There surely must be a certain amount of insanity involved in being an advertising executive, coming up with dancing meerkats and over-the-top personalities designed with the express purpose of being memorable - but what about those adverts that think they're coming across one way, only to epically fail when it comes to public reaction? Far from being easily recallable works of artistic brilliance like the often fond-remembered "Guinness advert with the horses" - a great surrealist piece that sees the crashing waves of a beach and a group of surfers brought to life with the stampede of a group of wild horses. But to talk about advertising's greatest achievements is for another time - or perhaps a clip-filled fluff-show created to pacify the masses while we wait on whether or not Bryan Cranston is returning to Breaking Bad or not. Instead it seems that many advertisers get carried away with the very notion of creating something that can be held up to other greats that share the same screen - and epically miss the mark.
10. Xbox - Life Is Short
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6zgQH3tUKk Many of you might actually remember this one - a creepy and incredibly photo-realistic CG-ad that chronicled the entire life of a would-be gamer from cradle to the grave - in a way that was incredibly off-putting. From the opening shot of a woman giving birth (just what you want to see when you're having your evening meal) through to the look of sheer horror on the teenager's face as he hurtles through the sky, the idea behind this piece might be boundary-pushing and very memorable, but it was just too damn scary. Rather than showing us the beauty of Father Time's gentle caress and the potential marketing message of a console that was going to be by our side for eternity (or something), it instead came across as pointing out the fragility of life in a way that instead made us all question our humanity rather than firing up Halo.
