So, apparently, I ‘m not the only one to notice there’s something strange about the graphics that are being used with the Zune, because Boing Boing notices some installer zen, and some other reader’s comment is linked wondering about the very same porno image I posted about earlier.
I know that crappy ads stick in our minds more than decent ones, but if a graphic design makes you just … bliss out on the bizarreness while the only thing that runs through your head is Lewis Black’s voice moaning, “WTF?!” … can that be a good thing?
I certainly don’t feel compelled to buy a Zune and probably even less so now. It’s just embarrassing to watch. It’s like the socially inept getting a rare chance in the spotlight but really screwing it up. All I can think of is getting as far away from the Zune as I can so that none of the ick rubs off on me.
The looking glass is smeared with grease, and Alice didn’t “fall” in … she got duped and was tripped as part of some high school hazing during her freshman year …
Update (16nov06 @ 12:55am):
Jeff Reifman, or some cohort of his, over at Idealog thinks these ads are designed to get people to talk about the Zune by using crappy ads that get people talking about the ads instead of about the product. The trashbin of advertizing history is full of campaigns that made that mistake.
But, could it be some devious strategy? Okay, sometimes a pipe is just a pipe, folks. However, if a pipe is … suggestive, then let us ponder the notion that it is not a successful strategy to be laughed at in scorn. Just ask anyone that’s ever been in high school about that.
However, let us also ponder that I am not the target audience for ads that reek of sweat and cheap beer and passing out in a pool of … I don’t want to know what. Maybe that does work for someone; someone not me. I just hope they wear protection … who knows where that product has been, and with how many partners. Yuck. I hope there’s current STD test results in the box along with the abusive EULA and BSDM DRM. And, why would anyone want the kind of partner that refuses to negotiate a safety word?
I might feel sorry for the underdog in the market, but I sure don’t have much sympathy for the sloppy drunk that spills beer on me trying to get to the front of the stage only to fall down when everyone is looking.
Update (17nov06 @ 6:26am):
Oh yeah, let the spoofing begin. BoingBoing is on this one. You know, the slightly sepia toned pictures connote nasty nicotine and coffee stains, old and busted, and used up.
See also: How to get ahead in advertising.