Eric Zorn's saturday column answers the burning question. Does Gina really love Mustard Face or is it all a cruel joke? I have discussed this question with just about everyone this week and the answers have been split right down the middle. According to the ad creator:

"The two girls are best friends," he said, going into the backstory. "The guy is just some guy at the lunch counter. They've never met him."

But, Sweeney said, the blond woman's attempt to make a joke at his expense backfires because Gina--the name is a tribute to Sweeney's wife--loves Slob Guy at first sight.

"She loves how un-self-conscious he is," he said. "She loves how he gives the thumbs up to the camera even though he's a mess. She loves him for him."

Stacy nailed the answer last week:

Perhaps she decides right there that he should be her boyfriend. Maybe she dated too many uptight guys more concerned with how they look then her. This is a guy, albight sloppy, that gets INTO things he does.

What have I learned from this?

• Ads don't have to be simple and dumb. If an ad makes people think about what is happening, they might spend more time thinking about the product.
• Repetition is important. Anyone who watched the baseball playoffs saw this ad about 400 times. Aware of your decision or not, you made up your mind about what you were watching. Everyone I asked had an answer. Nobody said, "I don't know. Who cares?"
• It's ok if I have mustard all over my face. Stacy will love me anyway.

If you have any other ambiguous ads that need figuring out, bring em here.