Tactless Radio Ads...

[kybearfuzz]

I heard on the radio this AM the Unicef ad for Tsunami relief and I hate to sound uncaring, but it's an awful spot. This very tender male voice says that if we come together we can form a "... different kind of tsunami... a tsunami of hope, a tsunami of relief..." and it just makes me cringe.

It's almost like they want to change the connotation of "tsunami" so it's not associated with mass destruction. I just think it was a poorly written ad. A "wave of hope" or "wave of relief" sounds better to me. Using the word "tsunami" in a positive context just seems wrong.

Comments

[wananga.livejournal.com]

That is pretty damn tacky. How can they exploit the situation so they can turn it into a cool catch-phrase?

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Eh, beats me .. :(

[queensheba.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's offensive, but I think it's incredibly cheesy. Surely they could have come up with something better.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

It's not offensive, but it doesn't seem right to me. Maybe they were in a hurry, but it does sound overly dramatic and campy.

[rockyjohn.livejournal.com]

I have heard similar ads here in KC on the radio. Not that one, but there is one with a creepy guy's voice (I think it's Mr. Movie Phone). And it's been used by 4 different stations...each one altered a little bit to say that their station cares.

It's really weird and when I first heard it the first thing I thought of was "War of the Worlds" for some reason.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling... I cringe when this one comes on..

[durabear]

Working in Marketing, I can tell you that sometimes groupthink just takes over when creating a campaign.

I can almost hear the meeting...

"Let's call it an outpouring of caring."

"Nah, too long. How about a wave a caring?"

*excited bubbly intern jumps in with idea* "Oh! A Tsunami is a type of wave! What if it's a Tsunami of caring?! That'll get their attention!"

*as a group* "ohhhhhhhhh...."

It's the same type of thinking that drives taglines like "Kotex Fits. Period." with a little red spot.

Ew.

:-)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Oh I'm sure a very tired group can talk themselves into anything.