Christmas wishes

Remember when you were young and there was something you really wanted for Christmas? You would daydream during class about it. You would pray that you would unwrap it come Christmas morning?

Well for this kid, it's the Nintendo 64. BMW used some funny (and sort of scary) Christmas Day home footage for their holiday commercial.



Just look at the expression on his face. The screaming, the hands in the air, the elation of finally getting what you wanted I wish I was half as excited as he is about anything. Oh that childish innocence.

BMW cleverly tries to bring back those wishes with its 'Holiday Wish Event'. Adults too can have their wishes fulfilled if they buy the new 328i sedan.

It's a nice comparison. Who doesn't want those childhood presents back? Presents meant so much back then. Maybe a new BMW will fill that void.

But of course, it's just not the same as the eye-bulging kid opening his new N64.

"This is really a commercial"

My good friend Laura suggested this commercial to me so if you think it's too inappropriate, blame her.

You know those jars where you have to put a quarter in every time you swear? Well for my first beer commercial review, Bud Light takes this concept to the office.



My first reaction was, "Is that for real?" Laura responded, "Yes! This is really a commercial!"

I'll admit. I laughed. Does that make me a bad person? I hope not.

I think beer commercials can be cutting-edge. They always have clever ideas for their spots during the Super Bowl. This one is definitely on the more liberal side with 16 bleeped out words in a one minute ad.

Bud Light approved this spot because it brings the laughs. I don't think they thought their reputation would be tarnished. In the end, this commercial entertained and showed the lengths people would go to get a case of Bud Light.

Wait, what?

So a couple minutes ago I was watching TV. Well I wasn't actually watching, I was on my laptop and the TV was on in the background. Anyway, a commercial came on that made me go, "Wait, what?"

I just saw the end of it where 'Hotels.com' is displayed, but my roommate was laughing so I looked it up online. Fortunately, I found it to share with you all.



"It's workin. It's working! Ah they got me! Ahh it's workin!"

I love commercials like this. Why make sense when you can be hilarious? I applaud you Hotels.com for this short and sweet spot.

It has a focus - user reviews on the Web site. It has an odd couple (one straight character, one out there character), which is a classic formula for comedy. And it has branding - Hotels.com at the end.

I'm glad commercials like this are approved by the companies being advertised. Sometimes short and sweet is the most effective way to people remembering your product.

Haunting Shoe Dreams

The best dreams are ones that don't make sense. I don't really remember my dreams, but I think the more fantasical they are, the more fun they would be. The same is true for commercials.

This next commercial is from a while ago but it's one I remembered because of the direction of Spike Jonze and a sweet soundtrack from Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Squeak E. Clean.



This guy wakes up and his shoes come put themselves on. A spotlight reveals a door. What does the guy do? He runs with his new Adidas.

He runs down the street. He runs past trees. He runs away from bears and jumps at 45 degree angles.

There's probably some symbolism here, but to me the commercial's visuals are enough. The black area is saying, "What will you reveal? Anything is possible (with these Adidas)." Or should I say "Impossible is nothing."

It was very Ann Ryndish with the guy being illuminated in a sea of black and running in a tunnel. At first he is afraid when he wakes up, but after running he finds courage.

The music fit perfectly with the concept also. Right as Karen O sings "Whenever I wake up..." guess what happens. The mood also seemed to speed up with the tempo of the song. Overall this commercial was executed brilliantly.

It's fine, go 'aww'

I love reading. I do most of my reading in the summer because school gets in the way of my reading time. Weird huh?

This next commercial is a play on the 'student caught passing a note during class' situation, but takes an undeniably adorable turn.



Some may think it was corny, but I thought it was cute. The teacher is overwhelmed with emotion as she read the note. Look past the remote chance that a second-grader could use the word 'abyss' correctly and let the spot take you back to your note-passing days.

I wish I was as smooth as that kid during elementary. I wasn't much of a note writer. I think my move was kicking mud off my shoes under the desk of the girl next to me. Yeah, that didn't get me far.

This commercial was well shot too. Note the use of a dolly when the student walks up to give up the note. Also when reading the note out loud, the teacher has this expression that longs for a note like that to be written for her. This commercial definitely promotes the Indigo Love of Reading Fund. Whatever that is.

Guitar Hero Reels in Celebs

My roommate got the new Guitar Hero last week. He was actually shopping for Halloween costumes, but came home with the hard to find Guitar Hero World Tour band kit. As his roommate, I am reaping the benefits by being delegated to be the drummer in his "band". It's pretty sweet.

After buying the new GH, we saw these two ads.





Now these commercials didn't convince my roommate to buy the game. (The game pretty much sells itself.) But I am impressed with all the high profile celebrities Guitar Hero was able to get in this Risky Business spoof.

You have Tony Hawk (legend in his own video game right) on drums, Alex Rodriguez (highest paid baseball player ever) on bass, Michael Phelps (you know, that guy who dominated NBC this summer) on guitar and Kobe Bryant (remember him being swarmed by Chinese fans?) as the lead singer. That is star packed. Then there is the second commercial with the famed supermodel Heidi Klum. She doesn't need a band.

It's always fun to see celebs like this being a little silly and this commercial got it right. Just look at Phelps strum that "guitar". He can't keep from grinning. Kobe gets really into the lipsyncing. The picture looks just like the 80's movie.

I wonder how much they got paid...

Why Brooke Shields?

Let's pretend it was my plan to have a one month gap between blogs and continue...

During fall break, I was able to catch up on television watching. I'm still not at the point I want to be, but I'm getting there.

These new ads by Volkswagen are more miss than hit.



VW is attempting to bolster their reputation for German engineering by claiming women are having children just so they can experience their new minivan. They mimic a PSA with Brooke Shields warning, "Have a baby for love, not for German engineering."

Obviously these spots are sarcastic, but unfortunately the joke doesn't work.

I don't find the ads clever or funny at all. It's actually sort of offensive to pregnant women; demeaning their childbirth for the hope of riding in a Volkswagen.

Even the beginning, with the old-fashion VW "talking" to Shields in a German accent, can be misinterpreted as degradation.

These fake PSAs shouldn't do the warning. They should be warned themselves.