Depressing BT Bad Ad
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It seems a little negative to start this blog out with Bad Ads only, but perhaps it will prove a good indicator test for you, the reader, to know what sort of Adverts I appreciate, and which I criticise heavily.
This advert for BT Broadband is the worst example of a TV spot as you are ever likely to see:
The Ad involves a married couple, characters who have been featuring in BT adverts for over a 12 months and have therefore established a familiarity with their audiences. As a young, attractive couple, with two children (a boy and a girl), they represent middle britain, the young and professionals, a typical median family - the sort that can afford to wirelessly project internet throughout their comfortable, 4 bedroom home.
All of this sounds very pleasant. And whether or not your demographic matches exactly with this TV family's doesn't matter - the point is you've become accustomed to their appearance, and perhaps you rather like them.
This is all about to change. The husband has now moved to Cornwall to pursue his dream job. The Wife is left at home to tend to the children. They are discussing the future of their marriage over a casual online chat, when, oh dear god, he loses his internet connection because of his unreliable third party internet provider. Where does this leave their marriage? Will he return? Do they still love each other? Are they still enjoying wireless connectivity?
Scrap the last question because it really doesn't matter. This advert is terribly sad. And its not sad because he loses his connection, it's sad because a couple is in the process of splitting up, and that is always a terribly sad, raw and emotional thing to bring to the screen. Watching it, I couldn't care less about wireless internet.
Some adverts, in an effort to tell a story, forget that some stories are meant for greater things than adverts. BT crushes my soul every time I watch this advert. The average television viewer gets an ample dosage of emotional turmoil from british television programmes, they certainly don't need it from adverts.
