Abstract Ads-tract: Are creative commercials still persuasive?

This is a question that's been at the back of my mind for a few years now, and it has just recently come to the forefront. With the increase in control that consumers have over their media exposure, advertisers have been looking for ways to make their campaigns more intriguing and entertaining in an effort to reach their target audience without being skipped over by the DVR or the TiVo.

Some ads have opted to produce campaigns that are funny, clever, entertaining and feature the product they're selling. But I often wonder in this case, when watching television with friends and someone says "I love that commercial!" Have funny ads gone too far? Are they turning themselves into miniature sitcoms, selling their ads and not their product? My favorite example of this is the Miller Lite campaign. While a little annoying sometimes, I usually find them pretty amusing. I'm not a fan of Miller Lite, but I'll sit through one of their commercials to the punchline for the sake of entertainment. I feel that these types of campaigns are missing something. Yes, they are accomplishing one goal, convincing the consumer to view the entirety of the advertisement. But are they neglecting the promotion of their product, in order to focus on the promotion of their promotion?

On a related note, there are ads out there right now that are trying something a little unorthodox. Their images are abstract, sometimes seemingly unrelated to their product or service, but are meant to intrigue the viewer to the point that they stick around just to see what all the insanity is about. Like the Las Vegas Cosmopolitan.

Their slogan "Just the right amount of wrong." Is very interesting, especially to the target audience. In a way, I think that these ads in which there are odd things happening are more effective persuasions than the creative or clever punchline of a joke.