I’m staying at the Argonaut Hotel on Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco and while strolling around the neighborhood last night I walked by Joe’s Crab Shack. Like all their locations, this one had a sign painted on it that says, “Free Crab Tomorrow.” That always makes me smile. It falls somewhere between corny and clever, and I’ve seen it many times, but it still makes me grin.

 And the robe in my closet provided by the hotel is leopard pattern! That makes me smile, too.

That’s the goal of any good service or experience provider: try to make ‘em smile. You’ve got to be a little careful because sometimes there is a tiny distance between a grin and a groan, and I think many advertisements today are downright stupid. They don’t create a smile, they create a smirk. They make me wonder if the advertiser’s target market is really ignorant people. Of course what I think is stupid someone else might find simply silly–you never know.

The Geico caveman spoof makes me smile, too. It is such a great send-up of the goofiness of political correctness, and the commercials are truly funny.

What are you doing to make your customers or clients smile?

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Now that elections are over except for the counting (which could take a long time), you’re probably suffering from bad campaign ad withdrawal. I’m already missing the trash talking, character bashing ads that mostly ignored what any candidate really did or stood for and instead focused on what a jerk his or her opponent was.

So in a bipartisan spirit, here is my pick for the best political ad of 2006.

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