Skip to content
The Cranky Creative blog

The Cranky Creative Blog

Truth in Advertising — and Beyond

See and share us on:

  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Home
  • TV Ad Reviews
  • About
  • Contact
  • Hire Me for Copywriting
  • Subscribe for Free

Category: Ad Reviews

diet dr. pepper's character lil sweet rewards people with the sweet taste of diet dr. pepper
April 29, 2020 The Cranky Creative

Dr. Pepper’s ‘Sweet One’ ads hit a sour note

Every time I see one of those Diet Dr. Pepper TV commercials with the twerpy little glam rocker and his annoying high-pitched voice, I wonder: Who is this guy? Am

Continue reading
screen shot from the all people are tax people superbowl tv commercial
April 16, 2020 The Cranky Creative

TurboTax ad review: When creative trumps strategy

Working in advertising is fun, especially as a creative. We copywriters and graphic designers get paid to think up clever ways to communicate a brand’s messages. The problem comes when

Continue reading
football referee making no good hand signal
February 4, 2020 The Cranky Creative

No good: Super Bowl LIV commercials miss the mark

On Sunday night, Super Bowl advertisers spent $5.6 million for 30 seconds to make people go “ha!” or “aww”—only to have their costly TV commercials forgotten a moment later. The

Continue reading
peloton wife receives bike as christmas gift
December 6, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Peloton holiday ad triggers snowflake meltdown

This week, the Internet exploded in furor over a holiday ad for the luxury stationary bike company Peloton. Critics mocked and hate-tweeted the ad mercilessly, calling it “sexist,” “mysogynistic,” and

Continue reading
cranky creative reviews the little caesars tv commercial, can't see the crust
November 12, 2019 The Cranky Creative

This Little Caesars TV commercial is supremely unappetizing

One of the worst TV commercials of 2018 is back on the air. Let’s all point and laugh at Little Caesars’s “Can’t See The Crust,” a deliberate nipple-slip of an

Continue reading
ad review for the playstation vue tv commercial
October 31, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: PS Vue gets it right

Sony’s live TV streaming service, PS Vue, is ending. But don’t blame the ads, because they were great. Let’s see what PS Vue advertising got right that so many ads

Continue reading
cranky ad review dennis quaid for esurance
September 24, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Esurance commercials with Dennis Quaid

Remember Erin, the pink-haired secret agent who starred in the first Esurance TV commercials? Alas, some people liked the character a little too much and the company was forced to

Continue reading
the cranky creative reviews liberty mutual's new truth tellers ads including zoltar
July 29, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Liberty Mutual Ad Review: Zoltar, bad actors, and other dumb ideas

Liberty Mutual’s “Truth Tellers” ads are back, and they’re as bizarre and unfunny as ever. Let’s look at the four new car insurance commercials we’ll all be muting with extreme

Continue reading
three young women trimming bushes in schick hydro silk trimstyle razor tv commercial
July 25, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Schick Hydro Silk TrimStyle “trimming bushes”

Schick’s “trimming the bushes” TV commercial for its Hydro Silk TrimStyle women’s razor debuted in 2015, raising eyebrows and sparking controversy across the ad world. Schick received a fair few

Continue reading
ad review allstate mayhem what tv commercial
June 19, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Allstate. Mayhem. WHAT?

“Mayhem” is the character that creates mischief and, er, mayhem in all those Allstate insurance TV commercials. Mayhem is also what nearly happens in my bedroom at 2 a.m. when

Continue reading
chevy blazer tv commercial showing real people
June 11, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Ad Review: Chevy’s hilariously bad Real People ads

Chevy’s “Real People” commercials have been around for years, but I’ve been fortunate enough to dodge them—at least until last Tuesday when I found myself a captive audience in a

Continue reading

Posts pagination

«Previous Posts 1 2 3 4 5 Next Posts»

Today’s Top Posts

  • Age of decay: the enshittification of everything
  • My short-lived career as a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier
  • Yes, the Gillette Venus Pubic Hair and Skin razor ad goes (down) there
  • Liberty Mutual's branded idiocy: is this the future of advertising?
  • Subliminal messages in advertising ... and Disney cartoons?
  • What happened to white people in TV commercials?

Blog Pages

  • Home
  • TV Ad Reviews
  • About
  • Contact
  • Hire Me for Copywriting
  • Subscribe for Free

Site Policies
Content & Comment Policy
Privacy Policy

© The Cranky Creative. All rights reserved.

Browse Posts by Category

  • Ad Reviews (47)
  • Advertising (59)
  • Books (4)
  • Brand Ethics (7)
  • Branding (3)
  • Copywriting (17)
  • Corporate Deception (8)
  • Cranky Case Files (7)
  • Cranky Critiques (1)
  • Culture War (32)
  • Free Resources (4)
  • General (26)
  • Government Deception (6)
  • Graphic Design (8)
  • Holidays (8)
  • Humor (12)
  • Movies (2)
  • Music (1)
  • News (28)
  • Personal Life (27)
  • Rants (39)
  • Super Bowls (7)
  • Systemic Lies (6)
  • Tips (5)
  • Truth-Seeking (15)
  • Vaccines (5)
WordPress Theme: Wellington by ThemeZee.