Double meaning

I think the recent Stella Artois ads are quite eye catching.  Their current tagline is 'Perfection has it's price'.  It's very simple in design and there are no clutter of messages.  But at least one of them made me confused about what they are really trying to say.

'Expensive Until You Try It'

What does that mean?  It tastes cheap??

Chupa Chups

so i was walking home from work and i saw this bus...

next time, when you're in doubt... go get yourself chupa chups... might make you feel better about... erm... sucking

Magnum Ice Cream

this is what i saw while walking to the train. it's a new campaign for magnum ice cream.

"pleasure is desired fulfilled". hmmm... if i don't desire it anymore (hence, desireD), but somehow it happened, is it still considered a pleasure?

this was the only pole that had "desired" though, the rest is "desire"

BlackBerry vs. iPhone

The battle of the mobile phones are always intense. And there are just too many mobile phones out there to choose from. So how does a phone company fight their biggest competitor? This is what BlackBerry did when they launch the BlackBerry Storm:

If you honestly think that Apple is going to just sit by and let BlackBerry have the last words, you have obviously been hiding behind an undiscovered mountain somewhere - Mac vs. PC ring a bell?

And the battle continues...

I wonder what Samsung or LG, or even Nokia (although I'm not counting much on it), will come up with to join in the fun. LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!

Thai Life Insurance

It's difficult to create an ad knowing that you only have a maximum of 90 seconds to make an impact on the viewer. It's even harder to sustain the same effect throughout the different versions of the ad.

Thai Life Insurance series of TV ads really excelled at leaving an impact. The first time I saw their ad was when they came out with "Daddy" version of the TVC. This was first aired in 2006 - and it still stuck with me to this day.

It's so simple, isn't it? They've captured the essence of family life and how important it is to spend time with those near and dear to you.

There are many other versions within the same ad series, but another one that really stuck with me is the "My Son" version. The first time I saw this ad, I was with a friend. At that time I was living in Bangkok and she came over to my place after work to watch a soap opera (due to traffic, driving home at that hour would mean her missing the soap opera). Anyway, during the commercial break, we were laughing at another ad until this one comes on. We did not know what it would be about but because of the music, and because we've seen the "Daddy" version a gazillion times, we know it has to be another Thai Life Insurance ad. Imagine the change of mood. From LAUGHING so hard we can't breath, to CRYING so hard we can't breath.

Other versions of the series include:

• "Marry Me"
• "My Girl"
• "Grandpa"
• "Grandma"

Enjoy Jakarta 2009

Many countries seem to be promoting their tourism campaign at the moment. Whether it's "Sparkling Korea" or "Awesome Philippines" (which happens to be a joint effort with MTV Asia). Indonesia is another country pushing their tourism industry with "Enjoy Jakarta" as their long running campaign.

Recently I've seen a lot of Enjoy Jakarta TV commercial. The proposition of the ad is that you can do anything and everything in Jakarta, whether you're there to enjoy marine tourism, sports, shopping or dinning. Yes, you can enjoy dinning in Jakarta. At first I thought it was a typo. Then I thought, nahhhh... Jakarta Tourism Board won't let that happen. So I look it up (still thinking that it has to be intentional)... According to dictionary.com: dinning = a loud, confused noise; a continued loud or tumultuous sound; noisy clamor.

So... let me get this straight... if, IF, it was intentional, they're promoting this as one of the reasons to visit Jakarta? Really?? Is there something special about Jakarta noise that I didn't know about?

Anyway, I kept watching and I also learnt that Jakarta is also a destination for great entertaintment. Thinking that it's probably due to my bad eyesight, every other time the ad came on, I stare at the TV to confirm what I have seen. Recently, the version shown on TV doesn't show the script anymore. Maybe they finally spotted the mistake?

So... to prove my point (because, really, no one believed me), I found the Jakarta Official Travel Website. And there it was, in all it's glory, the TVC for the world to see. For the world to learn, just as I had learnt, that Jakarta is a destination for great entertaintment.

Question: don't they have to check these things before they air them? I mean, spend a lot of money on this big campaign, only to have spelling mistakes, not very ideal is it?

update June 29, 2009: I just saw the ad again, and they've amended the spelling mistakes. Hooray for spellcheck!!!