I don’t know what a ZigTech is, but Reebok has released it. I think it’s a shoe. Whatever the product is, the ad is clearly a ripoff of the music video for “E-Pro” by Beck. From the song to the animation, it’s all a direct copy. Is this supposed to appeal to Beck fans as a subtle nod, or are the ad folk assuming that not very many people saw the music video? I just don’t understand what goes through their minds.
Below is the commercial, followed by the original music video.
Portions of the new commercial for Levi’s, which is patriotically titled “Go Forth America,” seem to be obviously ripping off Feist’s music video for “I Feel It All.” The sparklers and fireworks, the dark water, the youthful cavorting, even the girl’s black and white striped shirt are clear matches.
I’ve never heard of the Happy’s Pizza chain, which I think is in mostly based in the Midwest, but their commercials sure are fun. The theme song is kind of catchy and kind of creepy. Somehow they got the famous group The Four Tops to be in (at least) two of their ads, which you can view below. Personally, I prefer the Tops’ work in this Velveeta Shells and Cheese ad.
I want to like this ad for Honda Civic, which shows a dedicated group of nerds gathering together to cut grooves into a road (much like the Japanese musical roads), thus producing a tune when you drive over it. But I have one major complaint: the song doesn’t work! They’re obviously trying to get the road to play the William Tell Overture, but they failed at getting the notes right for the most part. I seriously doubt they did it wrong on purpose for copyright reasons…that song is way public domain. I suppose it would have been deceptive if the ad people had adjusted the tones so it sounded right, but I almost wish they had, just so I wouldn’t have to listen to this butchered version over and over when I’m trying to watch Daily Show clips online.
When I first saw the recent ad campaign for Gatorade Tiger Focus, which is entitled Woods of Wisdom in case you didn’t get the Tiger Woods reference from the product name, I thought I was watching some kind of PSA for healthy childhood eating habits, or possibly an ad for The Jungle Book 2. But no, it’s just another weird, nonsensical production from Gatorade, joining the ranks of their Monty Python and the Holy Grail ripoff campaign and that “celebrities standing in a row cryptically wondering out loud what ‘G’ is” commercial, which adds insult to injury by forcing you go online to look up the fact that, surprise, it’s just Gatorade. It reminded me of Gabbo in the Simpsons, but less hilarious.
Anyway, although I am a Gatorade drinker and enjoyer, this Jungle Book ad annoys me. The only good part is the rap at the end, which at first I thought sounded like Big Boi. I couldn’t figure out who it was for sure so I asked the company, to which they told me “Bootsy Collins does all the music for these commercials and created the pieces specifically for this ad campaign.” Thanks Gatorade! I’m so happy that it turned out to be Bootsy. He’s like the ZZ Top of funk. His star-shaped Space Bass is at least as cool as ZZ’s furry guitars.
You can view the rap in question at about the 30 second mark here:
I was just watching TV when a commercial for Crayola came on, and I wasn’t paying attention but found myself bobbing my head along to the song. Then as the ad ended I realized what I’d been listening to. It was “I Was Born (a Unicorn)” by the now-defunct indie band The Unicorns (who I love). Crazy! And, nice one! Go Crayola.
Here’s the ad…thank god for You Tube. What did we do before that?
Have you seen these, or is it just my Puerto Rican neighborhood that attracts such ads? The first is the original ad in Spanish, and the second is the new English version, which I was excited to see, being a fan of the original (I spend a lot of time watching Univision at my local bodegas and laundromats).
Am I wrong or are these commercials the shit? It’s weird, because I grew up in Tucson, where Mexicans make up a large percentage of the population, but now that I live in a neighborhood with mostly families from DR and PR, I have become very familiar with the sound of Reggaeton. It’s died down a little in the past year or so, but it used to be the soundtrack to the neighborhood, along with that diabolical Mister Softee jingle. I didn’t really think of it as a Caribbean thing until I went back home for Christmas and casually mentioned my newfound appreciation of this crazy new style of music, which I assumed had taken the country by storm. But as I looked into blank stare after blank stare, I realized that Reggaeton was apparently not a Mexican thing, at least not a Sonoran thing. So that makes me wonder if they could be playing these commercials across the country — would anyone know what the hell was going on?
These are the thoughts that keep me from getting any work done. Maybe it’s time to stop working in front of the TV.
