Ad Report Card: Target
Few would admit it, but many of us have a favorite ad or two at any given time--a spot we wait and hope will come up again during the next break, and when it does, we trail off midsentence for 30 seconds to give the thing our undivided attention. As often as not, I suspect, we're trying to figure out what the hell it is that we find so mesmerizing. I happen to be a big fan of some of Target's advertising. The company has run a series of extremely striking print ads that riff on the Target logo to produce various Op Art-flavored images. That visual style has carried over into two TV spots that juxtapose various products sold at the store. 
The Ads: The two spots are pretty close to being pure visual plays. In each, the idea is to show a workaday product along with something more fashionable, and let the viewer connect the dots. The first spot cuts back and forth between images of LifeSavers rolls and a blond lifeguard. (Attractive young women figure rather prominently in the spots.) There's a driving, guitar-heavy soundtrack with minimal lyrics that involve frequent repetition of the word "together." The images are soaked in Pop Art colors, and divide, appear as negatives, and so on, in a series of fast and aggressive edits. Words pop on and off the screen in succession: "Surf Shorts." "LifeSavers." "Together." Then the same set of tricks repeats, this time featuring images of a brunette, apparently bouncing on a trampoline, alternating with the bright Bounce fabric-softener box. "Bounce. Stretch Pants. Together."
The second ad plays much the same way, featuring the midriff of a woman in a bathing suit played against Tums. ("Two Piece." "Tums." "Together.") And finally, the immortal Tide logo plays off yet another pretty young thing dancing in trendy jeans: "Flood Pants. Tide. Together."
