Cleverness in advertising

It's obvious to anyone who ever watches television and owns a DVR that advertising is seriously needing to change with the times.  People don't really watch commercials anymore.  I certainly don't.  And on the rare occasions that I happen to be watching something live and do need to slog through commercials, I spend the whole time complaining about it or checking Google Reader on my phone until they're over.  So to get my attention, a commercial has to be clever enough for it to either catch my eye while it zooms by during my fast-forwarding or become meme worthy online.  Luckily many companies have picked up on this and we're getting priceless Old Spice commericals, confusing but amusing Dos Equis ads, and adorable Progressive spots (now with tacos!).

I recently was linked to a new horror-themed video:

This reminded me of one of my favorite commercials which involved a stalking mannequin following someone home and peering into their window.  I think it was a jeans commercial.  But all my Google and YouTube searching didn't turn it up.

Edit:  Apparently my Google-fu was on the fritz!  But thanks to Genevieve, I now have a link to the Levi's Mannequin commercial.

Anyway, I'm quite happy with the level of advertising we're getting.  It's not that we're lacking in crap commercials; they're out there, too!  But the need to be interesting to be recognized is at least encouraging a higher standard, and I appreciate the businesses that are stepping up.  In fact, soon I'll be able to add my studio's commercial to that list (as soon as we premiere it) thanks to my brother.

As a side note, I've also noticed a different tactic cropping up as a way to grab people's attention.  Many companies have been, rather than running 30-second commercials during commercial breaks, buying two 15-second spots at the beginning and end of the commercial break.  I assume the idea behind this is that you'll see the beginning of the commercial before you start fast forwarding and the end right before your show starts up since you'll leave a little space to make sure you don't miss any of the show.  Very clever.  I've certainly seen those commercials way more.  Dunkin' Donuts comes to mind as the best example.  Keep an eye out; I think more companies will be doing it soon and they should - it worked on me!