Seth Stevenson at Slate, whose opinions I generally share, is impressed with the new Holiday Inn Express ads that promote its new hot breakfast. They’re all the same: some traveling co-workers are huddled at a Holiday Inn breakfast, and their antics somehow involve the new menu items. Seth gives the background:

This Holiday Inn Express ad is part of a campaign announcing that new hot foods are available at the hotel chain’s breakfast bars. According to director of brand marketing Steve Ekdahl, the “consumer insight” at play here was the company’s realization that “people want hot food options at breakfast.”

He likes the ads’ humor. I dislike them because Holiday Inn is basically saying, “Hey, we just figured out that people like to eat hot stuff for breakfast!” And shouldn’t they be embarrassed by that? It’s a little late, isn’t it?

Similar, but more egregious, are the new Dunkin’ Donuts ads promoting the company’s new ovens. One features Rachael Ray, another features some dudes, but both are essentially the same: They start with a whacked-out scene in which little men unleash a fury of fire upon giant DD products, only to zoom out and show that the scene is a customer’s oven-lusting fantasy. The company is trying to tell us that they now have ovens, but here’s the problem: DD is bursting with pride because they just bought a household item that’s been around since 3200 BC. Way to catch up, guys.