A Sign of the Times?

Like most Americans, I watched the Superbowl on Sunday February 1st. But unlike most I was more interested in the ads. One of the worst ads shown during the Superbowl in my opinion of course, was the Cah4Gold commercial featuring Ed McMahon and MC Hammer. In the spot the two celebrities tell consumers how Cash4Gold works. For those of you who don’t know, you simply trade-in unwanted gold positions and get cash back. Advertising for this company traditionally appeared direct-response infomercials but in the Superbowl, it seemed a bit out of place.

The “Big Game” has traditionally been for ads that are funny, creative, and from well-known brands that have created other commercials we have seen. The game is a platform for them to showoff their newest and best TV spots. I don’t think anyone expected to see an infomercial turned 30-second spot during the game.

Also, aren’t those two particular celebrities struggling financially like the rest of us so are they really a viable authority on making some “extra cash?”

Euro RSCG Edge created the spots, their execution was fine but because of the nature of the spot I don’t think they had much room for “out of the box ideas.” I mean the spots, I believe originated from infomercial concepts as mentioned earlier.

With the current state of our economy, thousands of people losing their jobs, and everyone looking for ways to make some extra cash to get by, maybe having an infomercial during the big game should be expected? But then again maybe it’s just a sign of the times?

But once again, what’s on this blog is simply my opinion.

Best,
A.B.