Thursday, March 21, 2013

Huzzah!

The project I've been up too late working on this week: my attempt at a Jerod Gibson poster. Thanks to everyone who gave me an AD quote.


Also, please take the time to "like" and "follow" this blog. And if you have time, "read" it as well.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Thoughts on Super Bowl Ads, By an Eastern European


For my first post of the year, I decided to enlist the help of my roommate, Vladam. For those of you who don't know him, Vladam is from Livonia, a tiny European country which was the final member of the Eastern Bloc to end Communist rule last April. Since then, Livonia has peacefully transitioned into a democratically run landfill.

The Livonia Presidential Palace/Cardboard Heap
To help him assimilate to American culture, Vladam and I watched the most popular commercials from this years Super Bowl, and I asked for his take on them.


Ram Trucks - "God Made a Farmer"

Vladam's first impression, upon hearing the low quality audio and old farm photos, was that the commercial was from something called the Government Commune Directorate. When I told him that no such agency exists in the U.S., and it was really for pick-up trucks, he asked, "You mean is for bus for Mexicans, no? Why no Mexicans in television Polaroids?" I have to admit, he had a good point.


Budweiser - Clydesdale

Things got a bit awkward during this commercial when Vladam started crying.
"It reminds me of my horse, Peter Capitalism-Stomper. We must see this film, yeah? I am most fond of love stories." I expected him to be upset when I told him it was an ad for beer, but he happily exclaimed, "Americans venerate horses and beer too? We did win Cold War!"


Taco Bell - "Viva Young"

Vladam: "How did Mexican food scientists perfect technology to invigorate elderly so quickly? Cocoon only arrived in Livonian cinema houses this year!"


Got Milk? - "Morning Run"

When Vladam asked me what happened in this spot, I didn't know how to explain it. I still don't know how. Seriously, how would you explain this to somebody, let alone somebody from a foreign culture? I don't think Vladam would believe me if I told him that in America there are huge ad campaigns for milk, and this is a typical example.


GoDaddy.com - "Big Kiss"

I spent 20 minutes trying to convince Vladam that Go Daddy is a web hosting company, and not an escort service. He didn't believe me, and spent another 20 minutes on GoDaddy.com searching for Bar Refaeli's phone number.


Kia - "Space Babies"

Vladam was pretty let down after the Go Daddy incident, so I didn't have the heart to tell him this Kia commercial wasn't, as he thought, for a History Channel documentary on his country's space program. Apparently, the Livonian people are extremely proud of being the first nation to have sent a bear and a human infant into orbit.