Commercial Critique: Discover Card

I’m a stickler for a good commercial. I overanalyze commercials. Probably because I consider myself part of the “advertising community”. The latest commercial I’ve noticed is from Discover Card and features Matt Leinart. In this ad, a guy (a Dad/dude) notices he’s standing next to Matt Leinart and then notices they both are using a Discover Card. The guy calls “twinsies” and embarrasses himself in a series of Matt Leinart run-ins. Fairly ridiculous, but “ridiculous” can be good in a commercial. However, I think this commercial was trying to be clever and funny instead of “ridiculous.”

This Discover Card commercial is good because I noticed it and remembered it. Points for that. This commercial is bad because of a plot device used to have the Dad/dude notice Matt Leinart and Matt Leinart’s Discover Card.  

The dude’s pre-teen (or teenaged) daughter notices and points out Matt Leinart.

Do you see the problem?

There isn’t a little girl on Earth, the same age as the girl in this commercial, that could look at Matt Leinart randomly in public and know who he is. No offense to Matt Leinart. Outside of Travis Kelce and maybe Lebron James, there aren’t many celebrity athletes that teenage girls can identify visually. I feel pretty confident of that. So that bothers me.

The rest of the commercial is a somewhat funny (a 3 out of 10 on the Don Laugh O-Meter), but why didn’t the writer/director of this ad go with this “Dad/dude” and have him walking with a college buddy?

Maybe they could’ve put a USC (or maroon and gold look-alike colors) hat or jersey on the dude/Dad and the daughter – if they really felt strongly about a cute girl being in the ad.  I could believe a daughter has a USC superfan of a father and only because of that, she might know Matt Leinart when she sees him. 

But this ad could’ve been better if Dad/dude and someone like a college buddy were together, both wearing some sorta matching jerseys, maybe hats and one with a foam finger and found themselves standing next to their hero …Matt Leinart. “Friend” (aka “college buddy”) could’ve been, like, “dude… DUDE!” and elbowed Dad/dude and together could’ve both noticed Matt Leinart and then the commercial could’ve gone on the same way from there. 

Better, right?

Someday, I’m going to figure out how commercials get written, brainstormed, what the writing room looks like, how it gets pitched, and then OK’d by the advertiser. Outside of the opening scene of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, the movie Big, Mad Men, and a few other rom coms, I don’t know much more about the process.

Also, I’m available if anyone wants to invite me to one of those writing/brainstorm/pitch sessions. Dream job, I tell ya.

What do you think? Am I right? Wrong? Do you have another ad like this that drives you crazy? 

The best jokes and best comedy are based on reality, unless purposely going for ridiculous, and this missed by just a little bit.

Oh, but I just applied for a Discover Card …full disclosure.