The above is a new commercial making the rounds here in the Windy City and, to put it nicely, it isn't getting much of a reception. In fact, I imagine that at this instant there's a whole conference room of ad execs just pointing fingers at each other and trying to avoid getting fired.

(Even though I guess the ad is effective in that people around here are talking about it.)

From the Sun-Times, (which described the ad as "needlessly morbid.")

We wish they had left the idea on the creative drawing board. The new AT&T television spot breaking in Chicago on Monday smacks of a stunt Orville Redenbacher popcorn tried not that long ago when it introduced a digital recreation of Orville himself to promote his signature popcorn brand. Though the concept got a lot of media attention, the digital Redenbacher also creeped out lots of people who complained that he should have been left to rest in peace. So the digital Redenbacher disappeared pretty quickly.

The wish to eliminate the spot don't end there. Even the crosstown Sox fans are coming to the defense of the commercial shot in the Wrigley Field press box.

From White Sox Interactive:

"Johnny (Campanera, the impersonator) is a cousin of one of my best friends. He's a great guy, but these commercials are brutal. If it's possible, I'm simultaneously happy and embarrassed for him."

Look, I don't find the ad to be offensive or morbid. But like the White Sox fan cited above, I think it's just incredibly lame, pointless and whatever the opposite of well done is. I've never been a big fan of Will Ferrell's Caray impression (it's funny, but it could have been any old guy) and this is just an even poorer derivative. It just leaves you with an overwhelming feeling of meh.

So if AT&T wants to make up for it, I might suggest finding that U.S. soldier who runs the Middle East checkpoint while channeling his inner Harry to do the next one. That clip never gets old. 

• Holy Cow! Not sacred to AT&T / Sun-Times
• Tasteless commercials w/ Harry Caray imitator / White Sox Interactive

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