TurboTax’s latest spin on Humpty Dumpty is the stuff of nightmares.
In the tax software companies latest spot, the nursery rhyme character is put into a modern day setting. After doing his taxes on a giant wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. After his fall, Dumpty’s comrades attempt to put him back together piece by piece. With dripping egg and a shattered Humpty Dumpty complaining everything hurts, the spot borders on not-safe-for-work. It’s disgusting.
An ambulance soon arrives and help transport a thinly-pieced-together egg to the hospital. The spot ends with Humpty Dumpty sitting in a brace at a hospital, watching a news broadcast wonder why he was doing his taxes. The message is “you can do your taxes anywhere.” Point conveyed.
I get the point, but the strange mo-cap used to make Humpty Dumpty’s face come to life is terrifying. I’m a 25-year-old grown man and it bugs me. I can’t imagine how a kid watching the commercial would feel. It’s nightmare-inducing – and I think it’s intentional.
The goal in advertising is to make people talk about your product, good or bad. TurboTax accomplishes that goal in this spot. It’s not an ad I will ever willingly watch again, but I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon.
