Where Winners Are Losers – 5th Annual Schmio Awards – Brief Article
Becky Ebenkamp
When a TV commercial is greeted with gales of laughter, it can be a good thing, a sign that the marketer has truly connected with tough-to-reach consumers who demand to be entertained in all aspects of life. But it could also be because it’s the equivalent of a Reefer Madness or Plan 9 From Outer Space. That was the case for ads screened at the 5th Annual Schmio Awards, which lambasted those deemed dumb or offensive.
For “inventing a new disease and the drug to cure it,” Eli Lilly was honored for having the hubris to paint Prozac pink and remarket it as Sarafem, tackler of “PMDD.” The audience howled at ads in which dysphoric women maniacally wrestled with shopping carts and lashed out at their patient husbands.
Ads for SUVs (“gated communities on wheels”) were chastised for making those who don’t own one feel tiny and impotent. Nike’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre parody, Coke’s bitchy coeds and Discover’s dubious ER humor were also ridiculed.
The subtext of Bud’s “Whassup” ad and follow-up Yups was explored. The hypothesis: Whites relate more to the cool blacks than the “Kennebunkport-like honkies,” so the clever campaign allows them to bond with blacks without really knowing any.
COPYRIGHT 2001 BPI Communications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
