This commercial comes out of Malaysia, but I think it should be broadcast everywhere. So funny.
Oct 082009
Sep 042009
Or at least parents do, according to their newest “Back to School” commercial.
You know what this commercial says to me? It says, “I hate my children SO much, and can’t think of anything to do with them during the summer, so I am PUMPED they’re going back to school so I don’t have to see their jerky little faces anymore! WOO!”
When they said that Obama would usher in a post-racial world, I don’t think commercials like this one are what they meant.
As the YouTube page has it:
For those of you who think this video is racist, we’d like you to distinguish between “racist” and “racial”. Racism is “hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.” Racial is “of, relating to, or based on a race”. This video is very obviously racial as opposed to racist. This video doesn’t promote or feature hatred or intolerance. Rather, it’s the very opposite. This commercial promotes inclusion and reconciliation, if not in a comical way. To point out the obvious, the irony in this video is that it’s completely ridiculous for people to relate furniture to their race.
Thanks to my friend Kris, who sent along a link to CNet, which featured it here.
According to the new Microsoft ad — which is all over the blogosphere — Lauren has a budget of just $1,000 (which turns out to be Microsoft’s money, how kind) for a laptop, and she wants one with a nice keyboard and a 17″ screen. Now, if you go to the official Microsoft site, you have to install their proprietary “Silverlight” program to watch it. Thanks, Microsoft. Here’s a Flash version of the ad:
Now, as you will have seen, poor Lauren — who apparently doesn’t care about hard drive space, processor speed, memory, or whether or not she can burn DVDs — can’t find a single thing for her at the Apple store.
Well, duh!
I am no raging Apple fanboi. I happily use Macs at work, and I have an old iMac (thanks, boss) running my jukebox at home. But I also have a dual-booting WinXP/Ubuntu computer which I consider my main machine. Personally, I tend to find the tweakability and DIY factor of a PC to be more to my liking. And, since I don’t care overmuch about premium products, I find the budget of a Mac to be a little high for my tastes.
But, I certainly think they’re nice computers! They just don’t target the thin slice of market that Lauren represents (well, maybe not so thin). Even PCMag has “fact checked” the ad:
If Microsoft’s point is to stick it to Apple and claim that there’s only one Mac laptop for under $1,000 and it’s got a small 13-inch screen, they’re absolutely correct. You can’t walk out of an Apple Store with (any) laptop for under $1,000 after tax. Certainly you can’t walk out of an Apple Store with a 17-inch laptop for under $1,000. Apple’s 17-inch MacBook Pro is a professional product for people like pro photographers and videographers and is marketed and priced as such.
Exactly. Macs have a great operating system with unparalleled integration among all their hardware. The design is stylish, and the targeted market is professionals who want it to Just Work.
Sending Lauren into an Apple store with her stated list of requirements was ridiculous. What if she was looking for a vehicle? What if she was looking for something that was good on gas, easy to park and fun to drive — for less than $20,000? And what if Microsoft sent her into a limousine dealership?
“Geez,” she’d say, walking out disappointed. “Everything in there was big and stodgy — and expensive. They only thing they had for under $20,000 was a keychain.” Hyuck, hycuk.
But it’s not really making the point, is it? Straw man, much?
I hate advertising.
Feb 282009
So what happens when a lousy car commercial uses a famous piano composition?
It drives me crazy, that’s what.
There’s a new Lexus commercial that I see almost every ad break while watching an hour-long show. I don’t really watch too much T.V anymore, but this commercial is always on.
It’s a typical car commercial these days: slow motion action shots of the interior and exterior, in the big city, comforting dad looking through the rear view mirror at young daughter, shots intended to show how well the car maneuvers while still being a comfortable hunk of metal, shots intended to show how much better a car it is than the one you’re driving.
I dislike all commercials, but ones involving cars are especially egregious. But this commercial, well, it always catches my attention. Instead of changing the channel, I wait and listen because I’m drawn in to the beautiful piano.
Now I’m sure you’re dying to know what it is. Wait no longer! Here!
The actual commercial doesn’t have the handy song information like in this video, so while I kept saying to Grant every time it came on, “I know this song!” it took him 45 minutes to find out it was Clair de Lune by Debussy (Of COURSE I thought). Because Lexus is notorious for using classic songs. Or something.
Anyway, it reminded me how much I now love Erik Satie, and of my perennial favourite, Moonlight Sonata.
Damn you, Lexus. Damn our love/hate relationship.