HBO's at it again.

They've created a series of ads for HBO GO that use narrative in a fascinating way. Instead of focusing on the content, they focus on the consumer of the content in a humorous and engaging series of spots.

For example, below, a scene from Larry David's wonderful show, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is seen through the lens of a family watching the show. Humiliation for the children abounds as their parents practically make love on the sofa...

For me, what is so clever here is that these spots sell not only great programming, but also create scenarios in which a need for HBO GO is presented. In other words, if you had the choice of being able to watch embarrassing moments onscreen alone or with your parents, what would you choose?

Bravo to HBO for making narrative spots that are as engaging as their programming.

Well, Dove's at it again.

In their newest BEAUTY PATCH spot, Dove subjects a series of women to an experiment where they wear a special "Beauty" patch for two weeks. They are not told what chemicals are in the patch.

At the end of the two weeks, they are told that even though they felt much more beautiful, the patch was a fake, it had nothing in it...

In other words, beauty is all in your mind...

Or as Dove says,  "BEAUTY IS A  STATE OF MIND."

So what's up here besides making these sweet, ordinary ladies look a bit silly.

Well, when one digs a bit deeper into this ad, one is struck be how bold and daring this ad is--  as much of Dove's work has been in the past. Bold and daring because at its core level, this video is deconstructing the whole multi billion dollars beauty business.

In essence, Dove has paid for an ad that says that all beauty products are essentially worthless... 

So Dove is making a commercial and funding a huge ad campaign which in essence undermines all of its products.

The subtext is this -- Don't buy Dove, don't buy any beauty products. They are all BS. All you need is to think of yourself as beautiful, and you will be...

That's bold and daring... And so now, I await the ramifications... The ad is at 5 million views and counting... Will the anti-beauty product narrative hurt Dove sales or will its bold and daring nature supercede its meaning and lead to a bump in Dove sales?

The answer will be a beautiful thing to see.