It appears as though you've got a real zinger of an ad running on the 'ol telly.  According to Jim Morris, the spot contains a "genuinely human moment [that] trumps spectacle and wizardry."  The moment?  A laughing baby.  I've stumped myself trying to connect a laughing baby with whatever service AIG offers…I'm pretty sure it's insurance, but I've never seen an AIG commercial that has made that clear.  Do they sell happy baby insurance?  

Morris helps explain the context for the daft ones like me:  ads should be used to either "illustrate a selling point or to encourage a brand bond."  Perhaps that's why I'm so terribily frustrated with what marketers shove down my throat so frequently.  I've spent the past decade or so responding to ads that build value in what's being peddled, when instead I should have been looking for nebulous "selling points" and contrived "brand bonds."  

I can't blame Jim; his bio explains that he loves the "persuasive art" of advertising and hates the business end.  But his blatant disregard for the itch that consumer advertising scratches is to blame for the junk we're confronted with on a daily basis.  When advertising gurus congratulate marketing campaigns focused on artistic quality and useless "human moments", advertising acolytes emulate what's being trumpeted.  Sure, pat yourself on the back for your scorn of the business end, but at least have the guts to admit that you've twisted yourself into nothing more than a film school drop-out striving not for increased sales, but instead for Clio awards and coctail party buzz. 

Think you could try and sell the merits of a product instead of trying to raise phantom goosebumps?  Give it a try…it's your job, after all.         

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