The idea for this post came to me in the shower.

Honestly, it did. You see, I could not wait to use the exciting shampoo I bought at Sephora. Such a thrill to try new things! So fancy, because I'm worth it. I admit, it was the bottle's cool design that made me swoon. It feels like aluminum, but is definitely not aluminum, and the graphics are science-y looking. Surely it was concocted in a lab with polymers and what not and my hair will never be the same.


Total disappointment followed. The watery goop that poured from the beautiful bottle didn't produce any lather. None. There it sat like Elmer's on my scalp. I even rechecked the label to make sure it wasn't conditioner. Nope. Shampooing restructurant, it read, meaning restructuring shampoo for those of you who aren't 1/40th French like me. Seeing no other option (all naked and vulnerable), I mixed it with Jon's Suave which bubbles like crazy and was likely procured using doubled coupons and a mail-in rebate. By Jon. Because we are opposites in every way.


This may come as a surprise, but I don't typically splurge on beauty products. My make-up routine is basic and boring and I don't replace any of it until I see a news story on how bacteria growth in blush will cause permanent paralysis. And I'm not easily persuaded by slick marketing. I spent many years in the industry so whenever I see an ad, even the best and most clever, I imagine a team of "creatives" pitching the concept and I'm instantly unimpressed.


But that damn bottle. It got me. It called me over with just a look, then it won me over with its space-age feel. All is not lost, however, the faux metal feels good on Beazy's sore gums.

Product packaging. Marketing. Advertising. Sometimes it works. Many times it's terrible. But terribly memorable is a good thing, right? Because memorable is the ultimate goal. My head is spinning. 


There are two current TV ads that make me cringe and giggle. Then cringe some more.


First I offer up Febreeze Air Effects. Unsuspecting people (I imagine friendly tourists) are grabbed off the city street, blindfolded, and led into a kitchen strewn with rotting meat parts or a filthy apartment containing perhaps a body under the bed. When they confess that it smells lovely, like lavender, and then remove the blindfold to reveal the horrifying scene, it doesn't persuade me to buy Febreeze for my own mounds of rancid flesh. Rather, it causes me to panic for the mental health and safety of everyone involved. Including the person possibly under the bed.


Then there's Activia! You know you can't just say it, you need to sing it! I like this commercial because I know Activia got in tons of trouble for making claims about digestion and weight loss that it couldn't support. So the new ads are super silly in their careful wording. Some doctor/scientist/smart guy (who probably crafted my crappy shampoo) points to charts and explains rather boldly how Activia speeds up "intestinal transit." It helps you poop! Oh yes it does! Fiber will do that.


Which brings me to your question for the week. What is your favorite current advertising campaign (good or bad) and why is it so memorable? It's a light topic, but will be fun to reflect upon many years from now. 


A little pop culture for your paper trail.