Advertising – Not Their Forte

I have finally found it!  The worst advertising campaign ever.  It is so ill-conceived, I cannot find anything good to say about it.  The campaign is for the launch of the Kia Forte, a new car on the Canadian market.

If you go to http://www.mykiaforte.com/base.html and click on “Watch the Forte TV Spots” you will see what I am talking about.

First, in all of the situations presented, the Forte owner is a baffoon.  Whether inept at bee keeping, kung-fu or social graces, the geeky looking guy in all of the commericals is definitely the loser of the spots.  But boy is he proud of his Forte.

Second, the spots have been running heavily during the basketball playoffs and during 24.  I have to take from this that the target demographic is males between 18 – 34.  Perhaps women may find something charming about nerds, but let me assure you, guys between 18 – 34 do not want to be seen as a dweeb, nor do they have much time for guys who are.  Certainly the millhouse of the situation is not the one most guys look to for car advice.

Finally, the car is shown along with the price point: $15,695, I believe.  At the same time, Mazda is promoting their new Mazda 3’s for the same price point.  Kia provides no rational or appeal for why anyone would want to choose one of their Forte’s over a Mazda 3.

From my experience, making quality cars is not Kia’s forte.  After seeing their marketing prowess, I guess that’s not it either.

Love Your Neighbour

“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark 12:28 – 31

What are your neighbours’ names?  Seriously, the folks who live in the houses/townhouses/condo’s/apartment units around you, what are their names?

One of the traps of city life, I have noticed, is that we often pass by our neighbours without even noticing.  We have a lot of good reasons.  ‘Good fences make good neighbours’.  ‘I don’t want to get involved.’  ‘What if things go badly?  I’m stuck living next to them’.  There seems to be an acceptable level of personal defenses and distance when it comes to the people who live next door.  Even followers of Christ are prone to this.

Since a child I have been told that my neighbour is anybody who I have contact with, my fellow man.  And in this era of technology, that can be anybody.  And since it is anybody, it can be anybody I choose.  Well, except for family.  But did Jesus not call for a higher level of living than this? Would we not be better working for the kingdom of God, making a better world, if we connected with those we live around?

I do not think it is possible to argue that the people who live next door are not your neighbours.  Even Webster’s would agree.  So why not take the first step?  Stop and introduce yourself.  Offer a hand when it looks like they could use one.  Ask them about themselves when the opportunity is there.

After all, it is the second commandment.  What were their names again?

24 – Season 7

I said, back in the fall of 2007, that making Tony Almeida the bad guy on 24 would be ideal for the show; poetic almost.  And it is true, the added drama has put 24 back on top of current shows.  I would not go so far as to say that 24 is what it was, seasons 1 through 3 were amazing.  But it is back to being engaging and entertaining.

I found the first episodes of this year slow and predictable.  There lacked a lot of the chaos and unpredictability of previous seasons (not including season 6).  And there was not much drama.  They were trying with Jack and Renee, but it really wasn’t believable.

With Tony going bad, killing FBI agents and leaving Jack helpless it brought back a sharpness to the plotline that had not been there since episode 4 of season 6 when the nuke went off.

So now they have got the show on track and have the audience engaged.  How this season is remembered and how the show goes on in future years will depend on how effectively they build the hero/villain tension between Tony and Jack.

What do you think?  Are you enjoying the show this year?  Do you think they can finish season 7 strong or will they waste the Tony/Jack potential?