Here We Go

Weeks ago I ragged on a Red Lobster commercial I had seen on the air. I had mistakenly thought it was the work of the agency, Grey in NY. It wasn't.

I was misinformed. But so was an irate agencyspy.com reader of my commentary who claimed it wasn't a good idea for me, as a freelancer, to quote "shit" on other people's work. I didn't dignify the anonymous commentator then, but I will now.

First of all, I don't poop on other's people work. As Lee Clow once stated, 95% of advertising is total crap. In my mind, that total crap is fair game. If that anonymous commentator would like stand in defense of that 95% of crap, well it says more about him, or her, than it does about me.

Secondly, the Red Lobster spot in question hardly qualifies as "work." In reality, it's s creative brief put on film. Nothing more than food porn backed by a cloyingly happy voiceover.

Let that be the last word on Red Lobster.

Which brings us to the current Bud Light campaign, which is not in and of itself, bad. I actually like a couple of the individual spots. In particular, the plane survivors who willfully ignore the woman who has found the radio transmitter in favor of the passenger who has located a beer cart full of cold Bud Lights.

What I take issue with is the force feeding of the contrived catchphrase, "Here We Go."

I know, because I've sat in excruciating meetings with these people, that a team at Anheuser Busch headquarters is convinced that phrase will be turned into marketing gold. They've already got novelty manufacturers in Shanghai ready to push the start button on the talking Here We Go Bud Light Bobbleheads.

Maybe they'll succeed. But I hope they don't. Because I hate catchphrases.

Siegel, out.