The question is how marketers and advertisers get my attention. The answer is not a simple one. I am one of those people who like to consume media — I will sit on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for hours just to read every headline, tagline, comment and hilarious thread. Unfortunately, this takes time, time that I don’t necessarily have on a daily basis. So what makes me stay on for hours and hours, going through endless posts about Jon Snow and Jeremy Renner and the Avengers, or every New York Times article for the day so I can stay on top of my world trends?

1. Comedy. There is nothing I enjoy more in the world than something that makes me laugh. I like to think I’m hilariously sarcastic, and not rudely sarcastic, so something that can genuinely make me laugh or roll my eyes to the extent that I want to continue reading within two seconds is gold. One comedic thing that has become huge in the past two years is the meme sensation. First thing coming to mind is the Dos Equis guy, aka “the most interesting man in the world.” The memes that came along after his “Stay Thirsty My Friends” equation — I don’t always ______, but when I do, I _______ — are constantly entertaining*. That and the stupid bird Twitter that I now follow and have endorsed in a #FollowFriday are two things that I will always watch for. Here are some other things on Tumblr that I find are comedy gold, and as you can tell, they are almost always Twitter related:
   
   
   BUT number one of all number one ads that I will watch forever and ever and never get tired of it because it is hilarious and I can quote the entire thing and it drives my friends insane is the Jake from State Farm commercial. Every single time. The husband is just so sassy when he says “well she’s a guy, so” and the way Jake says “khakis” gets me every time. Let us all watch it for pure entertainment:
   

   “What are you wearing (insert air quotes here) ‘Jake From State Farm'”

2. Attraction. I am on Hulu more than any other website at this point in time. I have an unhealthy obsession with television shows, and fortunately for me, they are all in one place: Hulu. I will pick Hulu over Netflix any day of the week and twice on Tuesdays. The one thing I cannot stand, but have to tolerate, about my favorite online platform is the ads. Dear god I would love if they were gone (and now there is an option to do so, thank Zeus). But let me tell you a thing: I will watch Hulu ads all day long if it is the Trivago guy ad. I remember the first time seeing the Trivago commercial while watching one of my many shows, and I could not stop. Hit me with a handsome silver fox like my love Anderson Cooper and I am in heaven. Just look at this man:
   Yes, that is a picture I took myself because my roommate did not know who the Trivago guy is. Well, now she does. I see this commercial almost everyday and I still adore it. Just look at him. I do think that it would be beneficial if Trivago would place his ads on their YouTube page, but what do I know about sex appeal selling things. I don’t always book hotel rooms, but when I do, I will use Trivago.*
3. Hatred. Absolute hatred and mocking are two other things that capture my entire attention span and rip it to shreds to where I feel like I am going to burn my eyes out with soap and flames from the pits of Hell. Let me give you one example that can encompass the entirety of this category for me:

   Oh my god I found one that has all of the reasons and I still want to cut off my ears like Van Gogh. BUT I cannot not watch this ad when it comes on my Hulu channel. I just can’t stop watching it. Because I know every single word. All of them. All of the words. So I have to sing it, or else I feel like I am violating the rules of commercial song-ism or something. But yes, this is the one thing that I hate but cannot get enough of, because I end up singing it at my roommate across the house every single time it comes on (and she will always finish with “no matter what the reasons, today could be your day to save, today could be your day to save, Geico).

4. Catchy Theme Songs. I cannot get enough of these freaking catchy theme songs. Yet the only one that comes to mind is “We are Farmers, bum bum du bum dum duh dahhhh” (please don’t watch the video because it literally plays that entire line a million times, I’m sorry, but I’m still putting it here because I love it):
   
5. Lastly, Tears. Commercials that make me cry within 10 seconds are the only crying tear commercials that I will ever give my attention to. They are almost always commercials about dads because I love my dad, puppies (LIKE THE FREAKING BUDWEISER COMMERCIAL WITH THE PUPPY LET US WATCH IT):
   

   Literally, every single time. Gets me in the feels. Okay what other tear crying commercials will hold my attention… okay Dove takes all the awards when it comes to women’s empowerment, or #LikeAGirl. That entire campaign is amazing.

These are my top five categories of love when it comes to commercials or ads from companies that hold my attention. Sometimes it is people who spark national trends, or just insanely fantastic storytelling that places a hold in my memory forever. Here is a fabulous link to YouTube Ads Rewind where they went over 2014’s best ads, and I would agree with almost all of them: click me! The commentary at the end is also a game changer, as we look to what it is that actually holds our attention; not just the cute puppy, but the reasons for a brand and its consumer coming together with multimedia content.

– C