2016 isn’t over just yet, so there’s still plenty of time for awful advertisements to hit the airwaves. Wednesday night on ESPN, a new commercial entered the competition for the weirdest ad of 2016.
The animated advertisement starts off in a curious fashion.
A man in a hoodie walks away from what appears to be a stereotypical drug dealer (and an Obey poster) and is injected with a swarm of hearts from the sky. He grabs an old woman’s purse and helps her cross the road. We follow the hearts to a road rage incident, where two men are yelling at each other. The hearts reach both men and the two smile at one another and drive away. Finally, the last scene shows a defeated-looking man returning from work. When he opens the door, his wife is trying to separate her fighting children. Surprise, surprise, the hearts come in and make the family happy.
As you likely were, I struggled to figure out what the commercial was advertising, but it ends with a wide shot of Earth and a cheesy song preaching “We need more of God’s love,” as it turns out he’s the person responsible for sending the hearts and cheering up people. Finally, Interstate Batteries is revealed to be behind the ad – Yes, the automotive battery company.
The ad’s inherent cheesiness and preachy message made it even more bizarre it aired on ESPN, the nation’s biggest sports channel. There’s nothing subtle about it. The terrible music and forced message are unwelcome. Plus, the ad has little to nothing to do with what it’s supposed to be advertising. Consumers don’t need a preachy message jammed down their throats to end the year. Hence, it’s why the spot takes the cake for the weirdest advert of 2016.
