so...the more random the ad, the more $$$?

EDITED: 10/3/2011

When did random advertising come into style?

What is it about waking up and seeing The (so-called) King, a stalking, creepy, weirdo-of-a-man wearing a plastic mask in full costume, that's supposed to make me want to buy a breakfast sandwich from Burger King? I'm not getting hungry in any way here. The only motivation I may have is to look up a nearby therapist. And, after thinking about the reasons why The King would be in his bed, this man may want do the same. Again, not appetizing.

What about this?

The freak show nature of this commercial left me feeling strange. I certainly didn't want to look a Sprite can because I was scared of possible going insane. That's probably not the ideal message to present. "Sublymonal Advertising," while creative, is stimulating in the worst way. When placed in between commercials for OxyClean and the new episode of The Office, it's a bit much.

I charge Skittles with the starting the trend. Remember this?

 Uhhhhh... and ...

I have to say that the commercial above is actually one of my favorite commercials ever. In my opinion, this is one of the few examples of today's randomness trend working.

Does this approach to advertising increase the chance of success? I know I'm in the target audience so I should be thinking "Man...I totally want Skittles right now" after being exposed a couple times, right? The truthful answer is that, even after  enjoying the singing bunny operatic talent, I wasn't thinking about Skittles. What's gone wrong in the formula?

Maybe advertisers think they have to go overboard to get our attention nowadays and, in some ways, that's true. Our society is filled with microscopic attention spans and the younger the age, the worst it gets. My point is that there's a fine line  between being "interesting" and being "gratuitous." One is effective; the other, well, I wouldn't be devastated if I never saw it again.