I'm Thinking...No Thought Went Into This

This guy has to be either

1) The agency owner, or
2) The founder of Qdoba

but whoever he is, peering from behind his Risky Business sunglasses and looking up at his thought bubble, he was a low-budget model in a hastily assembled campaign that wasted money on expensive outdoor boards from Clear Channel. Come to think of it, he could even be an in-house creative at Clear Channel, phoning in yet another dumb idea.

No "Right at next light." No prince point. No deals offered. Just a shoulderless middle-aged man in a buttoned-up polo shirt ripping off the "I'm thinking Arby's" campaign. Lame. 

Not Cute, Not Funny, Not Original

I hate these spots for AIG. The very tired concept of having children utter thoughts and words that they can't understand is not funny anymore. I'm not sure it ever was.



Here's another. And yet another.

Hahaha! Wasn't that cute? The cute, multinational kids were talking above their cute little heads and they seemed so precious doing it!

Maybe I'm not the target for this. It probably tested very well in focus groups of rich people with a stunted sense of humor.

Granted, the agency didn't go with the time-honored "old couple on the beach enjoying life in their twilight years," or "pensive yet reassured single mom wraps up her late-night financial computer work in time to kiss her darling child goodnight" or "graying business owner guy with a passion for some outdoor activity (fishing, rowing, jogging, cycling) shares financial wisdom with young son or daughter who will take over the business."

But still. These make me not laugh very heartily.