In this day in age media is all around us and we are bombarded by constant advertising, tv shows, music and pop up adds. With this increase in media we are bound to come across examples of poorly constructed or thoughtless advertising.
One of my pet peeves is advertising that looks like it took a few minutes to create but you know someone got paid the big bucks to produce. One of my wife’s pet peeves is spelling errors. I tend to be a bit lenient when it comes to spelling errors because frankly I am not to bright when it comes to that area. I am unfortunately of the spell check generation and it has become a permanent crutch of mine. Even so, I understand where my wife comes from. I will admit I do not have that gift but I can at least acknowledge that I suck at it and will hire a copy writer who knows what they are doing or at least hire someone to proof read it. ( btw, my blog doesn’t count!! 
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On prime-time TV yesterday we ran across a pretty decent commercial but of course we just busted out laughing and singing many “Hey Oh’s.” (pardon me if you don’t get “The Office” reference) It was a Kleenex commercial with a cute idea to try out different moms for this flu and cold season. Right there my head goes to the worst possible place and then the website comes up. www.getmommed.com. Did they intentionally do it that way? Was the company really trying to promote this double en-tundra and be a little risque? Maybe they did want the attention and push the boundaries hoping for more hits on their site or maybe they are completely innocent and I just have the dirty mind. Who knows but I still hold them accountable for not vetting and researching with panels if they really did not intend the message. I also heard a few of my friends disagree with this commercial because it categorizes moms as just that and nothing more, moms. I can see that stereotypical view point as well, but isn’t that the point of satire? I know my mom would probably laugh and get over this commercial. Still, repeating my logic, does Kleenex need the controversy? I tend to be of the mindset that bad publicity is not always good publicity and I am further aware that I might be in the minority of thinking that way. I just think our integrity and ethical behavior is better then that.
In the big scheme of things it’s really not a big deal but yet this is another big example of advertising that may have not been vetted properly and if they took the time, maybe it could have been better. I am not offended, but I sure know people who would be and is that something Kleenex needs to be anyways? Which also brings me to my next point . . . why do companies like Kleenex, Coke, McDonalds, and other HUGE brands feel they need to be “edgy” in there marketing. For goodness sakes it Kleenex and they don’t need to do that to be successful. Think out of the box? (lol, no pun intended) Yes. Try to be cool when you don’t have to be? Lame. But more on this later . . .
2E
Matthew Tuey is a freelance graphic designer and marketing guru in Nashville, TN.
