The Wastebucket : halo 3

The Top TV Commercials of the Decade

Raikus — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:10:00 GMT

Adweek recently came out with their "Best of the Decade" list which included a "Commercials of the Decade" section. Watching some of these brought back some great memories. As a former advertising creative myself, I've always paid attention to the best and funniest TV spots. Here are some of the highlights from the Adweek list.

Honda - "Grrr"

This Honda spot was voted the best commercial of the decade (non-superbowl) by the people of Adweek. "Grrr" is a beautiful spot with some great music and CGI effect. And it's all about the product with the message running behind the scene throughout the spot. Still, I personally wouldn't have given it the number one spot. There's even another Honda commercial -- "Cog" -- that I'd put ahead of it.

Bud Light - "Swear Jar"

"Swear Jar" was voted the number one spot by Adweek readers for commercial of the decade. It's a very funny spot that takes a scenario and focuses -- like nearly all Bud Light commercials -- on the product itself. The setting is what works here. To think of your coworkers laying down language like this and it being sanctioned by management to cover the cost of some Bud Light makes it all the funnier.

Phillips - "Carousel"

In a close second (and by "close" I mean one vote), the readers voted in Phillips's "Carousel" spot. "Carousel" is a brutal and imaginative work that shows a police/bank robber shootout frozen in time. Not all is as it seems though, and the revolving shot circles back to tell a story with a great twist. It's almost early M. Night Shyamalan-esque.

Cadbury - "Gorilla"

"Gorilla" is one of my personal favorites. It's a masterful blend of music, visuals and hilarity. Using Phil Collin's "In the Air Tonight," the spot opens on closeups of a calm but intense gorilla. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but the moment the camera pans back to reveal what the gorilla is doing you'll start chuckling. Then the guffaws will start flying as the drumming kicks in.

Dove - "Evolution"

They say that the point of advertising is to tell the truth -- just not the whole truth. Well this Dove "Evolution" must not have heard the last part. There's no gimmicks to this one. It simply shows what the process from real to marketing entails and it's shocking. The point of the spot is simple: show young girls that what they see on TV and billboards is unrealistic and that their beauty is a true one.

Nike - "Tag"

One of the first "urban playground" spots for Nike, "Tag" still ranks as the best one out there. The sheer scope of the shot and teamwork involved to bring the idea together is staggering. Just to entertain for a moment that a place like NYC could be turned into one big playground with everyone abiding by the same set of game rules makes you feel good. And that's exactly what Nike likes to go after -- feelings.

Honda - "Cog"

As I mentioned before, "Grrr" may have been given the "Best Commercial of the Decade" trophy, but I still believe this Honda spot is a better one. "Cog" had a simple idea, but the simplicity began and ended there. They wanted to make a Rube Goldberg type of spot using parts from the new Honda Accord. Forgoing convention and logic, the makers didn't do it with CGI or camera tricks -- they actually did it! It took two days before the perfect one camera shot turned out, but when it did it make an immortal commercial. People will still be talking about this one decades from now.

Halo 3 - "Diorama"

Halo 3's "Diorama" spot is just about as rare as it gets. It's a commercial about a video game that uses no shots from the game itself. It is completely motionless (aside from the end). Heck, it even transfers into another medium (that of sculpture). And perhaps most impressive of all is that this spot about a fictional video game with space aliens and super-soldiers actually makes you feel emotion. It's an amazing accomplishment and an amazing commercial.

Reebok - "Terry Tate"

As far as corporate motivational idea go having an office linebacker ranks high up there. As the "Terry Tate" commercial shows, any prolonged break or absence of cover sheet on your TPS report can be met with some hard NFL justice. And it seems to work. After all, I doubt Doug will be placing any long distance calls with LB Tate on the prowl.

Levi's - "Crazy Legs"

What would a top commercials post be without a Levi entry? To be fair, I struggled with this one and debated on putting "French Dictionary" (known for its excellent use of "Playground Love") or the wall-breaking "Odyssey." But in the end "Crazy Legs" won out due to its appeal to most everyone. The commercial, which was filmed using a top half actor and bottom half actor has a great use of music and scenery. Not to mention the guy sure beats the pants off that Evolution of Dance guy.

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Well there's my thoughts on the best commercials of this decade. Do you think I missed some? Have a few suggestions that didn't make the list? Feel free to comment below and let me know.

All Around Me are Familiar Faces...

Raikus — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:20:00 GMT

What had the largest opening week in the history of entertainment media?

I know. Easy question. After all, it just happened and everyone is still talking about it. Few, if any, people I know haven't seen it. It had everything an audience would want -- great acting, action scenes that just don't seem to let up, villains with quirky accents and mean senses of humor, and a great storyline. And what's the answer to my original question? Say it with me...

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Huh? What does Grand Theft Auto IV have to do with The Dark Knight? Not to much really. I guess if you were to draw parallels then you could say the Dark Knight, whose opening week is the #1 box office gross in the HISTORY of cinema earning $238,615,211 and some odd change, is almost half of what Grand Theft Auto IV made in it's first week of sales.

It's long been a misconception that Hollywood is the premiere earner in the entertainment category. Actually, for a while now, it's been video games. Halo 3's opening week took in roughly $300 million. Even Madden '07 made $100 million it's first week. It seems that video games are starting to become the sure thing for entertainment media.

So it's rather surprising that advertising for the largest "media money makers" (TM coming!) is relatively sparse when compared to the silver screen, DVDs or even music. They're starting to pop up more frequently now -- and not just on stations like Cartoon Network or Network Saturday morning programming. Lately there have been quite a few spots for video games. Not surprising based on the facts, but what is surprising is that they're... well, they're really, really good! Good commercials are about as rare as finding a mounted brigade of Leprechauns atop unicorns. These commercials seem to have unlocked the secret to tapping right into the heart of their target audience. The secret is "music".

There are three commercials for video games that I think are just perfect:
Halo 3 "Believe" spot:
Visit the site to see the media.
Mercenaries 2 "Oh No You Didn't!":
Visit the site to see the media.
and Gears of War "Mad World":
Visit the site to see the media.

Each one of these spots makes excellent use of the accompanying music. The "Believe" spot in itself is a masterpiece. The odd thing about it is that it doesn't show one frame of game footage. Instead they took the story and characters of the game and transformed it into another medium -- that of a diorama. It's wonderfully done. You see this fictional moment in time where humans are fighting alien hordes. They're yelling, in shock, some are running, others fighting, but each face is telling us a story that words couldn't. The battle doesn't seem to be going in our favor. The aliens are bigger, there's many more of them, and they're holding our hero up as a trophy. The hero -- lifeless, broken, defeated -- holds one last chance for victory in his hand. There is hope yet.

Did this spot just convey... emotion? Emotion for a video game? Yes, it really did. The backbone of this spot is the piano -- simplistic and dire -- that starts off dreary before building into a stronger melody of hope. The visuals drive the story, but the music is what lays the tracks and determines where the viewer will go. I haven't seen a commercial that has prompted such feelings in a very long time.

Mercenaries 2 wields the typical weapon of "good" commercials -- comedy. The song is fun, playful and irreverent. It tells the story and let's the visuals back it up. That's not to say the visuals are secondary eye candy though. Everything is shot in green and textures like the engraving plates that make up the good ol' buckskin. It tells you that this game is going to be fun, full of revenge, and that you get to blow a lot of crap up. Repeatedly. The commercial is in perfect touch with what it represents. I doubt few people would buy this game and not get what they were expecting after viewing this spot.

Finally we have the Gears of War commercial with Gary Jules haunting "Mad World." The spot itself is well done and touching, but it's a combination of two media that don't necessarily mesh. "Mad World" is probably most famous for being in Donny Darko. The song itself casts an air of depression and remorse. It's used the same way in the movie as it is in the spot. The visuals are great. They show you a world destroyed and man fighting against overwhelming odds. Something not all that original, but very well done. I especially appreciate the lack of any "in game" sound effects. The action is entirely mute against the backdrop of the song. It's not a perfect fit, but the quality is certainly that of a great commercial.

I hope that video game commercials keep this trend up. I love to see well done spots, regardless of what they're selling.