(Tom) Waiting for a Good Ad...

It became apparent while working on my first CreComm advertising assignment, "Good Ad, Bad Ad," that poor, mediocre, lifeless ads greatly outnumbered their better counterparts. But Mr. Waits, like any good preacher, showed me the light...

The advertisement in question (pictured above) is for HMV and appeared in the July, 2010 issue of MOJO magazine.  There were a number of aspects of the ad that attracted me to it originally, yet another, more subtle factor made itself apparent during my in-class presentation of the piece - it taps into that intellectual, artistic snobbery that is the defining characteristic of any good music lover.

Now before I offend any raging Captain Beefheart fans I want to confess that I myself often fall into the category of the pompous music listener.  And this ad compliments that.  The Dylan Thomas quote in particular gives the ad a level of sophistication (real or otherwise) that many may not associate with the relatively "big box" image of HMV.  A bit of high brow literature for those music fans who may have a bit of a high opinion of their musical taste (or themselves).  Ah, nothing like exploiting the artistic ego...