Black Plague Friday

Black Friday is the worst day of the year. Not only are there occasional deaths, but the ads leading up to the day make me want to chuck my TV out the window. 

BUY THIS NOW ONLY ON BLACK FRIDAY!

BUY EVEN MORE CRAP YOU DON'T NEED!

10 TO 30% OFF! OR HOWEVER MUCH IT TAKES TO GET YOU IN HERE!

AGHHHHHH PLEASE FEED US. WE'RE JUST POOR LITTLE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CORPORATIONS. :( 

The ads all seem to have been made by cocaine and coffee fueled toddlers with ADHD. There is no structure to these commercials. There are simply a bunch of expensive products flashing around the screen in no logical order. There is a chipper, often gender-specific voice depending on the brand shouting at you to buy this that and the other thing. AT SUPER-LOW PRICES!

The term began to see widespread use in the mid- 1970s. The Friday after Thanksgiving had been a very popular day to go holiday shopping. Then stores got the idea to have promotional sales on that day to boost revenue. Since no store wanted to advertise for the holidays before Thanksgiving, the 29th became THE day for shopping. Nowadays, it is clear that anything goes when it comes to advertising. These terrible black friday ads play even on the day itself. And no company seems to care whether or not their holiday ads air before Thanksgiving. 

Favorite Ad: November 2013

What's my favorite ad of the month? It's no surprise. Apple's iPad Air commercial has it all.

The iPad Air is one of the coolest new items for tech junkies around the world this holiday season. Even without such a spectacular commercial Apple would sell millions of units. But it is advertising like this that really puts the company in a higher category than its competitors. Why do they always have the best commercials? One reason could be the money, but they have always been known to have some of the most creative and innovative ads. They're also notoriously picky. 

Lets travel back in time to the 1980's. In the famous year of 1984, Apple cleverly came out with a commercial that compared their new technology of the day with that of Orwell's dystopia. Then in 2006, their 'I'm a Mac' campaign earned them an extremely favorable spot in the eyes of generations Y and Z. As a Z baby myself, I was only 14. But I can say with confidence that both myself and my peers were influenced heavily by the campaign. Whenever a new one came out, the school hallways were abuzz with retellings, re-enactments, and even the occasional debate. The Justin Longs of the world would usually emerge victorious. 

The tablet is already selling well, but it is a good decision of the company to keep the commercial running throughout the beginning of the holiday season. It even had me second guessing my long held belief that I have no use for a tablet in my life right now. But come on... 'Thinner than a pencil?! BEEN TO SPACE?!?! ILL TAKE TWO!'

Congrats on another hit TBWA/Media Arts Lab.