Ads I watched
- Microsoft Copilot
- He Gets Us (ad for Jesus?)
- Etsy “Thank You, France”
- Paramount Plus “A Mountain of Entertainment”
- Dunkin Donuts “Dunkings”
Etsy “Thank You France”
summary: France gives the United States the statue of liberty, the United States panics about what to give France back. Someone says they like cheese, and they use Etsy to find a gift to give back–a giant cheeseboard with a tiny amount of cheese on it, which France loves.
pros: Hilarious, plays into our notion of ourselves as a country, shared history, plays on our stereotypes of French people loving cheese
cons: could be seen as mean to French
He Gets Us
summary: AI generated images of people of different backgrounds washing the feet of someone in need, while the background displays moments of conflict including a protest, an abortion center, a greyhound bus
pros: Super interesting that they used AI generated images–allowed them to focus on more conceptual ideas and gave a sense or removal from partisanship by not using real people or places.
Gave a sense of a non-partisan Jesus– catering to LGBTQ people, pregnant women, immigrants, people in distress.
cons: Its confusing to know what the message is. Ultimately, its still an ad for organized religion and the ad doesn’t address the fact that organized religion does not often share the same values as the Jesus figure in the ad
the ad seems to have an anti-conflict stance. It shows people choosing to remove themselves from conflict situations to do the right thing and wash someone’s feet. It’s nice that it shows people connecting despite conflict, but it glosses over the idea that conflict can be necessary in advocating for the right thing.