I don’t think that any of us are a big fan of banner advertisements. They’re annoying. They look bad and they encourage us to do stupid crap to win you a free iPod or get a new girlfriend or whatever.
Flash ads are particularly annoying not only because of the animation but because they can freeze up your browser. This ad though is just creepy.
Ok, what the hell is this?
This is in an ad that runs regularly on the Houston Chronicle website. It is a Flash ad for Charles Schwab with the tagline “Talk to Chuck” as if anyone could just walk up to Mr. Schwab in a bar and go, “Hey, Chuck! How’s it hangin’, bro? So, should I go long in corn futures or what?”
But, that isn’t the annoying part. The annoying part is that this dude displayed above is animated and TALKS TO YOU in the ad. He’s sitting there discussing stocks.
This is just weird. Why would you have some comic book looking dude talking to you in an ad? There are many things wrong with this. Let me list just a few.
1. Why would you want your stock brokerage and financial services company represented by an animated comic book guy? It would be one thing if he were some stock superhero able to spot a dog in a single glance at the ticker or leap over a market inconsistency in a single bound. But, this is just some dude.
2. Where is he? Is that a lodge or a bar? What is the point of making this guy oh-so-casual? Oh, right, talk to Chuck. Stupid.
3. What the hell is up with that massive 5 o’clock shadow. Dude doesn’t even shave for his interviews? That’s freaky.
4. Why does this guy look so much like Matthew Perry from Friends? Is the resemblence on purpose? Could he BE any more similar?
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I like for advertisements to make sense and to give you information quickly and understandably. This does none of that and, on top of all that, it kinda creeps me out. Nice going, Chuck.