Back to the Big Game ads. What was Garmin really thinking? Running a spoof of Godzilla movies and Mecha-Streisand jokes about maps vs. GPS to today's generation is quite risky. It was a stretch for many of us who watched the commercial to connect the dots between Mecha-Map and Garmin.
Unless you take into consideration racial stereotypes.
1) Who is the primary audience of Asian movies that was portrayed in the commercial (horrible scale, bad effects, low production values)?
2) Who is constantly mocked by media, comedians, etc., about having poor driving skills?
3) Who are technology-savvy and gadget-crazy?
Answer: 18-49 year old white guys! Kidding. I think there was an underlying message being sent by Garmin in the ad. "Look! It's Mapzilla! Buy Garmin GPS driving computer and drive like an American!" Is that what the ad is implying? Or am I reading into it a bit much?
And kudos for the American Heart Association to pull enough donations to pay for a $2.6 mil spot. I'm sure everyone who donated was happy to see an old guy in tights playing a heart. With some sweet 1999 Matrix rejects. I can imagine the meeting on that one: "We have enough money to get a game spot, but nothing is left over for creative. What do we have for ideas?" I think if they had Judge Judy or Dr. Phil point right back at the viewer and say "HEY! These guys are trying to tell you something!"
But that's about it for my commentary about the Big Game commercials. I've said my piece. There were some winners and some really, really bad eggs. And way to go NFL for putting a kibosh on everyones plans for a party for the big game that couldn't because you said "It's MY sandbox!"
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