have a look at how the media has been placed - if you are not getting the whole campaign, I can see how it might come across.
We are talking to CarGiant about what we do for the next phase, so we will be referring to your comments.
Regards
Mac
I wish I'd thought of creating a new blogger account and writing that response! anyway, stop going on about ads Bola, thats my domain. Though I realise I've taken a bit of a backseat recently. btw, did you ever see that advert for slimfast that came on just after Christmas (of course it did)? It was well annoying. And I especially hated the line about 'now my jeans fit my booty' (no, now your booty fits your jeans!!). Besides, I am annoyed by the premise that people will want to diet after Christmas. Who are these people who actually get fatter over the festive period? come on then Mac, I want to hear about how you came up with THAT ad campaign as well. And I better not find out you made the advert for touch and fresh.
I initially did wonder if it was one of you lot winding me up. And tough luck Munch - I'm the one who reaches top ad creatives! ;o)
Not slim fast, though we are working on something in that area that breaks in April.
Interestingly the client has decided that as their product is a) holistic and b) permanent... not to launch in the all to obvious Christmas period, but when people arrive back after easter and realise that their 'miracle' cure (Slimfast) has failed.
I'm a top ad creative? Can you tell my mum.
Mac, have there been many other responses to those CarGiant ads?
Not really, it's been live for a couple of weeks and we've had half a dozen e-mails that I know of.
More people should complain to TFL about it... they remove adverts that are slightly sexual all the time, this one is just downright disturbing!
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