Cell phone commercials are boring as hell. A phone pops up, a bit of hip hop or techno plays while the phone spins around, and then it all fades to the company logo. If the budget is big enough, some dude might talk over the whole thing to tell you how awesome it is.
Whether its because formulaic commercials don’t work or because they’re just bored of making the same crap over and over, the creative teams occasionally shoot for something new. Sometimes this works out because of a catchy viral aspect – for example, Sprint’s “Crime Deterrent” spot, or that damned “IDK, my BFF Jill?” ad. Other times, they try so hard to be unique that the resulting message is completely off target.
1) LG Dare Junkyard Commercial
What the commercial was supposed to say: The LG Dare is friggin’ awesome. So friggin’ awesome, in fact, that you will break into a junkyard and out run a pair of super angry dogs just to touch it.
What it actually says: You can find the LG Dare in a junkyard.
I don’t know if they no longer include this little morsel in marketing text books, but it usually goes something like this: If you want people to buy your $200+ item, don’t show it laying around in a junkyard.
(Side note: This commercial seems to have made pitbull lovers across the internets all kinds of angry. Whoops.)
2) Sprint Instinct “Red Hot” Product Placement Spot
What the commercial was supposed to say: It’s like a billion awesome spy gadgets in one! It’s so useful, and so easy! Also, pictures look surprisingly good relative to the size of the screen.
What it actually says: If you’re: A) stealing something, and B) incompetent, you’ll love the Instinct. Also, the screen is small.
3) Sprint Instinct “Horror” Product Placement Spot
Two-for-one for Sprint with their Instinct product placement campaign. The spot playing on TV is a bit longer than anything I could find online, but the above gets the (unintentional) gist across.
What the commercial was supposed to say: In a pinch, the Instinct’s voice recognition is super handy.
What it actually says: Trying to track down those teenagers you’re hoping to cut up and eat, but the knife in your hand is keepin’ you from navigating your touch screen? No sweat, the Instinct has voice recognition. Hell, the voice recognition is so good you won’t even have to remove your mask made of other people’s skin. Stab away!
Got some more? Let us know in the comments.