All 11 entries tagged Advert

Standoff: XBox 360 advert

Writing about web page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoA5mC5FgIw

I’m fascinated by this advert for the XBox 360:-

It was never aired, and it’s easy to see why (though it’s had a phenomenal afterlife on Youtube, with millions of views). It’s odd to watch, because it’s at once funny and clever, yet slightly disturbing. Was there ever a time when it could have been shown on TV? Perhaps in the early eighties, when the fashion for violent cop shows on TV was at its height?

John Dale : 19 Sep 2008 10:00 |  Tags: Advert Video |  Comments (8) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Gates & Seinfeld: Together at last again

Follow-up to Gates & Seinfeld: Together at last! from Autology: John Dale's blog

It’s not really about anything, nor is it overtly trying to sell anything. I can’t decide whether it’s brilliantly clever or pointlessly stupid.

John Dale : 12 Sep 2008 13:15 |  Tags: Advert Humour Video |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Gates & Seinfeld: Together at last!

Writing about web page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM_72QXCtN4

John Dale : 05 Sep 2008 09:26 |  Tags: Advert Humour Video |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Great advert

Writing about web page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlfAWEvhxRs

If you’re a musician, or you like rollercoasters, or both, then you might like this:-

John Dale : 09 Jun 2008 13:19 |  Tags: Advert Video |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Awesome

Writing about web page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiHsxQJ9ZOo

So, Michael Bay. Not renowned for his cerebral approach to film-making, nor necessarily for being a sweet and charming person. But in this advert for some American internet thing or other, he does at least manage to poke a little bit of fun at himself. And his barbecue. And his pool.

John Dale : 16 Feb 2008 20:33 |  Tags: Advert Video |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Bruce Campbell & Simon Le Bon: Together at last

Writing about web page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TgUkewQX1M

John Dale : 28 May 2007 23:29 |  Tags: Advert Video |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

More "Get a Mac" adverts

Follow-up to "Get a Mac" adverts from Autology: John Dale's blog

More ‘I’m a Mac’ ‘And I’m a PC’ ads from Apple. I’m not sure whether I like “I’ll just lie here and depreciate” or “Whassup: PC home movie” more.

John Dale : 10 Oct 2006 11:29 |  Tags: Advert Apple Culture Links |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

"Get a Mac" adverts

Writing about web page http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

There's a great new series of adverts from Apple just out. They're called "Viruses", "Restarting", "Better", "iLife", "Network" and "WSJ", and they're simplicity itself; each advert starts out with two guys standing next to each other. "Hi, I'm a Mac" says one (the younger, more casually dressed guy). "And I'm a PC" says the other, more conservative figure. Can you guess how the dialog goes from there? Clever, understated humour.

(I want to subscribe to the Awesome Computer Review Weekly Journal.)

John Dale : 02 May 2006 09:12 |  Tags: Advert Apple Culture Links |  Comments (9) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Good things come to those who wait… a very long time

There's a fantastic new Guinness advert out, taking the concept of "Good things come to those who wait" just about as far as it will go. We see three guys enjoying their pints in the pub, then we rewind time not just to see what happened to them on the way to the pub, but to trace their evolution all the way back to the beginnings of life on earth. Along the way we see London undo itself back to a Saxon settlement, glaciers, ice ages, canyon formations, dinosaurs, asteroid strikes and much more. It's a fantastic piece, even if it's slightly out biologically (we didn't evolve from birds!) and the look on the mudskipper's face at the very end of the advert as it sips, well, mud, is just priceless.

The music's cool too; Sammy Davis Jr singing Rhythm of Life from Sweet Charity. Great match for the animation.

Watch the advert here and read about its making here. Whimsical facts: although almost all the advert is CG, the mudskippers at the end - the creature furthest away from man on the evolutionary scale - were real. And although you have to watch very hard to spot it, near the beginning of the ad the streetlamps change from electric to gas. Oh, and the name of the ad? noitulovE. Cute.

John Dale : 12 Oct 2005 15:27 |  Tags: Advert Culture TV |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Golf GTI ad

Writing about web page http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-video/Media/video/2005/01/27/golfgti.mov

Chris May pointed me in the direction of this advert for the new Golf GTI. It's a reworking of Gene Kelly's famous scene from Singin' in the Rain, and whatever you might think of the cultural merits of appropriating icons in this way, in terms of technical craftsmanship, it's just amazing. They've used body doubles and CGI to make it appear as if Kelly is breakdancing down the street, and it ends with the line The new Golf GTI. The original, updated. Fantastically clever.

John Dale : 31 Jan 2005 12:59 |  Tags: Advert Cars Culture |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Seinfeld & Superman: Together at last!

Jerry Seinfeld has advertised AmEx cards for a while. Now it seems that he's managed to combine a lucrative ad deal with the chance to appear with one of his personal obsessions – Superman. It's astonishing that the rights-holders for Superman gave permission for the ad to be made, because it's hysterically, disrespectfully funny. It's also an interesting new format: five minutes long (so too long for a TV ad-break) and on the web here rather than cinema or TV.

When people talk about the future of ads being on-demand (because PVRs effectively make ads optional), it's hard to see the model working. But I went to see this ad of my own accord, so clearly it can be done – if the material is good enough.

John Dale : 06 Apr 2004 12:55 |  Tags: Advert |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem