Specifically, “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” This ad started out so promisingly. The clever description of the state of many peoples’ portfolios is very engaging. Then it all fell apart with the “three words” reference. Why? Because the three words it directs you to are too blunt and too soon.
If you buy my premise that extraordinary advertising is the result of adept seduction, then this is the advertising equivalent to thirty seconds of foreplay followed immediately by the old “in & out” as those charming characters in “A Clockwork Orange” put it.
And yes, I know “Talk with Chuck” is the campaign’s theme line. This is a classic example of when fidelity to a campaign theme becomes a trap. This could have been an extraordinary ad. It just needed a better bridge line (or ten more minutes of foreplay, if you prefer).
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