Another Ad Campaign to Hate

TD Waterhouse.

These commercials star "Law & Order" mainstay Sam Waterston. They are the most alarmingly jarring commercials I've ever seen. The way these ads are shot and edited, I certainly hope it doesn't become a trend. Commercials always seem to veer towards new communications ideas, and this is one of the worst.

For those who don't know, the TD Waterhouse ads will have someone talking, and then they'll quick-cut to another angle, where the person talking is not looking at the camera, and then to another angle (again, not looking at the camera), and so on. The effect is one that makes the viewer (or maybe it's just me) notice the cuts and angles rather than the message. It's as if it's a commercial directed by Michael Bay, and then Udo Kier (Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead) comes in and decides it's not edited enough.

I understand the desire for companies like TD Waterhouse to stop the "talking head" effect, where there's always some sincere, trustworthy TV actor looking dead-on, delivering the message. But this is an impulse buy in changing the method. At some point, you'll watch this commercial, and say, "Who are these people talking to?" And who is supposed to get this message? The MTV Generation? Do people over 35 now have a short attention span? Yeah, dude, after I listen to this Green Day album I'm going to buy some stocks.