Work-Related Ads Have Gotten Very Depressing
Work is depressing. Workplaces are depressing. Watching commercials with actors fake-working in fake-work places is more depressing.
Brands are confused about how to depict “work” during the “great resignation”. Is it good? Or is it bad? But most importantly, how does their product fit into the “conversation”?
Lexus: “Hustle” (2022, USA)
Do you “hustle” at work? Do you hustle enough at work? Could you, possibly, hustle more at work? You get in at 7? Make it 6, and rush like fuck. Fuck breakfast. Skip lunch. Eat a “power” bar. Fuck dinner, Red-Bull (+vodka) it. Burn yourself at both ends. And buy a Lexus.
Oh snap—you fooled us Lexus! The stud-suit-dude barking tired cliches and making an ass of himself is the interview-ee! How uplifting, how NOW. Boss-woman has it all. She’s beautiful. She’s bossy. She condescendingly dismisses ass-guy with the always encouraging “We’ll get back to you”. And of course she drives a Lexus NX hybrid. Do you hustle enough to enjoy the privilege of driving a not-that-great “luxury” SUV?
Ad agency: Lexus’ long-time terrible agency, Team One, LA.
Uber Eats/Subway (2022, London)
How brilliant: they got long and footlong in the same headline. “BRING IT”. Bring what? I don’t know where this poor guy works (he’s an actor, remember) but the gloves tell me he works a hard job. The Subway order tells me he’s not paid enough. The “pointing at his head” tells me he’s losing it. Wonder how the overworked underpaid Uber delivery workers feel about this ad? (Photo via: the excellent Stan Account on Twitter).
Fiverr: “Don’t Go With The Flow” (2022)
Gig service Fivver has become industry-famous for their callous insensitive ads. How’s their messaging in 2022? In the past they’ve switched perspective a few times between the gig workers and the hirers. Here, the “Salmon Endurance Swimming School”, represented by a swimming-upstream salmon with a British accent, needs help—which they try to get from Fiverr.
But always remember that Capitalism is a bear-eat-salmon world. “Worry not Johnny, we’ll keep the dream alive!” How playful. How fucking depressing. This commercial is notably not on Fiverr’s YouTube page. Ad agency: none. Director: Alon Seifert. Also: Fiverr’s “Turn Nothing Into Something” spot from October is confusing and evilly demeaning to consumers. Hire a good ad agency, idiots.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2022)
The spot starts with the band Lawrence singing “Are you kidding me? I’m getting sick of the Industry” with shots of depressed burnt-out white-collar workers (and a tired puppy, aww) interspersed with an animated paper-pusher office farm.
Jump to the “upbeat” part of the song and quick cuts of an “entrepreneur” (Diasuke Okamoto) using MS’s latest gadget. Yeah sorry, but the above image representing what Microsoft thinks about us wretched plebes is still burned into my brain. Ad agency: Interpublic Group.
Miller Lite: “Networking”(Summer 2021, USA)
“Man teleports from work to his friends with photocopier” is the unofficial title of this ad you may have seen but isn’t on Miller Lite’s YouTube page. The scene is business Hell. In it, anxious man is told to “network” by two also be-tagged networkers, spots a Miller Lite on a table, moving, grabs can, is dragged into machine which removes his pants and jacket, emerges in rec room playing ping-pong. How nice. Ad agency: DDB Chicago.
Coursera “Moving On” (2022, USA)
Another work-related ad that begins with depressed worker in depressing workplace. Here, man is eating depressing sandwich at depressing desk when the lights turn off (signaling that he’s about to start daydreaming), and sandwich starts talking to him. Man dreams of being a “Pegasus of Hope” (what? see below), a coding wizard, laughing with a dinosaur skeleton. He wakes up, and the sandwich voice says to a coworker “See you later Sheena”. He’s quiting without another job lined up, apparently to start growing wings. Ad agency: Callen, who I’ve never heard of but apparently (see, above) suck.
Indeed.com: “Fake It 'Til You Make It” (2022, USA)
Lastly, and most depressingly, take a look at this beaut from Indeed from late January. They must not be too proud of it because they’ve scrubbed it from all video platforms. The fat “Fake It” asshole is actor/comedian Dan Galea. Everybody is noticeably depressed at the asshole’s office except him—because he’s fake-working. The v/o signs off the ad by saying Indeed will help you find the right candidate, which we must assume is not the Fake It guy. I don’t know, he at least seems alive. Ad agency: none. Director: Lana Maclin.
Addendum: Galaxy and Timberland
The Depressing Work-Related Ads trend has been building for a few years. L—from 2019, in an NYC subway car. Samsung has the perfect foldable smartphone for those who are ALWAYS WORKING no matter where they are or what else they’re doing. R—From 2017, you’re gonna die working so buy a pair of Tims and die with your boots on. Images via a Guardian article titled “You know modern life is hard when even adverts don’t try to persuade you otherwise”.