Okay guys, we've got a tough task. We're being asked to sell one of the most boring, functional, everyone-needs-it-but-no-one-thinks-about-it products on Planet Earth: dishwashing detergent. How are we gonna make it interesting, make it pop, jazz the message up a little?
Well... I guess that's one option.
Older Woman: "We do it every night!"
Younger Woman: "Every night."
Single Woman: "I live alone, but... I still do it every night."
Younger Woman: "Every night."
Single Woman: "I live alone, but... I still do it every night."
Hoo hoo hoo! What could we be talking about??? Sex, I bet! See how that single woman smirked and leaned in conspiratorially when she said she still does it every night? I mean, what is something you do every night even though you live alone that would be surprising? Oh yeah, you know it. FUCKIN'.
Older Woman: "Right after dinner."
Younger Man: "Definitely after meatloaf."
Younger Man: "Definitely after meatloaf."
Well, this is sounding a bit less appealing. But come on. Clearly we know what's going on here. Right?
Older Man: "Like clockwork!"
Hell yeah, buddy! Get some.
*cut to an entirely different commercial*
Announcer: "Do it! Run your dishwasher with Cascade Platinum."
Wait, what?
Announcer: "And save water!"
Okay, so this is an ad about how if you run your dishwasher - using Cascade Platinum - every night, that still uses less water than washing dishes in the sink (as long as you have certain Energy Star-certified appliances, anyway). That is, admittedly, a very boring message to get across. But boy, I cannot think of a stupider way of trying to grab attention than with the absolute laziest one-note "am I talking about sex??? JK I'm not" jokes.
(It's probably also worth noting that the premise does not make sense. Running your dishwasher for a single plate and fork might use less water than hand-washing that plate and fork, but why would you need to run the dishwasher every night if you live alone and that's all you're using? Surely you could go at least two or three days without having to run it, which presumably would use even less water. But I digress.)
Even if this ad did turn out to be for Viagra or something, it would be boring. But it's so much worse because you know it's not gonna be for Viagra. The tone is unmistakably one of "just wait for the punchline where we turn out not to be talking about sex after all" and even by those standards they barely try to make it link up. "By 'do it' we meant running your dishwasher!" Yes, the generic expression "do it" could mean literally almost anything. Great point, detergent ad. I haven't posted a lot on here recently and there are multiple reasons for that, but a big part of it is that so many ads you see in day to day life are pretty much this kind of boring half-joke. There's only so much to say about that. I found this one particularly annoying and stupid, but it's all just variations on a theme: things that are phrased like and have the tonality of jokes, but aren't real jokes and definitely aren't funny. I'd say I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl so at least we get some variation, but even those have been pretty dull lately. I wonder how much of this work is even still being written by humans.
