Arnold Schwarzenegger has finally achieved his lifelong dream. No, it's not becoming a champion weight lifter/action hero/governator. It's his dream of owning his own "f–king tank."
Since it's only natural for a man who has been blowing things up since 1979 to want to pulverize things with his new toy, he's inviting you and a friend to join him.
In an effort to raise money for the After-School All-Stars program, the Terminator has created an instantly viral video offering you the opportunity to "come to L.A. and crush things in my tank!" Crush anything you want: pianos, taxis, bubble wrap. Hell, he'll even crush movies that make you cry. Wait, does Terminator 3 count?
Here's a clip of Arnold reminiscing about his tank time in the Austrian Army:
You might think that Dior, after paying Jennifer Lawrence a lot of money to be an endorser, would want the woman in its new ad to look pretty obviously like Jennifer Lawrence. But not everyone is convinced she does.
The print ad above, featuring the actress, is drawingpraise, but also some criticism for excessive Photoshopping. It's not on the usual social-ethical grounds but because, as Emily Leaman over at Philly Magazine suggests, the ad looks more like a "pre-pubescent 12-year-old boy than the strong, broad-shouldered, post-pubscent Jennifer Lawrence we know in movies like Silver Linings Playbook and The Hunger Games."
That's a bit of a rhetorical stretch, but you might find yourself blinking hard once or twice before you realize who it is. In reality, it's pretty clearly her—especially when you compare it to some of her early modeling photos. But it is fair to say that between the aggressive retouching (which she tends not to mind) and the haute trappings, Lawrence doesn't look much like the straight-talkinggirl next door image she's grown into.
Jessie Heyman over at Huffington Post, for her part, thinks Dior's new Lawrence looks like Leonardo DiCaprio circa Titanic. Then again, that might be a compliment … he was one of the prettiest young women in Hollywood.
More pics from Lawrence's new Dior campaign below.
Who says Vanilla Ice never had any street cred? Everyone, I guess. And when it comes to hip-hop, they're right. But … who cares? The rapper (term used loosely) is prop-ah as hell in this self-deprecating Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercial from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, skewering his goofy persona and, against all odds, stretching his 15 minutes of fame into a fourth decade.
Ice rocks the mic like a vandal, or something, lookin' fly in a green baseball cap and apron as he stocks shelves in a grocery store to help introduce Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-shaped Mac & Cheese. He sings "Ninja Rap," the brilliantly asinine tune he performed in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991. Naturally, a mom shopping the aisle starts busting furious moves. Check out her son's befuddled/horrified stare around the 10-second mark. That look could wax a chump like a candle! Ultimately, Ice puts it all in perspective, with a knowing grin and his trademark line: "Word to your mother!"
As great as it is, the behind-the-scenes video is even more of a tongue-in-cheek riot. "I've always had a love for the Turtles," Ice explains, "and when I did Secret of the Ooze, it was the highlight of my life—ever!" He lunges forward, like a snapping turtle, for emphasis. "I'll never top it, no matter what I do."
Showing off a Turtles leg tattoo, he adds, "When I first heard Mac & Cheese was creating Ninja Turtles shapes, I was like, genius! This is the frickin' most awesome thing ever!"
Yo, you're awesome, Ice. Word to mothers everywhere!
It's flashback week for fans of 1990s hip-hop, with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and Snoop Dogg making advertising cameos that would have seemed inconceivable 15 years ago.
Combs, known these days as Diddy, headlines a new 60-second spot from Fiat and ad agency Doner. In the ad, we see two men wandering the desert in a delirious haze, unsure if they're really being saved by a celebrity or just imagining a mirage.
Meanwhile, Snoop, who has gone by Snoop Lion lately, has popped up in, of all places, a British auto insurance ad from agency Mother. He narrates the story of a dorky white guy named Phil who saved money by getting insurance from MoneySuperMarket and now feels "epic." Feeling epic, in this case, means driving an invisible car and hanging out at inner-city street parties.
It's not exactly jarring to see these two iconic rappers in ads, since both have been frequent marketing mouthpieces in recent years. But it's still entertaining to imagine how they would have reacted to the words "Fiat" and "MoneySuperMarket" in 1997.
One of my favorite ads from Super Bowl night actually ran before and after the game, when Diet Mountain Dew bought some slightly discounted time for its new spot, "Dale Call." We see a duck hunter pull out his trusty turbo-powered call, which sounds like a Nascar engine and summons Dale Earnhardt Jr., regardless of location or time of day.
I can't think of too many scenarios where that would be useful, which might be why it's a bat signal solely reserved for duck hunters. As someone who took great joy as a child in scaring ducks into flight, I feel pretty certain these fowl would have scattered and flown away instead of sticking around to get blasted, but who am I to question Dale's abilities behind the wheel?
Below, you can check out another of the campaign's spots, featuring a rail-grinding horse worthy of the X Games.
Ellen DeGeneres will be among the parade of celebrities in this Sunday's Super Bowl, as she dances with bears and wolves in a stylish and amusing Goldilocks and the Three Bears parody for Beats Music, the subscription-based online music-streaming service.
You can see the full spot—or at least a version of it, running longer than 60 seconds—within the clip below, which will air Thursday on DeGeneres's talk show. The Beats Music app is "something I absolutely love," she says in introducing it. "I had so much fun shooting the commercial. And you're really not supposed to see it until the Super Bowl, but it's my birthday and my show, so I get to do what I want."
Beats Music also aired a spot on the Grammys that was written and narrated by Trent Reznor, who serves as chief creative officer for the service.
As huge of an advertising juggernaut as the NFL is, commercials starring NFL players often feel interchangeable. Here, though, is a great piece of work from Duracell starring Derrick Coleman, the 23-year-old Seattle Seahawks fullback who happens to the be the first legally deaf player to be part of an NFL offense.
Bravely narrating the ad himself, Coleman tells his own story of being picked on as a kid, being told he could never make it—and being passed over by the NFL draft. "They didn't call my name, told me it was over," he says. "But I've been deaf since I was 3, so I didn't listen." That's a great line. The tagline: "Trust the power within."
Coleman seems enamored with that line. He tells the Sporting News of his Duracell deal: "They came to me, and said they liked my story, and I said OK, I want to join up. I just hope to inspire people, especially children, to trust the power within and achieve their dreams."
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New York.
CREDITS Client: Duracell
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New York Executive Creative Director: Peter Moore Smith Creative Directors: Garrett Jones, Billy Leyhe Chief Production Officer: Tanya LeSieur Director of Content Production: John Doris Senior Producer: Danny Miller Senior Art Director: Nathan Wigglesworth Senior Copywriter: Lincoln Boehm
Production Company: Park Pictures, Los Angeles Director: A.G. Rojas Director of Photography: Linus Sandgren Executive Producer: Mary Ann Marino Line Producer: Gabrielle Yuro
Editing House: Whitehouse Post, Los Angeles Editor: Shane Reid Assistant Editor: Keith Hamm Producer: Jonlyn Williams Executive Producer: Kristin Branstetter
Sound Design: 740 Sound Design, Los Angeles Sound Designer, Mixer: Rommel Molina Executive Producer: Kate Vadnais
End Animation: Mass Market, New York Executive Producer: Louisa Cartwright
Jerry Seinfeld has written eight new Acura commercials in collaboration with Boston ad agency Mullen as part of the brand's title sponsorship of his Web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. The faux-vintage spots—all eight are posted below—will bookend new episodes of the show, coming Jan. 2. They were directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and inspired by actual old car commercials from the '60s.
But while those old spots sound a bit ridiculous these days (Seinfeld ran actual vintage Acura ads as pre-roll on Comedians in Cars last season), these new ads are intentionally silly—playing off the old style but taking it in absurd directions.
Seinfeld spoke with AdFreak on Tuesday about the creative process behind the ads, his experience with Super Bowl spots and what he thought of Will Ferrell's Dodge work.
So, these are fun spots. This must have been an exciting project for you. You know, I have done a bit of advertising over the years. But I have never been given the creative freedom that I was given on these by Acura. They're gutsier than any other company I've ever worked with. Not that I've worked with that many, but I've worked with a few. Because this work, as you can see, is not like any other work that they've done. And usually—as you well know, being in the ad game—the clients tend to get nervous, especially when they're spending a lot of money. But [Acura marketing chief] Mike Accavitti, I've never seen a guy like this guy. Nerves of steel. It's pretty rare. But I think that's why they came out so good. I would give him all the credit.
Tell me about the creative process—how you worked with Mullen on these. Mullen and I sat in a room together. Now, we ran vintage Honda and Acura stuff from the '60s and '70s last season on Comedians in Cars. And everybody kind of enjoyed that. And I said, Yeah, I've looked at everything that exists of the old advertising, and I picked out all the good ones. And I don't have any more. And I thought, Why don't we make new old advertising … that's bad. Because that's what's fun. A lot of the lines are stuff we actually found. We would put our little spin on it.
A lot of the advertising in the old days focused on the size of the car. People felt that you were really getting your money's worth if the car had a big trunk. Which of course is something that no one cares about now. No one buys an SUV and goes, "Well, how big is the trunk?" Because they're all big.
So, it's about taking the old tropes and pushing them a little bit. Yes. And you know, to me, a lot of things have gotten worse that you could point to in our culture. A lot of advertising has gotten worse. I think it's kind of lost its nerve, to be honest with you. I feel like the advertising of the '60s, they were nervier. You know why? Because there was less at stake. It always worked. There were three networks. Everyone's going to see this. They're going to buy the car. And now, everyone's more nervous. Eyeballs are harder to get. And everyone's less inclined to take a risk.
You've seen those high stakes firsthand, having done Super Bowl ads for American Express and, of course, Acura. Yeah. I've done a number of Super Bowl ads. And that is the best advertising of the year. That is when people realize they're going to be compared directly against other ads.
What did you think of Will Ferrell's ads for Dodge? I like anything Will Ferrell does, so I was a fan of those. But it didn't seem to be a different type of car advertising. It seemed to be a different type of movie advertising. But different is always good.
So, you wrote a lot of the jokes for these Acura ads? I did. We just wanted to get that feeling of "Hot, handsome and a honey to handle." Nobody says things like that anymore. Or "The perfect car for the big-car man." And the "Yesterday, today and tomorrow" thing. I like the little tension between the spokesman and the spokeswoman, that we can see that they aren't quite getting along.
My favorite thing is: "MDX. Three letters that stand for 'Earth, style and you.' " That's just like, nobody read that over and went, "What do you mean? Why does it stand for that? The letters don't even match up to that. Why are we saying that?" So, it's also part of the drunken, lazy ad culture of the '60s.
Here's one of the odder celebrity-centric campaigns out there. FishLove, a British organization that advocates for sustainable fishing practices, has just launched its third annual photo campaign in which diverse stars pose nude with dead sea creatures. Draped in a conger eel, Gillian Anderson of X-Files fame is the headliner this year, though most of the stars will be relatively unknown to American audiences. The campaign was shot by photographer Denis Rouvre. It's hard to tell if the results are meant to be unappetizing, since the idea is to celebrate the love of seafood while supporting nondestructive harvesting, but the shots probably won't do much to further your craving for sushi or sex.
A year ago, State Farm released a wonderful commercial from agency Translation suggesting NBA star Chris Paul had a twin brother, Cliff, who happened to be a State Farm agent—because he was "born to assist." In April, agency and client released an amusing follow-up spot. And now, they're cleverly extending the campaign all the way into product design through a deal with Nike's Jordan Brand.
Yes, the Los Angeles Clippers star's Jordan CP3.VII sneaker is now available in an argyle design—inspired by Cliff, who is always seen in an argyle sweater in the State Farm spots. (The CP3.VII sneaker is also the first Jordan brand shoe with iD customization on the Nike website.) A new State Farm spot, posted below, shows Chris and Cliff brainstorming ideas to bring their fans together—and landing on the custom shoe idea. Paul, as always, is doubly great in the new ad playing both himself and his nerdy alter ego, even if the plot line of the new :30 isn't as magical as the two previous :60s.
"I am always amazed at how people have connected to Chris and Cliff," Paul said in a statement to AdFreak. "I enter an arena and people call out 'Where's your brother?' Working with State Farm and Jordan on the argyle customization of my new shoe adds another level of creativity to marketing both the shoe and State Farm."
State Farm marketing chief Tim Van Hoof said the argyle iD customizations are "an exciting and cool way to connect with NBA fans and increase our relevance within the NBA culture." And Translation creative director Emily Sander said the agency wanted to "dig deeper and give fans a culturally relevant way to own a piece of the story. … We found the perfect way to organically continue infusing State Farm into sports culture, while adding more dimension to the character and his story."
"Hear what you want" is the theme of this intense, nearly three-minute Beats by Dre spot starring Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Garnett, who's shown using the brand's wireless studio headphones to cancel out angry, often ugly catcalls from fans on game day. Haters viciously taunt him for being too old, at 37, to lead the team to a championship, and the racist epithet from a red-capped rowdy around the 55-second mark—he calls the power forward a "gorilla motherfucker"—is especially jarring. Aloe Blacc's uplifting, anthemic track "The Man" works well as a counterpoint, and the fact that Garnett and the Nets have stumbled badly out of the gate this season adds power and poignance. I'll be rooting for K.G. to tune out the static and make some noise the rest of the way.
UPDATE: R/GA did the creative on this, with Prettybird doing the production.
CREDITS Client: Beats by Dre Agency: R/GA Production Company: Prettybird Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors Editor: Damion Clayton
Honda loves Michael Bolton. Maybe even more than the Bobs, the doofus business consultants from Office Space, who really, really, love Michael Bolton.
The 60-year-old pop crooner—who has popped up in ads recently for brands like Optimum and Starburst—stars in the automaker's holiday campaign, called Happy Honda Days, because marketers also love bad puns. The short original songs Bolton belts out are characteristically saccharin, meant to capture the feeling of spiritual-love-ecstasy that some men of a certain age can only get from Bolton—and, the automaker would have you believe, anyone can get from buying a Honda.
The generally fantastical series wins points for poking fun at itself with melodramatic guitar solos and idiotic lyrical gems like "This special time of year, it's filled with joy and cheer, for me and you and you and you, too." Most realistic, though, are the dumbstruck stares of the relatively young buyers, whose sometimes ambiguous expressions seem to range from charmed to baffled to terrified to regretful (at least Honda didn't include him in the crash package it sent to that poor couple's wedding).
Still, if you're a sucker for punishment—or just want to torture your loved ones—Honda has arranged for Bolton to deliver season's greetings to the family and friends of people willing to tweet the hashtag #XOXOBolton. Because if you didn't want to buy a Honda already, maybe Bolton can sing you into submission. Plus, once you own the car, you can insist nobody ever play Michael Bolton in it again.
NBA stars are a festive bunch, with great timing to boot. They need both in the league's holiday campaigns. Last year, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Russell Westbrook and Joe Johnson impressively played the popular Christmas song "Carol of the Bells" just by bouncing basketballs (in a spot that soared to more than 8 million views). Now, here's the sequel—also from GS&P.
It stars Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, James Harden, Steve Nash and Stephen Curry shooting three-pointers at nets outfitted with Christmas bells—producing an even more impressive musical performance, this time of "Jingle Bells." LeBron James punctuates the song with a dunk at the end, then asks, "Please tell me the camera was on." It's a perfect spot.
Like last year's spot, this one promotes special-edition uniforms, available for sale, that 10 teams will wear on their Christmas Day games this year.
See a making-of video, plus credits, below.
CREDITS Client: NBA Spot: "Jingle Hoops"
Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Executive Creative Director: Jeff Goodby Creative Directors: Nick Klinkert, Adam Reeves Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Rus Chao Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Kevin Koller Producer: Benton Roman Executive Producer: Tod Puckett Director of Broadcast Production: Cindy Fluitt Account Directors: Jason Bedecarre, Janice McManemy Account Manager: Heather Morba Senior Business Affairs Manager: Julie Petruzzo
Production Company: O Positive Director: Jonathan Klein Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella Line Producer: Angie Revell Director of Photography: Eric Steelberg
Editing: Final Cut Editor: Matt Murphy Assistant Editors: Tara Wall, Nate Connella Producer: Suzy Ramirez Executive Producer: Saima Awan
As an actor, Christopher Walken can effortlessly stretch from insanely intense to intensely insane. The cooler end of his range comes into play in these darkly stylish spots by Copenhagen ad agency &Co. and director Martin Werner for Danish clothier Jack & Jones.
"Made From Cool" is the theme, and Walken portrays a weird tailor who goes about his clothes-making chores in strange, presumably supernatural fashion on impressive sets that recall Anton Furst's neo-Gothic vision of Gotham City. Check out the sheep's look of shear terror about eight seconds into the first spot below. Its expression seems to say: Holy crap, it's Christopher Walken!
Though famed for his voice, Walken doesn't utter a word. Perhaps he sewed his mouth shut by mistake. The Oscar winner's silence ratchets up the tension and enhances the hypnotic atmosphere. This dude's piercing, otherworldly gaze is just sick. My pants aren't ready? Whatever! Just get outta my head, freaky tailor!
Two premium meats—Kate Upton and Snoop Dogg—team up for this wildly ludicrous new music video for Hot Pockets, which humorously remixes Biz Markie's 1989 hit single "Just a Friend (You Got What I Need)" as "You Got What I Eat."
Lines like "I need your hot buttery crust" and "It's my premium meats that make your lips sing a song" are mixed in with lots of marijuana references and psychedelic imagery to produce a crispy finished product that's both fake and flavorful—just like Hot Pockets.
"I love working with the Hot Pockets sandwiches team," Snoop says in a statement. "They let me do what I do and bring the funk out with their message, you know? We needed to top [previous video] 'Pocket Like It's Hot,' and this video is so dope. It's funnier, and we got the flyest girl in it with me."
"I love the premium meats and the buttery seasoned crusts of the new Hot Pockets sandwiches," adds Upton. "I'm excited to hear which side the fans pick in this IRRESISTIBLY HOT™ battle!"
She's referring to a public vote being held at hotpockets.com pitting #TeamCrust against #TeamMeat in a battle to the death over which Pocket part is preferable.
Full lyrics below.
FULL LYRICS: One, two, three to the heat Stop counting sheep, And move your feet to the beat I bet you're wonderin' "Who are you?" The baker who made new HOT POCKETS come true Now let me give you an introduction To the Master Baker of this production You know he bakes here You know he bakes there He be baking all day I bake everywhere Wanna bake with me? Then come on in We light up taste buds From beginning to end My buttery seasoning so hip It drips Tastes so good Gotta lick your lips Smell my savory garlic but don't disturb The garden where I grow flavor-fantastic-al herbs …his flavor-fantastical herbs. – YOU… YOU Got What I Eeeeaaattt! You say you're just a baker But you're my HOT POCKETS maker
Oh baby, YOU… YOU Got What I Eeeeaaattt! You got the hot buttery crust I need your hot buttery crust – Hold up, hold up My friend's gotta beef with you Take a step back baker The Butcher's coming through I see you like the crust well I like it too But without my premium meats You got nothing to chew See I'm the Master Butcher And I bow down to zero Online they call me The 8-Bit hero I fly cross the land So my flocks are protected Try to come for my beef And ya gonna get rejected Cuz if you step to me Ya gonna get stuck As your head takes a buck From pepperoni nun-chucks He's got premium meats, The cream of the crop Welcome to my B.I.G.G. Butcher's shop…..ya heaarrdd – YOU… YOU Got What I Eeeeaaattt! You make the Steak and Cheese That brings me to my knees
Oh baby, YOU… YOU Got What I Eeeeaaattt! The flavor is so sweet You know how to spice that meat – Now I know the Butcher Likes to take credit for the show But there's a reason that my bakery Is rollin' in the dough Listen little baby Don't fall for the cuts It's the buttery crust That makes you want it so much
Don't listen to him, girl He's been baking too long It's my premium meats, that make your lips sing a song When that sauce heats up The pepperonis do the rest It's exactly why my new HOT POCKETS are the best – No no no… YOU, both Got What I Eeeeaaattt! I love your buttery crust But I love that meat just as much
Oh YOU… both Got What I Eeeeaaattt! You got all my hot treats You both make me complete
As we mentioned on Friday, Ferrell has filmed some spots for the Dodge Durango as his Anchorman character ahead of the release of Paramount Pictures' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Check out the first six spots below. The first few aired on TV this weekend, and Ferrell perfects the role of comically idiotic pitchman—with help from a roomy glove box and a "worthless" horse. The ballroom spots will premiere tonight on Dancing With the Stars.
Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., worked with Funny or Die writers on the scripts. FoD's production arm, Gifted Youth, which also produced Ferrell's famously offbeat Old Milwaukee ads, teamed with Caviar to co-produce this work. This is just the beginning, too. Chrysler chief marketing officer Olivier Francois told the ANA Masters of Marketing conference in Phoenix on Friday that this is "just a little appetizer," and that Chrysler was producing another 67 videos for the Web. "It's massive," he said.
CREDITS Client: Dodge Durango
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore. Creative Directors: Aaron Allen, Kevin Jones, Michael Tabtabai Copywriter: Mike Egan Art Director: John Dwight Interactive Art Director: Chuck Carlson Producer: Monica Ranes Account Team: Kyleen Caley, Lani Reichenbach Business Affairs Manager: Dusty Slowik Executive Producer: Corey Bartha Executive Creative Directors: Joe Staples, Susan Hoffman Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Co-Writing Company: Funny or Die
Production Companies: The Gifted Youth, Caviar Director: Jake Syzmanski Executive Producers (Gifted Youth): Chris Bruss, Dal Wolf, Josh Martin, Ryan McNeely Executive Producers (Caviar): Jasper Thomlinson, Michael Sagol Line Producer: Stephan Mohammed Director of Photography: Tim Hudson
Editing Company: Arcade Editor: Geoff Hounsell Post Producer: Leslie Carthy Post Executive Producer: Nicole Visram
Visual Effects Company: Method Visual Effects Supervisor: Ben Walsh Lead Flame Artist: Claus Hansen Visual Effects Producer: Colin Clarry Executive Producer: Robert Owens Titles, Graphics: Trailer Park, W+K Motion
Color Correction: Company 3 Colorist: Dave Hussey DI Producer: Denise Brown
Song: “Grazing in The Grass,” The Friends of Distinction
Mix Company: Barking Owl Mixer: Brock Babcock Producer: Kelly Bayett
Keyboard Cat, Snoop, Psy, the Winklevoss twins and Snooki were all in on the joke. Can the same be said for Dennis Rodman and the Prancercise lady? Oh sure, it's just the Wonderful Pistachios campaign revving up another round of zeitgeist-tapping absurdity. There's no apparent end to the reality-TV, pop-culture, animated and sports figures who will make themselves available for these ads. In fact, if this marketer doesn't ask how or why you do it—eat pistachios, that is—then you must not be very important. Rodman? He does it "because he's nuts," says the newest spot, in which the former NBA player turned diplomat appears with a less doughy version of Kim Jong-un (a look-alike) to hawk the healthy snack. And the Prancercise lady? Who can get enough of her spindly, energetic dancing? Next, somebody will have to twerk.
McDonald's and Burrell Communications update a classic Super Bowl spot from 1993, pitting Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens and Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers, the opposing quarterbacks from the big game in February, against each other in a contest for the chain's Mighty Wings. Their competition features improbable passes through distant goalposts. First one to miss watches the winner eat.
The original commercial starred Larry Bird and Michael Jordan playing a game of Horse for a Big Mac. Their increasingly crazy contest took them from a basketball arena to the top of Chicago's Sears Tower as Jordan called a fantastical shot: "Off the expressway, over the river, off the billboard, through the window, off the wall …"
That tale was self-contained, and fittingly, there was no winner, giving the impression that the two titans would battle for all eternity, ultimately bouncing balls off the moon and stars in their quest for a burger. (Luckily, McDonald's food would still be in decent condition no matter how long they played.) The reboot has two parts. The first 30-second installment (posted below) breaks on TV tonight and ends on a cliffhanger, as a power failure throws the quarterbacks into darkness—"Oh man, not again!"—and someone apparently tries to make off with their box of wings. Who could it be? Jordan and/or Bird? Tim Tebow? Miley Cyrus? (OK, we know it's not Tebow.) The revelation comes in Part 2, set to air Oct. 6.
Marlena Peleo-Lazar, chief creative officer at McDonald's USA, calls the remake "a fresh take on an idea our customers have loved, but in a sport they haven't seen us do it with." That's all well and good, and the effort is certainly getting buzz. Still, a remake with stars from a different sport was hardly necessary. And regardless of the big reveal, and even with original director Joe Pytka behind the camera, it was doomed to pale by comparison with the original commercial.
Don't get me wrong. The new ad is well-made and amusing … but Bird and Jordan, in this context, cannot be replaced. They were more than great athletes. They were transcendent figures who helped define the popular culture of their generation. Flacco and Kaepernick are gifted on-field performers, and seem like nice enough guys, but they lack the stature and quite frankly, the charisma of their predecessors. The 1993 spot felt right because you really could picture Larry and Michael playing a little one-on-one for their personal edification, sans cameras, ribbing each other for each missed shot. Flacco and Kaepernick, well, I guess they'd have a throwing contest if McDonald's paid them lots of money to do it in a commercial.
Plus, the blackout, echoing the one that stopped Super Bowl XLVII for 30 minutes, and the "To be continued" aspect feel like cutesy gimmicks added to compensate for the new spot's inability to match up to its inspiration.
If Bird and Jordan don't make an encore appearance in Part 2, it would be disappointing, because that's what the setup demands. If they do, it could seem pat and predictable. The original was nothing but net. So far, the remake feels like an incomplete pass.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
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