thoughts on TV spots

those who know me know that i get a kick out of tv spots. hell, i even work a dayjob in advertising (although i don't create the advertising; i'm a web application developer). so i thought i'd write a little bit about some of the tv spots and campaigns i've been seeing that stand out. think of it not so much as an expert's opinion as much as it's the rather educated and warped opinion of someone who appreciates the medium as well as the most absurd entries into its arena.

CitiBank Visa

directed by Jared Hess (director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre), the new ads feature Roman and his virtually silent cohort Victor, and Roman is keen to demonstrate how fast he can rack up rewards points. the spots are oddly coloured, and the styles are decidedly retro.

my favourite one of the campaign so far features the two of them in a living room, Roman dressed in his tracksuit, which makes him "tiger fast." Victor high-fives him (very fast) to celebrate his double points due to his having CitiBank checking account as well as the card. "Revarding! Very, Very, Very Revarding!"

Cheese-Its

i've seen this one just a couple of times, but it's absolutely hilarious and memorable mostly due to the little girl who explains to two adults how they make Cheese-Its. as soon as she starts her explanation, the direction cuts away to visualize her story, following a giant cheese wheel escaping a truck and rolling downhill (bystanders narrowly avoiding injury!). a careful worker places a cracker on a plate and places the plate on the road in the path of the wheel. just as the wheel approaches the plate, it cuts back to the girl, who emphatically crushes the plastic cup she's holding and says "Cheese-It."

the crowning element of the commercial is her earnest look as she delivers the "Cheese-It" line before looking at the other adult and insisting once again "Cheese-It." fricken brilliant.

Dunkin Donuts

okay, everyone's been talking about the They Might Be Giants/ Dunkin Donuts song commercials, but it's worth saying here that i've loved them from the beginning. the Karate commercial for the smoothies was so loved in my household that, during red sox games, i'd keep my eyes peeled for them during the breaks, cranking the volume when i heard that familiar drum machine groove that opens the spot. "Swimming! Soccer! Ballet! Oboe! And last but not least...

"KARATEEEEEEE!"

sweet. the new Alarm Clock Catastrophe is also notable, especially for the vocal delivery of the lines "i'm about as far behind as a human being can be." brutally behind the beat. brutally so. it's one of those subconscious details that can make a song, scene, story, etc. here, the extremely laid back delivery conflicts slightly with the visuals of people scrambling to make trains and to get to the office before the boss sees them, but it works so well musically that i don't think it matters.