HEAD ON! APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD!

(think piece?) Most advertisements don't really penetrate the surface of our consciousness. They drop back to the level of background noise (perhaps because my impulse is to turn the volume way way down during ad breaks, if not muting entirely or channel-surfing). Ads that shout, particularly if the words being shouted are reproduced in all caps on the screen, are an attempt to break through the clutter. Local ads characteristically do this, as it goes with low-budget presentation presumably meant to reach couch potatoes accustomed to doing what authorities tell them to do.

SALE SALE SALE! THIS WEEK ONLY

Or the typical Art Van advertisement with big yellow letters superimposed on pictures of dining room or bedroom suites.

So how about this?



The ad doesn't say why someone might want to apply this stuff directly to their forehead. It looks like Chapstick or Speed Stick deodorant.

A review by Dan Nell of the LA Times is fairly amusing.

The ad is simplicity itself, if simplicity reminds you of North Korean propaganda. A woman rubs her forehead with what appears to be a roll-on deodorant while a female voice shouts: "HeadOn, apply DIRECTLY to the FOREHEAD! HeadOn, apply DIRECTLY to the FOREHEAD! HeadOn, apply DIRECTLY to the FOREHEAD! HeadOn is available without a prescription at retailers nationwide!" This is the 15-second spot. Because of the economics of basic cable advertising, the ad will often run back to back, so you get 30 seconds of "HeadOn, apply DIRECTLY to the FOREHEAD!" etc.

This is the sort of thing that sends people into bell towers with rifles.

So--is there a commercial that sends you over the edge? Something that gets into your head, perhaps with a catchy jingle, that you can't get out? An ad that has an effect on you regardless of your intentions?

(If you want for some perverse reason to watch the Headon commercial, you can find ithere. Keep in mind that this may be just another viral marketing ploy, making an ad so bad that it gets links in blogs.

A related site to check out: Commercials I Hate.)