On Thanksgiving Day, millions of Americans will take a break from their daily grind for food, family, and the subsequent Tryptophan-induced nap. But you? You’re an Oozil person.

That means you’re always working, even on a day off, as that big ol’ brain of yours constantly generates new ideas and finds new inspiration everywhere you look. With that in mind, here’s a mini-break for you, in the form of five clever Thanksgiving-inspired commercials.

#5) A Little Turkey with Your Butter?

If you think the food industry goes too far today in trying to market the use of their products, check out this Thanksgiving ad produced by the American Dairy Association in 1956. Ingredients: 1 turkey, 10 lbs. butter, 1 shroud.

#4) Take That, Uncle Randy

It’s not just your family that puts the “dys” in “dysfunctional.” Teenage Sarah does what every brooding adolescent dreams of, and turns the tables on an annoying relative, XBOX-style.

#3) “You Talkin’ to Me, Turkey?”

It’s not every day you see actors like Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal wear ridiculous get-ups for a TV commercial-sized paycheck. Looks like even icons have the holiday spirit.

#2) Cavity Dig

Jennie-O has a whole string of clever ads produced over the years to market their oven-ready turkeys. This one capitalizes on every homemaker’s shared disgust at the act of removing the giblet bag from a grocery store turkey.

#1) Brotherhood of Manly Turkey Carvers

One humble guy with an electric carving knife finally becomes a real man, thanks to one serendipitous choice.

Happy Thanksgiving from Oozil.

By Elizabeth Kelly

In the creative world, standing out from the crowd is usually a good thing. Every marketing student knows that having unique ideas is what separates the winningly successful from the ho-hum.

But standing out can also be the kiss of death if you don’t know how to use the concept effectively. An ad campaign that aims to attract attention by being distinctive can sometimes have the opposite of the intended effect, turning off potential customers in the process.

A bad concept is a lot like that guy at the office. You know the one: the guy with the wacky tie who thinks he’s really shaking things up, fashion-wise. He cracks terrible jokes constantly, thinking he’s the funniest guy in the building because of the nervous laughter he receives from a couple of co-workers trying to be polite.

The saddest think about wacky tie guy is just how clueless he is. A comical tie isn’t a forward-thinking fashion concept. It’s still a tie after all.  In fact, the most creative guy at work may be wearing no tie at all.

Bad jokes don’t make you funny either. The funniest guy in the office may not even tell jokes: he cracks everyone up with his hilarious way of describing everyday events.

The problem is, a lot of ideas are the creative equivalent of the wacky tie. They stand out from the rest, but not in a good way. When used car salesmen first started shouting in commercials, they probably startled people into noticing.

Those commercials are certainly different from others, but if having a fat guy in a bad suit yell out car prices was effective, you can bet the big auto makers would be doing it in national ads.

Do you want an ad campaign that stands out like a bad tie or a screaming salesman? Or do you want something that makes people stop, think, and say to themselves, “I’ve never seen that before.”

Creative thinking is organic. It comes from deep within. You can’t put it on like a Looney Toons tie. The good news is, if you can spot the difference between a bad joke and a good joke, or a good campaign versus an annoying campaign, you’ve got an ear for it. If you can’t, you may be guilty of trying too hard.

At Oozil, we’re looking for people who know the difference. People like you, with standout ideas. You can even work at home. That means no tie is necessary (especially not wacky ones.)

By Elizabeth Kelly