This spot was passed on to me by a friend, and I vaguely remember seeing it in the past, but after watching it again, I have to say I’m pretty impressed. Today, the automotive advertising world is inundated with commercials either touting features that nearly every new car comes with, or trying to make some bizarre connection between childhood, rocket launchers, monkeys, or something else equally far fetched.
This Lexus IS 250 commercial does none of that. It doesn’t list an insane number of features. It doesn’t make a weird connection with gelato or steak or clowns. It just highlights one of the key features of the car, and over the course of 30 seconds, showcases that feature. Nothing more. It’s beautiful. granted, the videography, lighting, sound, and voice over are all superb, but it’s the simple, quality idea that makes it so strong.
Is simplicity like that really that hard to come by? That hard to execute? Should it be?
So I’ve been watching the series of Macy’s commercials on TV for a while now, showcasing the goods and the stars, including Trump, Martha Stewart, Usher, and Tim Gunn. Interesting commericals, and I definitely appreciate the message that they’re trying to communicate… and it seems smart for the company as well – at a time when they’re buying out other department stores, Macy’s could use something to differentiate it from everything else. And in today’s competitive market, there’s minimal differences in quality and product – it comes down to image, persona, and spokespeople. Which Macy’s doesn’t seem to be short on.
This week, the Downtown Portland Macy’s is holding a big grand re-opening extravaganza, kicked off by a gala of sorts that took place last night, with the main re-opening happening tomorrow (friday). I’ve been hearing the spots on the radio for the past few days, and I’m happy to hear that they’re somewhat keeping in line with their “Only one star can bring all these stars together” promise.
Over the course of the weekend, the Portland Macy’s will bring in celebrity chefs Tyler Florence (you can read his blog about it here) and Govind Armstrong (Table 8, as seen on Top Chef), among other stars I can’t quite recall.
I have to say that, although it is a “grand” re-opening, it’s still nice to see Macy’s attempt to carry the same persona they’re portraying in their TV spots all the way to local stores.
For those who have been reading my blog for a while, you’re well aware of my fascination and awe for the musically talented who break the normal boundaries of their specific fields, like the beatboxing tubist I recently mentioned (here). Well my good friend Mike stumbled across another slice of fried gold. I’m with him that the clip of the violinist and the dj must just be watched and enjoyed. Equally enjoyable, for me at least, is the unbelievable mixing of the J-5 mastery of Canto De Ossanha (one of my favorite tracks from the past year or two). I’m in musical heaven and my brain’s attempting to process it all.
(and if you haven’t checked out Mike’s blog, do it. inspiration, entertainment, and humor that’s uniquely Mike).
I’m not sure what it is, but I feel like I’ve been seeing a fair bit of press and commercials (on the web, that is) for Citroën lately. Not sure why that is. It’s entirely possible that a combination of my infatuation with european cars and the fact that Citroën isn’t selling in the United States (hence not being mentally inundated with advertisements) make me pay attention. It’s also possible that Citroën’s just putting out a bunch of media.
This newest spot, for the Citroen C1, the “urban solution” is just odd. Odd to the point that I’m almost okay with the fact that they’ve used a rubik’s cube in an automobile commercial. I suppose it works to the whole “solution” theme, but I’m not entirely sold. Also not working to sell me is the “Just imagine what can Citroën can do for you” tag. Maybe it’s not a wordwide campaign, but I can’t help thinking of “what can brown do for you?” which isn’t really a positive association for a compact urban hipster car. Then again, marketing of French cars has never quite made sense to me.
One of my all-time favorite tv spots is Euro RSCG’s Citroën “alive with technology” commercial. pre-”Transformers the Movie”, it brought my childhood memories of transformers back to life, with a euro car that I have somewhat of an unexplainable infatuation with, and added in Jacques Your Body by Les Rhythmes Digitales, one of my favorite tracks that at one point in time was the first song I defaulted to for mixtapes. (i know that just disclosed a fair bit of info, and definitely highlights a few of my tastes).
Well I guess having a digital, semi-break-dancing car-robot wasn’t good enough, because the Chinese actually went and build a robot out of a Citroën.
I guess that says something for the physically real things in life. Just goes to show that enough enginuity (pun? yes?) and you can just go ahead and skip all the CG stuff, graphics, renderings, and planning. I’m going to go build me a car robot now. That can dance to Les Rhythmes Digitales.
And just incase you don’t believe it, which apparently more than a few people didn’t, there’s a video on Jalponic [here] to prove it.
So a few weeks ago I wrote about the Cadburry Gorilla spot, directed by Juan Cabral at Fallon. I was impressed, and found it superb on a few different levels, but one thing I hadn’t really thought about was it’s effects on Phil Collins. As he’s on tour through North America with Genesis, his single from November 1980 has re-risen on the UK charts. In The Air Tonight has been on the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for three weeks running, the UK Downloads Chart for four weeks (peaking at #9), and is on the Official UK Singles chart right behind Fergie. Amazing what can happen when a gorilla nails the drum solo to your 27-year-old hit in a commercial. For a bit more info (and a short interview with Cabral) check out Creativity Online.
every now and then, I see something posted on youtube that just amazes me, shocks me, confuses me, leaves me in awe, and makes me feel like I need to go out and do something incredible. or at least throw around a few hammers.
So I wrote in anticipation of the Play-doh Sony Bravia spot a few weeks ago. I guess more than a few people knew of my anticipation, as I recieved several e-mails, several text messages, and even a phone call to make sure I knew that the spot I was waiting for has finally arrived.
So it’s here, and I have to say all of my anticipation, hopes, dreams, and all that other stuff came true. I’m downright impressed. I had mixed feelings (as i mentioned previously) after the second spot in the series (the Glasgow Paint spot) which I felt was lackluster, confusing, and didn’t really have a whole lot of feeling. This, on the other hand, is exactly what I feel the Colour Like No Other campaign should be (and is) about. It takes the emotion and feelings that were so dramatic in the Balls spot, but twists it in a different buy almost equally strong fashion. different feeling and music, somehow reflective and appropriate for the times, it just feels right to me.
I know some peoplelove or hate it, and I can understand most of the points people have (animation quality/style, music choice, message, etc), but I have to say that I actually like a lot of the choices that many seem to dislike, and on the whole, I’m pretty impressed, and not at all disappointed. It just kind of made my day, I think.
[ for the high-res spot, check out the Bravia site here]
I’ve got a thing for beatboxing… and sure, Rahzel, Kenny Muhammad, and Roxorloops are incredibly talented, but I’ve got a special soft spot for people who beatbox while playing musical instruments, a la Greg Patillo, the beatboxing flautist. I think it’s a kind of blend of mental and physical coordination with pure talent and skill that I aspire towards. Or maybe it’s just cool. I dunno. Either way, this is unquestionably impressive.
This spot is different. Don’t need to say any more – other than I’ve watched it several times, and I’m impressed. Can’t remember the last war/politics spot that successfully did that. Done by AMEN Creation in Montreal, for Trois-Rivieres Solidarity Committee of Canada.
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I ran across this on 30gms, a great design etc. blog… definitely worth regularly reading, and one of the few that consistently keeps me captivated. Just wanted to pass that along.
So a few weeks ago I 
