COMMERCIAL MANIAC

Here is another LG Chocolate commercial featuring the music of Christina Aguilera. The song is 'Candy Man'. Did i say I like this one?

tHE sPICE gIRLS MADE A COMMERCIAL FOR tesco, THE u.k.'S VERSION OF THE aMERICAN Walmart chain.

eNJOY.

I typically enjoy Verizon Commercials. Maybe I am biased because I am a customer and have been since 2003, but they tend to be pretty good.

Here is the first version of ads for the "Juke". Pretty plain.



However, this new commercial for the Samsung "Juke" phone is a bit of a let down. The music is great, but the clip itself is boring, just a couple of people dancing. Anyway, enjoy the commercial.




The song, which I like, is "Watch Me Move" by HardNox. You can listen to them at www.myspace.com/hardnox or simply listen to a longer version of the song here -



There is a new series of Verizon commercials that involve a young teenager at the mall who receives a call from her mother. I love them! If only I can find the time to find them and put them up! Oh well...

Okay, as has been the case in the past, Budweiser presented a few commercials. Now, I discussed my liking of the Heineken commercial and feel that some of the Bud commercials were equally good. Maybe not as sleek, but most definitely funny and to the point - drink a Bud. Of course, one could argue that some were a waste of money, but like they say in showbiz, "any publicity is better than no publicity."

Well, take a look see. Enjoy!

Commercial 1: 'Wedding Reception'




Commercial 2: 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'




Commercial 3: Talking Parrots




Commercial 4: 'Classroom' with Carlos Mencia and the immigrants



Commercial 5: 'Fist Bump'

I really like this one but worry about it, given thefaact that so many young people are posting video of themselves fighting online. There's no fighting here, just some silly slapping.



Commercial 6: 'Spot'



Commercial 7: 'But He Has Bud Light' (Hitchhiker)



Commercial 8: Carlos Mencia



Commercial 9: 'Bud King Crab'



Commercial 10: 'Jay-Z Just a Game'

I unfortunately cannot find the full version but will add it as soon as I do.

Commercial 11: 'Great Apes'

Good Lord. The new Orville Redenbacher commercial is creepy as hell! Please take a look. Comments follow.



So, now that you have seen the clip, what do you think? Well, I personally keep wondering who thought it was a good idea to bring the Orville ghost from popcorns past into our living rooms. I first saw this commercial when it came on during CSI on 01/18/2007. The episode was about, like always, dead girls and a creepy old dentist that killed for over 20 years. It was probably not a good idea not to pay for ad time during shows like CSI.

Then, here came 'Scary Orvy'. The actor playing Orvy was clearly wearing bad makeup and horrible prosthetics. He literally looked like an embalmed corpse hawking popcorn. Disgusting! I was tired after an extremely long day, but this commercial was so disturbing, I had to comment on it.

Here's a piece of advice to the ad company that was hired by Con Agra to produce that commercial - PULL IT. And please, remove that commercial from your website. It is nothing to be proud of. There have to be better ways to have a dead cultural snack icon participate in a commercial. 'Scary Orvy' was just not it!

Ah, Gardasil! Not sure what it is? It is a new vaccine that is now being marketed to help prevent the occurrence of certain strains of the Human Papillomavirus which can cause cervical cancer in women. As we all know, any kind of cancer is to be taken seriously. Considering the fact that most people know of at least one person with cancer, any steps toward the eradication of any form of this disease is significant and important for all of us.

Now that I have gotten my disclaimer out of the way, let's get into a discussion of the commercial. The Gardasil commercial hit television screens about 2 months ago and I must confess that although I got the message - be "One Less Statistic" by getting the vaccine, this commercial left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

The commercial, like most advertisements targeting women, starts out by showing various girls and women doing what girls and women do. Jogging, painting, riding in the car with their mothers and even skateboarding. In my view, the majority of the portrayals convey seriousness, strength and stability by showing seemingly healthy women doing, as I noted previously, what girls and women do. However, towards the end of the commercial, the viewer is introduced to a set of 4 women who are apparently steppers. (For more on the art form of Stepping, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Step_dance). Now, technically there is nothing wrong with showing a group of young women stepping, but, I found their portrayal confusing and even distasteful because upon seeing them I was reminded of the caricatures and stereotypical portrayals of certain groups in American society.

As mentioned before, the majority of the girls and women you see in the commercial are serious (after all cervical cancer is a serious issue, right?), but upon seeing these steppers I think that the advertisers ran out of ideas and threw in a caricature out of sheer laziness. Why mess up the flow of the commercial? Why not be consistent? I must note that there are other black women in the commercial and their portrayal is not only tasteful but consistent with the rest of the commercial. But, why did the inconsistency in this commercial have to occur while portraying a group of young black girls? There is no context for what these young ladies are doing and its placement in the commercial as mentioned does not flow with anything else. The imagery also reminded me of a little issue that pops up in my mind very often - that black people tend to only be 'seen' by the greater society when they are entertaining. The young girls are jumping around, clapping their hands and speaking in high pitched voices. This is reminiscent of old color and black and white cartoons of black people with big, pink lips, always willing to put a smile on some white master's face. Sorry to go there, but unfortunately, we live in a world where people use stereotypes, some more negative than others, as a reference point when dealing with those that are considered 'the other'. I, therefore, cannot ignore my reaction. I also cannot ignore the fact that negative stereotypes affect how we as a society interact with others everyday, even in commercials.

Now, to be fair, it's possible that the advertisers had absolutely no intention of conveying imagery that would seem to make a mockery of black girls or be insulting to any viewers. Remember, I already blamed this 'mistake' on laziness. Nonetheless, the portrayal of the young black girls does rely on stereotypes and does detract from the aesthetic value of this commercial.

I recently saw another version of the Gardasil commercial and I am happy to report that this commercial (Gardasil Commercial #1) was consistent in its portrayals. All the women shown, regardless of age or color, appeared serious and strong. No negative stereotypes here. I am glad that the company, for whatever reason, chose to re-edit their commercial. But, if you are interested in seeing both versions, please visit http://www.gardasil.com/tv-commercial2-for-gardasil.html for the version I pan (Commercial #2). For the re-edited version, please look below. Thanks for reading and please take the time to let me know what you think.

Like many other people, I tend to notice commercials. In general, they drive most of us nuts. They cut into some of your favorite shows, peddling items you have no use for, foods you do not crave or weight loss programs that you can't trust. However, there are those moments when you come across a commercial that lingers in your memory. The reasons for such are infinite and random. For one, it may be the images - they can be reminiscent of things long gone or of happy memories you crave to remember. For another, it can be tacky or crude imagery one would rather not see, ever again.

In my case, the commercial that continues to play in my head is the JOURNEY DIAMOND JEWELRY commercial that we were introduced to late 2006 in preparation for the Christmas/end-of-the-year shopping period. It is one of many in the "A Diamond is Forever" series and was created by JWT Advertising Agency. What is it about this commercial that strikes me? The soothingly haunting and melodious voice of Dusty Springfield singing "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life." If you haven't seen this commercial or heard this song, I apologize because you have no idea why I would start a blog focusing on this incredible voice in a 30-second commercial. Nevertheless, be rest assured that the commercial in question achieves what all advertisers seek. A 'Holy Grail' of sorts. The use of the Dusty Springfield song creates an emotional connection with the listener/watcher. It knocks at the door of the romantic in all of us and awakens the desire of companionship and love in most. Dusty Springfield's voice accompanies visuals of a couple walking on the beach and there is a closeup on the advertised diamond necklace worn by the female character. Believe me, I don't want the diamonds, but I do want Dusty Springfield cooing me to sleep with that melody. I can only imagine that the song is a popular one at weddings. I can assure you that I will play it when I have my vow renewal ceremony (don't know when it will happen, but will keep you posted).

So, I therefore ordain this commercial one of my favorites. Not because it's such an astoundingly clever and unique commercial, but because the use of a beautiful and classic voice connected with me and made me take notice. Please listen to Shirley Bassey's rendition of the noted song. It's a lot more jazzy than Dusty Springfield's version, but she also has a spectacular voice.



Here is a short rendition by recording artist Fantasia Barrino.



Finally, feel free to visit http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/notablog/archives/001229.html for additional discussion on the Journey Diamond commercial.

Anyway, feel free to comment, if you care and make sure you stop by again for more commentary and discussion on commercials, good and bad.