I consider myself the kind of person that pays attention to commercials, which has led me to be increasingly disappointed by the quality of the advertisements appearing on television. I find that most commercials either fail to captivate due an unoriginal concept, or try too hard to be culturally relevant and lose their meaning. However, Kmart, a chain of discount stores, has risen to commercial supremacy with their current advertisement campaign.
Thus far they have released two commercials, the first being the infamous Ship my Pants, which has garnered international attention. The premise is simple, funny, and informative. They seamlessly incorporate the joke into the sales pitch, because the viewer actually comes away from the commercial understanding Kmart’s shipping policy. The commercial is only 34 seconds long and really only contains one joke, which is altered several times by different actors, but the joke doesn’t get old. Really what it comes down to is that old people talking about pooping themselves is funny, and this commercial beautifully delivers on that unquestionable truth. I also quite liked the ending, though it had just about nothing to do with the rest of the commercial. The ending sort of felt like a microcosm of the rest of that advertisement (in that it was unapologetically random and original).
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I03UmJbK0lA
The second commercial, entitled Big Gas Savings, has not quite earned the same Internet popularity as it’s predecessor, but effectively succeeds as being a funny, memorable, and equally informative advertisement. The ad very much follows the format of the first commercial, but switches out old people for a mother and son with a foreign accent. Kmart proves a second comedic truth: everything is funnier with an accent. The ending really sold the commercial for me, because just when I thought the bit was over, they brought in a, “big gas man”. Though the commercial loses some slight originality points, it makes me super excited to see what Kmart will come out with next.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuDpJhLJbto
I’ve never been inside of a Kmart, and I’m sure they’re not overly impressive, but these commercials make me want to shop there. I honestly hope the commercials help generate revenue for Kmart, so that other companies will feel more inclined to release original, SNLesq advertisements like these two.
I give Ship my Pants 9 white dudes in green polo shirts out of ten, and Big Gas Savings 8 affordably priced vacuums out of 10.
-Kevin
Arbitrary Analysis 