Now that the campaign has been going on for months, I have been trying to figure out why I am somehow drawn and not bothered by UPS' whiteboard ad campaign, while nearly any other campaign similar in anyway (ie - on two different fronts, Cablevision's commercial with snarky guy with sport jacket talking in front of white background, and Bud Light's particularly odious set of ads featuring a man drawing in whiteboard-tyep writing to display what drinkability is and why it's a good thing (and, in one of them, have a great old laugh at how hilarious it is that they don't know what Baba ghanoush is)) is just terrible.



Usually these spokespeople are slick and smarmy at best, and downright arrogant and obnoxious at worst. But somehow, this UPS guy manages not to offend - to seem likeable - the drawings are fun, and lighthearted and his demeanor and dress are sensible - to be blunt, he doesn't seem like a giant douchebag. And it's not just that he looks kind of like Doug Flutie, though that certainly doesn't hurt. In addition, every ad, without fail ends with a little humor line from the spokesperson. Even when they're not actually funny, they kind of make you smile - the guy seems to honestly be enjoying himself up there.

I was curious and decided to see what I could find and the internet, and I came upon this fascinating slate article about the campaign, which may have tapped into one of the reasons the guy is so likeable - he's not an actor - rather he's the creator of the campaign, himself.

For kicks, here's another couple ads: