Ad Reviews

I absolutely love reading Seth Stevenson’s Ad Report Card features in Slate.  The latest is no exception.  It’s fun because if you’ve seen the ads, and you have a strong opinion about them, then you don’t feel so stupid reading someone else talk about it.  And if you haven’t, then you get exposed to new things that you can keep an eye out for. 

I meant to blog last week about his article on the vitaminwater spots.  In fact, I thought I had.  But I see now that I neglected to do so, which is a grave oversight on my part, if for no other reason than this spot which features David Ortiz and Brian Urlacher playing badmitton.  Absolutely freakin’ hilarious. 

I used to drink vitaminwater when I still lived in New York, especially that summer I took the bar exam.  Every day after my lecture at Town Hall, I’d head home and go to the deli around the corner and get some to drink, mostly as a way to get vitamins to stave off sickness.  Of course, I’d also go into Dunkin Donuts and get iced coffee loaded down with cream and sugar and (usually) a donut or a bagel. 

I liked the vitaminwater well enough (and it made me feel like I was doing something semi-healthy by drinking it, even if that wasn’t exactly the case), but I never particularly thought about it in the same was as other “sports” beverages like Gatorade.  Part of his point in the article is that the new marketing campaign for the drink is all over the place, trying to appeal to a very broad audience. 

I don’t drink it really anymore.  They sell it around here.  I’ve seen it.  But I’ve sworn off all things healthy (remotely or otherwise), so there you have it. 

These articles are educational, too.  For example, I did not know that the proper spelling was “vitaminwater.”  I would have gone with Vitamin Water myself.  I’m so square.  Square enough to call myself square, even.