# AT&T's "Remember when you were 5" commercial ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572 "2010-06-01T23:41:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RDiazRivera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@RDiazRivera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RDiazRivera)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/21 "2010-06-03T02:58:38Z")
This commercial kind of saddens me. The guy seems a bit forlorn and looks defeated and sad. He lights up when thinking of being 5 again, almost as if hope was reborn in him. It’s still depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/22 "2010-06-03T03:40:13Z")
I first saw the commercial and thought, is that Jon Lovitz singing? Then I realized where the song was from and that it was Gene Wilder. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/23 "2010-06-03T03:49:38Z")
I think the point of the ad must be that when we were five, we didn’t care all that much about **making or receiving important phone calls**. Thus AT&T is a perfectly reasonable choice. Love, Disgruntled AT&T Customer ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/24 "2010-06-03T05:38:47Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Naahhhh – he doesn’t look that sharpe. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/25 "2010-06-03T14:20:44Z")
What struck me about the ad and the song is that what they are promising is a “World of Pure Imagination,” which to me says “We’re giving you absolutely nothing. You have to imagine everything.” At least they won’t be liable for false advertising claims. ---
**Author:** ![Stillwell\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@Stillwell\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stillwell_Angel)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/26 "2010-06-04T00:20:35Z")
Call me crazy, but I’ve always loved that song. There’s just something hauntingly soothing about Gene Wilders voice when he sings. The animation they accompany it with in the commercial just makes it even more appealing to me. I don’t particularly care what they’re selling, I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/27 "2010-06-04T12:40:12Z")
I like it too, partly because of the incredible sweetness of Gene Wilder’s voice. But it’s a song from Willie Wonka, who was, to put it mildly, a morally ambiguous character. I think my translation of “Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination” as offering absolutely nothing is probably not too far off base. Willie Wonka wasn’t given to truly generous offers, at least not to everyone, and certainly not to all of the children/parents to whom he was singing the song. But it is hauntingly beautiful, as are the three notes that people above have described as ominous, but I think of as …expectant. Hovering on the brink of something. Perhaps rather wistful. It is, in fact, a perfect song for advertising, as it suggests that what is offered will be utterly wonderful, when in reality, it promises nothing of the sort. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/28 "2010-06-17T16:45:55Z")
> [@Stillwell\_Angel](#): > > Call me crazy, but I’ve always loved that song. There’s just something hauntingly soothing about Gene Wilders voice when he sings. The animation they accompany it with in the commercial just makes it even more appealing to me. I don’t particularly care what they’re selling, I like it. But **what** exactly are they selling!? ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/29 "2010-06-17T20:36:26Z")
That horrible tune makes me want to get all stabby. I didn’t realize it was Gene Wilder. I just thought it was some guy who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. Knowing where it’s from doesn’t help, though. It’s just dreadful. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/30 "2010-06-17T22:52:46Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > The actor is [Dean Chekvala](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dean-Chekvala/212257409112). > > Oh, that’s weird. The Facebook site apparently belongs to a fan of Mr. Chekvala. There’s another [fan site](http://www.deanfans.co.uk/) for him that lists the commercial. Wow. I’ve seen him on a TV show and would never have guessed it was the same person. They put a lot of effort into making him look like a deeb on **Harper’s Island**. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/31 "2010-06-17T23:10:51Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > That horrible tune makes me want to get all stabby. I didn’t realize it was Gene Wilder. I just thought it was some guy who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. Knowing where it’s from doesn’t help, though. It’s just dreadful. So that means you never saw the movie as a child? I get what they are trying to sell…after figuring out what company it is after seeing it six times…guess I always blinked at the end. They are saying that using their products will make you more creative, set you imagination free, and make you enjoy life again, like you did when you were five and imagination was the bread of life. What I don’t like is how he looks so depressed and downtrodden by life and reality and stuck in a rut, until he looks down at whatever hand-held electronic device he’s carrying, and suddenly he is inspired again…what, did he forget he owned the darned thing? Did he not get inspired when he bought it and it was new and shiny and full of possibilities? But all in all I like it…the song is one that brings back all the wistfulness that Willy Wonka felt, trapped in his chocolate factory, longing to be free… ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/32 "2010-06-17T23:26:20Z")
> [@choie](#): > > What interests me about that commercial is the difference between the UK and US versions. The UK ad begins with the song’s real intro, that vaguely ominous trio of xylophone-y notes, after which Gene Wilder’s voice slides in. The US version cuts those notes out and starts right at Wilder’s voice and the more orchestral, sunnier accompaniment. > > A small change but kinda typical of how we Americans are supposed to view childhood. The British get an eerier, almost mystical POV; we get cheery and wondrous. Here’s the long version ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CEcvi9hzWXs/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/CEcvi9hzWXs?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/33 "2010-06-18T16:07:48Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > That horrible tune makes me want to get all stabby. I didn’t realize it was Gene Wilder. I just thought it was some guy who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. Knowing where it’s from doesn’t help, though. It’s just dreadful. You may not care for Wilder’s voice, but he carries a tune just fine. He’s obviously not a trained singer, and you may find the sweetness repugnant (although Willie Wonka is whirling a riding crop around much of the song; he is _not_ a sweet man no matter how sweet his voice sounds), but he can carry a tune and he doesn’t need a bucket. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Private\_Bin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@Private\_Bin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Private_Bin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/34 "2010-06-19T18:29:03Z")
Not even a… _Charlie_\*\* Bucket? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/35 "2010-06-19T19:40:38Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I thought the same thing. Although I think he looks like 006 with a beard. He looks like Sean Bean and Philip Seymour Hoffman having a baby. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/36 "2010-06-20T03:19:13Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > Here’s the long version > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEcvi9hzWXs&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEcvi9hzWXs&feature=related) Sorry, I still don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572/37 "2010-06-21T01:49:59Z")
My brother was visiting me last week and that commercial came on. I asked him what it was for and he had no idea either. We stopped it (on DVR) and skipped back. It still took us awhile to figure out it was from AT&T - which is not exactly a ringing endorsement for an ad we had heard hundreds of times and neither of us knew who the advertiser was. And the point of the ad still is going over my head - so why again should I subscribe to AT&T, or what am I supposed to do? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-ts-remember-when-you-were-5-commercial/541572.md?page=1)