Friday, May 21, 2010

Post for May 24

Hello All,

Monday's post is an easy one.

1. Choose a commercial that appeals to you.
2. Provide a link to the commercial through youtube.
3. Briefly explain why that commercial appeals to you.

I'll get you started.

One of my favorite commercials is the Geico caveman. The tagline's fairly stupid--"Even a caveman can do it"--but the execution of the commercial itself never fails to make me laugh.

My favorite of all of these is the one with the song "Let Me Be Myself" playing. It's pretty funny that the song advocates individualism, but the commerical is trying to get everyone to be the same (by buying Geico insurance). Here's a link to it.

What gets me the most, though, is the satire of the "being true to oneself" narrative. This archetypal plotline occurs throughout television and movies as well as song: a person has adopted a Persona that isn't "true" and must reconnect with his or her roots. In this case, our caveman has tried to be someone he's not; his setting, clothes, and facial grooming imply that he is trying to climb the social ladder and has betrayed his soul . . . But in the commercial he is able to break free and return to his Self, which of course occurs in a bowling alley (I am also a fan of the film The Big Lebowski, so that may be another reason I like this commercial).

I especially like the visuals of this commerical: the lonely escalator, the scattering doves, the ripping off of the shirt, the buddy-bonding at the bowling alley. Again, these are all images that other films and commercials have used, but they are usually meant to indicate "deep" emotional connections and experiences. Here, of course, it is a caveman who is having this epiphany. The disjunction between the expectation (seriousness) and the reality (humor and caveman) is the perfect image of irony.

Finally, I like the commercial because it makes me laugh at myself. I, too, struggle with remaining true to my vision for my Self (i.e., "What should I be doing with my life?"), so this is a great way of making me laugh at myself as well.

...But I don't have Geico insurance...

25 comments:

  1. Brittany Stevens
    My favorite commercials are the commercials for E-trade with the talking babies. My favorite out of all of them would have to be the one with the baby acting as a golfer while he talks about E-trade to an old man who is carrying his golf clubs. This commercial appeals to me because it makes me laugh no matter how many times I have seen it. Watching a baby, that is that the age that they probably only can say three letter words, talk in an adult fashion and on top of that tell adults what to do never gets old. Basically, to look at in a symbolical stand point E-trade is saying that their process of financial aspects are so simple that even a baby can do it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPRVTQl6Sc&feature=related

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  2. Fatima Lucio

    My favorite commercial is the Chase commercial that aired out in 2005. This commercial talks about the road of life through the song "100 Years" from the band Five for Fighting. In the commercial, it shows the life of a man after graduating from college through his middle ages. Although this commercial came out a long time ago, it created an impression on me that i still remember it. The main idea of the commercial is that people need security in life and Chase promises to offer it as well as the convenience of using it everywhere. I really love the song on the commercial which is another reason why I still remember it. When I first saw this commercial, I was stunned and it made me think of the future and what it holds for me.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OdXK4a-Yi0

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  3. I choose the new Carl's Jr. commercial at
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoiM_F6drn4.
    First off, the food does not look half-bad; it has stomach appeal. Second, it is amusing watching everyone's reaction to the guy who ordered from the kiddie's menu. Plus, the commercial leaves one thinking: will the waitress get a bad tip for embrassing the guy, or will his friends ensure she gets a great tip for that very act?
    --Michaael Adamson

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  4. Oh man my all time favorite commercials are always the Sonic's ones. I couldn't find my top two favorite on you tube so I posted another one that always makes me laugh no matter how many times I see it. In this commercial, theres a wife and a husband, enjoying their dessert. They are promoting the Banana Split Blast, the husband is trying to make a joke out of it but the wife doesn't get it. He's trying to tell his wife that she's driving him bananas... but she just doesn't comperhend it. That's why I love theses commercial soooo much! They always stay in an ackward stage... making it a million times funnier... It's sad to admit I could quote most of the Sonic's commercials...
    Husband: "No you're not driving me cherries, you're not driving me strawberries... you driving MEEE..."
    Vicky Aguirre
    Wife (with excited voice): "TO THE MOVIES!!!"

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  5. ugh my link...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjHoxSKqE0M&feature=related

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  6. The link to my favorite axe deodorant commercial is the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt3yFRnChy0. The commercial is about a man and a young woman who are on a date. Before his arrival to meet the young woman the man has sprayed on some of the new axe twist deodorant. While sitting down with the young woman the man goes into a transformation of hair and clothing style because he had sprayed on the new twist axe deodorant to keep the girl interested. The girls seems not to be so interested, but later when being dropped off at home she looks back at the guy with a smile. At the end of the commercial background music is played and the phrase "When you get bored easily new axe twist the fragrance that changes you," is stated. The main point that this commercial is trying to convey is that any men who use this deodorant will keep the girl(s) interested no matter how bad their looks are or how disinterested the woman is. This is quite funny for me and entertaining.

    Nancy Sanchez

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  7. Sergio Espain

    The commercial I chose is one for Google (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsSUqgkDwU). The commercial is about a computer user who, through time, uses the search engine to research major moments in the searcher's life (Studying abroad, trying to impress a french woman, and even marrying her). It appeals to me because it is a very simple, "bare bones" commercial: no frills, no dialogue. Yet it's very powerful...

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  8. The commerical that I chose was the Doritos commercial that was aired during the Superbowl this year. It is about a man who comes to pick up a lady for a date and meets her son. The lady leaves the room and the man starts to talk to the boy and then goes to reach for some Doritos and all of a sudden the little boy slaps the man across the face. Then the little boy gets nose to nose with the man and tells him don't touch my mama and don't touch my Doritos. It just goes to show that even if the only man in a woman's life is her son he can still be protective of her and intimidating just like a father of his daughter, no matter how innocent and naive children may seem. The underlying lesson is never underestimate the power of children.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0EVSP_6XZA&NR=1
    Cory Brown

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  9. The commercial that appeals to me is the Lincoln MKT commercial - "Under The Milky Way" (HD). The reason it appeals to me is because it has a trippy song. It is also annoying, overplayed, and I can never get that trippy song out of my head. Plus, I hate lincolns. They are cars for old people. So every time that stupid commercial comes on, I fast foward on my DVR. Ha!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uvbANB6oIY
    ~Cassie Marchman

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  10. One commerical that appeals to me is the one with babies that are dancing. I like all the commericals that come on and the babies have adult voices however they are in their little baby element. It is amusing because babies are so innocent yet they have to play that adult role. One the videos are under this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Ev5HgGACg
    If you want to find more just type in baby commerical in Youtube and many are found that are associated with the superbowl from last year.

    Timeshia Womack

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  11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0jR-fJkT64

    One of my favorite comercials is the Geico texting comercial. The first time I saw it, I was cracking up. It was so stupid that I will never forget it. The idea that the stack of money is texting is just hilarious, and the fact that the lady is oblivious to the stack being there makes it even more funny.
    --Rachel Sterling

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  12. I love the dipstick Jimmy commercial because it is too funny. Funny commercial appeal to me because that was those commercials stand out to me. Jimmy was just running around with a dipstick and hitting people in the leg for using the wrong oil.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nel4qVTOgg

    Kenneth Clark

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  13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZOm2YhOI4c

    My favorite commercial is the old spice one with the guy starting out in the shower, then on a boat, and then on a horse. This commercial appeals to me because it is a nice looking man in no shirt. Plus it is so funny how that he is in three different places in magically, describing how the soap makes a man a man. :)

    Nicole Parker

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  14. The commercial that made me laugh was the one of Corona’s commercial, where a couple is enjoying a relaxing time at the beach as well as a Corona of their own. Seconds later a girl walks in front of them and the guy does not lose his stare. Although the girl was not looking up, she still noticed what happened and squirts him with a lime. It makes me laugh because she does it an a dominating way to kind of calm him down and keep his eyes to himself.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFu68oMmvtg

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  15. My favorite commercials are the Raisin Bran Crunch commercials. In each one there are three friends, and two of them are arguing about which part of the cereal is the most important: the raisin or the crunch. My favorite of this series of commercials is when the argument is continuing, when suddenly the third friend says, “I had this dream where Sunny and I went dancing at a club (techno music imitation)”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDj_fGkQKDw
    It appeals to me, because I tend to feel like the random friend. When people are arguing about random things, I like to interject with something completely unrelated and meaningless. This commercial makes me feel like I am not alone.

    -- Kristen Perez

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  16. one of my favorite commercials is a Twix commercial of a father feeding a his son, the son is sitting on his high chair for feeding, the father burns himself with the baby's food he then says a bad word in spanish and the son repeats his. He keeps repeating in until the mother and her friends walk in and then the twix commercial logo comes one of "need a moment?". the father quickly changes the word to sound like his naming a fruit and the mom and her friends think that is the most cutest thing in the world because the child is beginning to talk and the father is teaching him good things.

    sarahi veloz

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  17. The commercial that I choose is the Charmin Pit Stop commercial. In this commercial the bear family is on a road trip and they’re all crowded into a little car. Then the bear family arrives at a rest spot, one of the baby bear has a potty break. The mom bear see the baby bear is using too much toilet paper and the mom bear tells the baby bear to use less paper. I like this commercial because is has the Charmin song “Cha, cha, cha Charmin.” Also this commercial is appealing because it is funny and when I watch this commercial I remember that my mom always tells us not to waste too much toilet paper. This commercial also reminds me of our family trip to Mexico and how at all the bathrooms the toilet paper was not free like here in the U.S. where toilet paper is free. Even though I like the Charmin commercials I don’t buy Charmin brand toilet paper.
    Camila Ramirez
    YouTube - Charmin Pit Stop

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  18. I sometimes wonder if companies REALLY know what real life is like. Have you seen the Huggies commercial where the baby shoots pee all over the bedroom?I thought that was funny and I was like that dosent happen....and then i had my son.....and i put him on the changing table and opened his diaper and all of the sudden there was pee everywhere! Then they make commercials like this, and I realize yes, yes they do.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glJ3p5TDKpA&feature=related

    ...Edith Bejar

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  19. One of my favorite commercials are the Progressive Insurance commercials because Flo is really funny. I can somewhat relate to her because my best friend tells me I'm a bit slow at times, and I can honestly say it is true. Flo seems like such a carefree person and she saves people money on their car insurance, how much better can it possible get?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo9bZsKwOT0

    ~Cindy Astorga

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  20. Here is the link to the Pepsi commercial I chose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40DykbPa4Lc.I chose this commercial because it is funny and shows how a young man goes through a journey to become the warrior he dreamed of becoming. As the boy became older and accomplished his goal this commercial shows the journey and struggles one can face while searching for his or her dreams. At the end of the commercial the guy bumps his head and the Pepsi sign is stamped on his forehead. Every time I watch this commercial it makes me laugh and reminds me to follow my dreams.

    ~Elvira Alvarez

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  21. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGGy6qz5hXg&feature=related
    The reason the Oldspice commercial appealed to me is because of a combination of attraction and humor. I immediately found the man attractive and he asks the viewer to compare their man to him. Then he jokingly says even though your man can't be as handsome as me he can smell like me. Then he plays off the stereotypical desires every girl dreams about with diamonds and the sea etc. Then suddenly the commercial ends with him riding a horse which is funny not just because of it's randomness but because it is so romantically cliche--like Fabio on a cheap Romance Novel cover.

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  22. -Eric Cantona Vs the devil nike advert-
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwW04WprZvQ
    i like this commercial because it shows what sports is consists of. in ad, on one side there is a team of devils and on the other side there is a world class soccer players. these world class players use their gifted abilities to rescue humanity from devils, of course using nike goods. in all competitions the oppesition is always seen as an devil or bad side,and the team we support usually expected to show their abilities in very important games. in the commercial, good side is represented with players from around the worls so that everyone will have connection with it. on the bad side is ultimate bad, devils. and victory comes with nike, ehat good guys use to achieve victory.
    Mustafa Tuysuzoglu

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  23. I like the new at&t commercial. There are different drawing incorporated into a real life scene of a city, and these drawing are animated. The drawings are most likely from children’s imagination. The song “Imagination” is played in the background. Then it shows a man checking his phone and smiling and the narrator says, “Remember when you were five and anything was possible”. I like this commercial because it makes me think of my carefree childhood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOl4OzcyKK4
    Tracy S.

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  24. My favorite commercials are Pepsi commercials.
    In my opinion, the best one is the one with Chinese Monks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40DykbPa4Lc
    An American kid goes to china to take classes from Chinese monks. He reaches the monk status when he smashes Pepsi can with his head and gets a symbol of monks right on his forehead.

    Nigina Boltaeva

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  25. The commercial I picked was the Nike Y2K
    (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhF7dQl4Ico&feature=PlayList&p=C551807F44FB1128&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=42). Basically, I choose this commercial because it makes me laugh and it’s very entertaining. The commercial is about a man just running on the day of New Year, and while running there is total chaos happening around him from: missiles flying past him, tanks, and people going crazy. The point of the commercial is to advertise Nike’s slogan of “Just do it” by using the image of a man running through the end of the world; and nothing bothers him from getting his jog done with Nike shoes.

    Robert De Anda

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