“YOUR MONDAY MORNING?” MC Hammers says, “CAN’T TOUCH THIS!”

If you’re one who gets up bright and early on a Monday eager to start your day, you’re one of few. However, ESPN’s new “Alarm” television commercial sure gives its audience a new incentive to starting their weekly routine on Monday. This commercial is part of a new ad campaign for ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

The first line of this commercial may resonate with many viewers: “Monday, back to the grind for you and your alarm.” How many times do you find yourself hitting the snooze button on Monday? How many times do you find yourself frustrated with minor things in the office on Monday? Whether there’s a paper jam in the printer or a conference call you forgot to make, most of these happen on Monday. This commercial is right on target with its audience and has a strong way of emphasizing its message through the imagery and sound.

On Monday everyone wants to dream a little longer. Everyone hopes to wake up and realize that it’s Saturday and you still have a couple of days before going back to work. The first shot of the guy sleeping and the sound effect of the alarm clock beeping in the back perfectly open the scene for the commercial. The sound of an alarm beeping is probably one of the most annoying sounds. Though this may annoy the viewer, it also intrigues the viewer to keep watching to find out why that annoying sound is playing.

With the same beeping sound in the background, the commercial then takes the viewer into the character’s high-fetched dreams. The character is dreaming he’s in a recording studio with MC Hammer and he’s wearing 80s parachute pants. Then Hammer complains about the beeping and the character is woken up by the reality of his alarm interrupting his sleep. The narrator then says, “You realize its Monday and you’ve got to go to work, but with Monday, comes Monday Night Football.” The commercial then takes a different mood by showing the character smiling as he’s getting ready for work. In the next shot, he’s smiling and then he’s watching the game and the Monday Night Football tune plays. The announcer then says, “Your Monday morning can’t touch this.”

The commercial is not only humorous and entertaining, but also informative. It effectively reaches its 80’s babies audience while appealing to wider spectrum through its humor. As annoying as the beeping sound is it proves the point and leads the viewer to every shot. Mondays won’t ever be the same.