It happened.

As many faithful readers of this blog know, I'm not a fan of a lot what passes for good work these days. 

Or people who post their latest "achievement" in advertising for work that is nothing more than journeyman or journeywoman-like in nature, including tired rehashed manifestos, CGI laden swill, or contrived scenarios that defy description. Hey, nerdy guy on one knee proposing to his reluctant girlfriend with the new iPhone 13, she's way out of your league.

But perhaps because the airwaves are chock full of corny shit that would never pass muster in my day, it makes it so much easier to spot actual good work.

Like this 60 second spot for ServPro. 

I have always been a fan of their work. Mostly because their tagline is so perfect. And so succinctly taps into a human insight. ServPro, like it never even happened. 

As a homeowner who has experienced a leaky shower drainage pipe that soaked and destroyed an entire wall in my house, I know the feeling of wanting to put things back the way they were. 

Years ago, my neighbors let me know as much when my mainline, carrying raw sewage from my house to the big pipe under the street, burst open and turned my little enclave in Culver City into something more recognizable as Smell Segundo. naturally it happened late on a Friday afternoon so I would incur overtime charges.

Now ServPro has a new commercial, you might have seen the 30 second pool-outs on TV. It's a shame the 60 second version doesn't get airtime. But your intrepid author has tracked it down and invites you to watch:

https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/film/servpro_theres_a_pro_for_that

Any commercial that starts with a humongous water balloon being hauled by a Sikorsky Helicopter has got my immediate attention. And that's just the beginning of the visual thrill ride that follows. You can tell the client and the agency folks who put this together were having fun with the premise. In fact, having been through this process many times, I can assure you the scenarios that made it to the screen were dwarfed by the many that landed on the cutting room floor.

Is all the mayhem and destruction gratuitous? Damn right it is. I wouldn't have it any other way. ServPro and the folks at Buntin (the agency) know that in the competition for eyeballs and attention, one must go bold or go home.

Also, kudos to the team for not skimping out. There's great production value here. Again, you don't see much of that these days. Like you, I can spot green screen effects a mile away. I know from experience there's some CGI work going on here, but for the life of me I can't find it. I've looked. 

In all, I am thrilled to see a return, even if it's just temporary, back to the impactful advertising that can't be accomplished in a banner ad or a social media tweet.

ServPro, like it never even happened. But I'm glad it did.