Chrysler Super Bowl Ad Photoshops Out Pro-Union Wisconsin Rally Signs
Chrysler’s America’s second half clip was the centerpiece of Super Bowl advertising on Sunday. Clint Eastwood praises the resilience of the Detroit auto companies and tells us that Americans are hanging tough, not backing down, and hitting the streets to stand up and shape the future. The ad features footage of this past year’s actual events in Wisconsin, but look closely, and you’ll see that the meaning has been altered — signs have been scrubbed, the real messages replaced with alarm clock graphics and the generic phrase “Think of Our Children”. Via Huffington Post:
The highly-praised spot, which features Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood narrating over a collage of images that includes broken towns and factory workers, includes a short clip from videographer Matthew Wisniewski’s montage of the protests over a budget repair bill in Madison, Wisconsin last February. The original clip that Chrysler used from Wisniewski’s video features protestors marching in front of the…
Vladimir Putin Ad Shows Couple Having Sex In Voting Booth
Putin pushes the envelope, and points the way towards the future of political campaigning, by making pulling the voting lever seem to be some sort of sex act. Via Politico:
In a new ad for Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party, the weirdness of that country’s fake democracy is on full display.
The ad conflates voting and sex in a way that makes no sense but has great production values and a compelling beat. The slogan: “Let’s do it together.”
Sharpie Advertisement’s Subliminal Message: ‘Stop Protesting’
In this youth-targeted television spot celebrating “self expression” and “putting it out there”, teens make their voices heard by creating art, decorating and personalizing their skateboards and guitars. But the most intriguing moment is the quick cut midway through showing kids demonstrating and waving a colorful banner (created with their new Sharpie markers) which reads, “Stop Protesting!”
Is it just a throwaway gag from an irreverent commercial? Or a perfect example of how corporations attempt to de-claw youthful unrest by channeling it into consumerism?
The Lost Ads of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” Of Yesteryear
The first Peanuts TV special followed six years of animated advertisements selling Ford motor cars, and originally, even “A Charlie Brown Christmas” featured two scenes advertising Coca-Cola!
One of the deleted scenes still appears in a YouTube video, which shows Snoopy tossing Linus into a sign which reads “Danger.” (According to Wikipedia, that sign originally read: “Coca-Cola” — and the hymn at the end of the program was interrupted by a voice-over thanking “the people in your town who bottle Coca Cola.”)
Maybe “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was ultimately the cartoonist’s own silent protest against the commercialization of his work…
Vote For Pamela Gorman Or Get Shot
The message of this television spot for Pamela Gorman, running for a seat in Arizona’s state congress, seems to be, “Vote for me, or I’ll shoot you.” It actually seems like an imitation of militia/Al-Qaeda training videos, but with more puns thrown in — she has my vote.
Super Bowl To Feature Pro-Life Ads
AFP reports that the Super Bowl on Sunday will include commercials from venomous conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family. The spots star Heisman Trophy-winning college quarterback Tim Tebow discussing the amorality of abortion.
CBS is supposed to have a ban on advocacy commercials during the Super Bowl. The below ad, produced by the United Church of Christ, was previously rejected for its message of tolerance of gays…but in tough economic times, you take all the ad money you can get.
Why Those Hamburgers You See On TV Look So Damn Good…
A segment from the 1990 series, “Buy Me That: Kids and Advertising”, created by HBO in a collaboration with Consumer Reports Television. In this clip, we’ll meet a “makeup artist for food” who surprises us all with this behind-the-scenes look at how burgers (and fries) are made to look their best for television…
