There was a Jeep commerical a few years ago that featured a guy driving out into the wilderness in his new Wrangler. After driving awhile, he reaches a pristine lake. Seeing no one around, he strips and jumps in. Overcome by the beauty of his surrounding environment, he begins to sing “Heaven, I’m in heaven…” and is startled when other voices join in on the song. He looks around, and realizes that the singing is coming from the owners of previous Jeep models–a CJ-2A, a Jeep station wagon, and a Wagoneer–who had also located this perfect spot.
Laughter is good but I like the fuzzy ones too.
One of my favorite series is PBS commercials where it shows the people doing strange things to find out if they work or not like the little girl getting up way way early to shine a lamp into a roosters coop to see if he crows.
Its just nice to see the ‘thinker’ in all of us doing things to see if its true. Plus I like the reaction of the people when they see their results.
Gives ya a little faith that maybe we aren’t all as dumb as we look.
Well, here in Finland we don’t get too many good ads, but some are great. Channel Four has a series of ads promoting the channel itself. Each portrays a parody of far-too-typical program of Finnish TV, and ends with a text “Luckily, there’s an alternative.”
What sticks best to my mind is almost legendary Basement Humppa. Humppa is sort of a Finnish pair dance typically seen as entertainment for older folks, and there are inexplainably lots of TV shows showing old people dancing humppa with humppa music on the background. (We are not talking Eläkeläiset here, mind.) The ad starts with pictures of old people getting ready to dance and then you hear this absolutely twisted humppa tune and they start dancing. All the while you hear people shouting, “B… A… S… E… M… E… N… T… Hump hump hump hump Basement Humppa!” and old people keep dancing. Then comes the text. “Every single day. From every single channel. At prime time.” “Luckily, there’s an alternative.”
First time I saw that commercial, I was just standing my mouth open, thinking it was a real show about to start soon… then the texts came to screen and I realized it was just a very, very fine piece of advertising.
Others in series include “Buck Naked”, interview show with specialty of host being naked all the time (Perfect parody of uselessness of Finnish talk shows and attempts to find some kind of concept, no matter how stupid, for them), five-hour-long black-and-white “Soviet masterpiece” that feature mainly grain waving, music show called “Heavy Court” where somber-looking metalheads listen to metal songs and then happily exclaim “Me likes!”, and Men of Forests… Battle of the Titans… contest at sawing trees in forest with chainsaw.
Maybe you just have to see them.
I don’t know the compnay, but I get a kick out of the TEDMail commercial. This company has replaced their email system with TEDMail, some guy in a bright red suit. He runs around giving messages like…
“The eleven o’clock has been moved to Ten.” 'But it’s 10:15??"
He gets delayed looking for a cab, he is given a pile of documents (attachements) and told to send them London and to CC Zurich. He comes up to some secretary and gives her the message that “we have to stop seeing each other” (or something along those lines).
I second the PBS “Stay Curious” ads. My favorite is the one where the little girl dumps the caviar in a fish bowl… and waits.
I like the one with the cute blonde woman in the toothpaste commercial who marvels how her boyfriend’s gums are so clean and free from plaque that it makes her quiver with delight.
DOn’t know about them thar tooths commercials, but for all of you who are talking about the Nike ads … I agree. I don’t care for the imigery, but when they come on, I usually just close my eyes and listen to the cool music. Neat stuff.
There’s this one Budweiser commercial (I think it’s Budweiser), where there are these four guys out hiking in the woods when they come across this cute little puppy. One guy picks it up and holds it up to his face and says something cute to it, when all of a sudden, the dog just turns vicious and goes ballistic on them. I was in tears the first time I saw it.
Speaking of Budweiser ads:
Guy sitting on the couch surfing the TV.
Wife, upstairs " Honey, I’ve got my teddy on…"
Guy, " uh Huh."
Wife, " The candles are lit…"
Guy, " Uh huh"
Wife, " The silk sheets on are on the bed…"
Guy, slightly irritated , " Yep."
Wife, " I’ve got Bud on ice."
Guy, Perks up quickly, runs upstairs undressing, dives on the bed to grab the bud and because of the silk sheets slides right out the window in his boxers, falling two stories down, leaving his boxers in a tree.
Snickers had a brilliant ad for awhile of viginettes of little kids talking to the camera.
“My dad has to get a new secretary.”
“My mom says my sister dresses like a floozy” (My favorite line)
“We don’t pay for our cable.”
" My dad had to sleep on the couch last night."
Voice over: Need a little quiet time, try a Snickers.
During the Superbowl a few years ago there was a really funny commercial for either insurance or something , again, with kids talking to the camera:
When I grow up I want to file all day long.
When I grow up I want to do the same work as a man for less pay. ( a girl)
When I grow up I want to climb to middle management.
etc.
Always cracked me up.
Lord help me but:
“Aflac”
I am easily amused by ducks…
has anyone seen the Xbox commercial “Life is short”?
Brilliant, absolutely 5 star.
I don’t know where you can see it online, because a friend sent it to me in e-mail. Describing it would ruin it, so you can see a really horrible quality Realplayer version here:
(Search for the word Xbox, and don’t ruin the fun by reading the description first)
or an unknown quality version here:
stoid
Oh! And the “Got Milk?” ad with the guy in a room dedicated to the duel that killed the man on America’s ten-dollar bill, eating a big peanut butter sandwich. He gets a phone call that asks something like, “For ten thousand dollars, who shot Alexander Hamilton?”
Peanut butter sandwich guy can only say helplessly, “Ehhhm Buhh!”
Too funny.
I like the one where two guys are in SUV’s with their dogs. In one SUV, the dog is sliding around, being bumped up and down due to the rough terrain. The other SUV drives smoothly and the dog is totally comfortable. When they get to the fishing spot, it’s totally crowded so they decide to head off again. The dog in the bad SUV sits there and whimpers while his owner asks him what the problem is.
“Chewy Stops the Chatter” !
My fave: My mom says she can’t beleive you wore white!
That’s the Saturn VUE…cute!
Cavewoman and I like a PopTart ad from a few years ago…a guy is having breakfast, puts in a poptart, and out pops a note : Hey Bob, we’re hot for you. Love, Pop-Tarts. The concept is pretty simple, and it dosen’t sound like much when I explain it, but the delivery was fantastic…so was the music…
I love the Geico Direct commercials. The little geeko is cute but my fav is the one with the two squirrels that make the car wreck and give each other the high 5 dance. heheheh
There’s one (and it’s been mentioned in a thread on the temp board, or I’d have forgotten it) - like Battlebots. One is this undefeated techno marvel; the other is a little refrigerator with arms and legs. The fridge opens itself, pulls out a Bud Light (I think) and offers it to the big robot. When the big robot goes to take the beer, a giant hammer comes out of the fridge and smashes it to bit. I cracked up!
I love the M&M commercial. The one at the hotel it goes something like this.
(in front lobby at the check in desk)
Man behind counter (MBC) Welcome to the Gamgore Checking in?
Customer(C) Yeah
MBC: Would you care for a complimentrary newspaper in the morning?
C: (looking distracted) yeah sure
MBC: How about our turn down service with a complementary chocolate on your pillow.
c: Uh sure.
(cut scene) In Hotel room.
C is laying on bed.
Red M&M (laying on second pillow) :Can I watch TV?
C: No.
I love that commercial. MBC has a perfect accent and comes across as snooty and condencending yet, polite. Love it is great
I want to learn to talk like MBC!
Osip
I always liked the self-ironic Sprite commercials. Especially when compared to the overblown Nike and Gatorade macho ads.
But my favorite commercials are any which don’t BLAST YOU WITH A FRICKING DUMPTRUCK OF VOLUME LIKE THIS BECAUSE SOME CHEAP-ASS USED CAR SALESMAN THINKS IT WILL BOOST CUSTOMERS!!!
Because I hate that.
Another vote for the M&M’s hotel commercial and the “Got Milk” peanut butter sandwich ad.
My absolute favorite, though, is another “Got Milk” commercial. In this spot, a sweet little old lady is preparing to feed her seventy or so cats when she realizes she’s out of milk. Thinking the dumb cats won’t notice, she whips up a big bowl of coffee “creamer” powder mixed with tap water and starts to ladle it out.
The cats taste this stuff, and start protesting. They turn and start advancing on her, and there are two fast cuts: one to a small paw pulling down the windowshade, and another furry paw turning out the lights. As the scene goes black, you hear sweet little old lady voice saying, “Uh-oh.”
Cracks me up every time.
Zap!