Beauty product ad offers a stark contrast

Given the vast amount of television advertising touting women's personal grooming products, it's rare to find a creative concept that doesn't seem like a tired rehash of something else. Salon Selectives this month is introducing a new commercial from Laughlin Constable/Chicago that isn't as much of a rehash as most.

The spot opens with shots of a tough-looking woman apparently making a successful escape from prison. Next we see moody, film noir-ish images of a detective walking up to a motel room. When he knocks, a perfectly coifed blond bombshell -- the very same prison escapee -- greets him at the door. When he tells her he's looking for an escaped convict, she rather campily asks him if she looks like she just escaped from prison.

No, he thinks she looks like she just stepped out of a hair salon, which is the cue to cut to the product shots that end the spot. The stiff acting keeps the work from being as fun as it could be, but at least the commercial aspires to more than just another pretty-model-posing-for-the-camera routine.