an ad for the trash bin

My focus these days is on writing books. Yet occasionally, I'll get drawn back into the marketing biz that used to consume me when I was a working stiff. Usually, such as now, my interest will be about an ad.
         Don't know what Toronto Star's ad rates are these days, but for sure a two page spread in the Saturday edition costs six figures. So, the "creative genius" who conceived the 2-page ad in the recent Saturday Star for "untitled Toronto" was spending a whole bunch of the client's money. And I can assure you this person would be fired if they worked for me.
         What irresponsible garbage this is! First of all, it is so obvious that the creative team lacks creativity to the point where they try to justify having no ideas by saying you can live your life "untitled". What? Really? Then they throw fuel on the fire by calling this development "curated condominiums". No! Please! Curated condos? What the hell does that even mean? Clearly, it means nothing. Curated, you see, is one of the current buzz words making the rounds; lazy, uninspired creative types just leap at it so that everything these days is curated (you may recall my earlier blog entry expressing malaise at an ad for a quiet, peaceful Caribbean island holiday that featured the headline, "Warm. Sunny. Curated holiday." What BS! Whoever wrote that copy doesn't even know what the bloody word means!)
         BTW, should you go to the website for the "untitled" condo development (untitledtoronto.com), you'll learn exactly nothing about the "product". Really? But you do get to see Pharrell Williams tell you that "Where you live defies labels. Space is only a backdrop. The experience is you." Oh. OK, I get it: these condos are just a backdrop, eh? They're not worthwhile, huh? Hopefully that means I can buy one for a dollar ninety-five since they're nothing: just a backdrop!
             And then Pharrell tells you to "Live your life untitled." What?
         Now, Pharrell Williams has exactly zero commonality with urban condo life in his personal brand. So where is the link? Guess what: there is none! Why use him? Guess he was available, or someone knew his cousin and they said, let's grab him to be our spokesman. Nothing against you Pharrell, but this is garbage and you do absolutely nothing to help remove it from the trash heap. (Hope they paid you tons of money so you can keep avoiding worry and focus on being happy.)
          I've seen bad marketing before but this truly takes the cake. It's revoltingly awful. It's also very irresponsible and, if the person who conceived it worked for me, they'd be pounding the pavement looking for a job selling used cars.
         The defense rests.

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