72 posts tagged “commercial”

I somehow think there are fewer big car stunts tonight on Alarm für Cobra 11: die Autobahnpolizei. At 8.15 p.m. on RTL. Looks more like an episode of Water Rats.

I stumbled across this TVC by accident. It was Norwich Union renaming itself Aviva late last year, and features Bruce Willis, Elle Macpherson, Alice Cooper and Ringo Starr. The idea was that each of these celebrities changed their name before they became famous.
   I am not sure if the first two qualify: the first was born Walter Bruce Willis and from what I can tell, was just known as Bruce. I’ve a few friends in the same boat, where their families called them by their middle names. Elle Macpherson might have been Eleanor Gow, but Elle is a reasonable shortening of Eleanor, and Macpherson was her stepfather’s surname.
   Alice Cooper was indeed Vincent Furnier and Ringo Starr was Richard Starkey.
   I imagine Elton John, Cliff Richard and Michael Caine weren’t available.

A pity that John Hillerman is still putting on his English accent and Magnum, PI Higgins persona in this 1989 TVC. I expected to hear his original Texan drawl.

Carrying on from a post that Jaklumen made on his blog, I went to look for the Lucy Lawless-headed Greenpeace campaign to reduce emissions. This is Lucy Lawless as Lucy Lawless, and her accent has changed a great deal since I saw her in the Shark in the Park episode ‘Double or Quits’. It has Americanized slightly, which is no surprise since she is married to an American and has a home in LA.

This series of Alarm für Cobra 11 seems to have Semir and Ben going undercover more. Last week’s 200th episode took them on to water and off-road, rather than on the Autobahn, while here’s next week’s preview:

As long as I can have my car chases and eye-popping Euro stunts, I really don’t mind …

Darn it, Selma Blair has a heck of a great voice.

Looks like I finally got in to compose on Vox after an hour. I’ve tried proxy servers, and the site is slow through there, too.
   The latest series, starting next week, of Alarm für Cobra 11: die Autobahnpolizei looks really good. First up is a compilation of TV promos on RTL:

Although my most recent flight was Air New Zealand, when flying the Virgin affiliate out this way, Pacific Blue, you get to see some cool things. You are not sheltered with those poncy air bridges that the wimps use. It’s down the stairs and out on the tarmac—where I spotted this sign:

   If you run out of aprons at the airport, you need to activate the alarm. Very important. They take cooking really seriously there, even if airline food sucks.
   Or does it? Air New Zealand has heralded the return of the vegetarian chips! These were last served domestically on Qantas flights in 2003 and when I told that to the crew today, I was given three bags! Go Air New Zealand! (Yes, I was bribed with three bags of chips.)
   The distracting thing was that the safety announcements are now done in the nude on this airline. Before you get excited, it’s a video, the crew members are wearing body paint, and there is nothing revealing. The issue is you are getting the same sort of laugh you would with those gags in, say, the Austin Powers movies, where you wonder how they are going to cover various body parts up. It ties in to a campaign they are running: And in fact, you can see this for yourself (the blonde stewardess served us today, clothed): I warned her that if they ever heard the acronym NIFOC from the cockpit, then they might not want to go in. I said it stood for Naked In Front of the Cockpit, which isn’t exactly true—I learned the expression from a nudist I knew many years ago (the C stands for computer).
   But the point is I paid no attention to what they said, which defeats the purpose of the safety video.
   Finally, here’s a curiosity which I think should go on to Font Police: No, it’s not the use of “dumb quotes” that has me concerned, but why is it in quotes anyway? It’s like Christchurch Airport doesn’t mean it, and that they are merely quoting something someone else has said. Disappointingly, it is in Frutiger, which means instant anonymity as far as airports are concerned. Of airport signage, this is actually stranger than the apron emergency.

There’s a thread on Facebook on a New Zealand group, on the topic of advertising that we still quote. I volunteered this list:

Schweppes: ‘Alone Again, Naturally’; and Doris (drag queen)
2ZM (Wellington): ‘Fun, fun, fun in the big city’ (1978)
Territorial Part-Time Soldiers: done to the theme of ‘Born to Be Wild’
L. V. Martin & Son: Alan Martin
Ches & Dale (in colour!)
John Walker selling Fresh-up: ‘It’s got to be good for you’
Suzanne Prentice: ‘It’s cheaper, cheaper, cheaper at Wardell’s’
Leyland Princess 2: ‘It’s a triumph’
TV2: ‘Bringing the world to you / On 2’
Lands for Bags (of course)
AA Mutual: ‘Double-A-M-U-T-U-A-L / We’ll make sure you’re OK’
Sports and Recreation: ‘Try it now, do it more, things you’ve never done before’
Swim safety PSA with that guy from MASH
Fire safety PSA with Dick van Dyke (obviously made in the US and reused here)
And the karate ladies from Cut Price Stores (the real discounters)—‘Grocery prices must come down!’

And can add that ‘Bushell’s instant coffee puts the life in you.’ I still have a few of the above on video cassette, but, sadly, I cannot find them on YouTube.
   Any other Kiwis want to volunteer some memories?

There was quite a bit of buzz with the Ford Puma TVC in 1997, which used visual effects to bring Steve McQueen back to life, driving the newer car. The original footage and music are from Bullitt, and a body double was used in some shots, with McQueen’s face mapped on to him. I read some of the YouTube comments and they were quite critical, saying McQueen would never have driven this car, but I beg to differ. Plus, it was done with the permission of Steve McQueen’s children.

   The director even got asked, ‘What was it like to work with him?’ by people who did not realize that, by that time, Steve McQueen had been dead for some 16 years.
   I was very surprised to see Ford used a similar idea when selling the 2005 Mustang a few years ago. Maybe it’s because I knew of the Puma ad for such a long time that this newer one seems less clever. Make a track in your field and dead people will begin emerging. And take your car.