More Commercial Fun

Let's have some fun.

You know how much I love a good TV commercial - it's an art form I really appreciate. I am even more greatly impressed when good/clever commercials are combined with really good music. Sometimes though, the producers get a little too clever for their own good: The music dominates and I don't even remember what the commercial was about. Like that Saab commercial from some years ago that used Donovan's "Catch The Wind."

Such is the case with our first example, a commercial for a company called Trex that apparently makes outdoor decking - although it's a little hard to tell.



Wait...what was this for? The first time I saw this awesome commercial I was literally gobsmacked (a phrase my friend Hal Johnson dislikes). But I was. The music and images are so cool- I stared at the screen transfixed. I completely missed the "Trex" logos, which only show twice (and only briefly). The song is timeless. Is it new? It took a bit of internet searching before I found that it's a Mel Torme song from 1962...Mel friggin' Torme! Are you kidding me? Nice going, Trex! It works. (Oh and by the way, I'm pleased that Trex did not take the obvious route and go with a song from the '70s band, T Rex. That would have been too easy. And wrong.)

Then there is Chevy's commercial for their Sonic model. This spot first appeared during the 2011 Super Bowl. The commercial has the Sonic doing some...odd...things for a car: Skydiving; bungee jumping; and doing a "kickflip" (which where a skateboarder jumps up with his board and flips it underneath him). What's hilarious about this commercial is that the captions note things like "Sonic's first skydive," etc. Umm, first skydive?? First kickflip?? As if they anticipate some else skydiving their Sonic? (Oh, and I love the Chevy emblem on the bottom of the car which is visible only when the Sonic is upside down.)



The song used as a soundtrack in the Sonic commercial is called "We Are Young" by he band Fun. At the time of the Super Bowl, the song was just a cut on an album of an unknown band. It is just now, three months later in heavy rotation on Alternative Music radio stations.

But the absolute best commercial I've seen recently is for the new Ford Mustang. The premise of the spot is that we all have parts of ourselves that the Mustang would bring out: Your "inner Mustang" according to Ford. It's a really clever commercial. The car prowls around town interacting with certain people who view it and then transforming itself. Watch!



There are so many things I love about this spot. First and foremost is the Mustang itself! I haven't really been fond of the "re-imagined" musclecars that have come out lately (e.g. Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger), but the Mustang (which never left) kicks ass! What a good-looking car! The commercial shows it from its best angles. And in that commercial I especially like how the sequential turn signals are timed to the beat of the music - you barely notice unless you're looking for it. And that music! The song is called "How It Starts" from an album released last year by a band called The Features. And it fits the spot perfectly. (Watch at the end for the reflection of the little girl in the pink ballerina outfit in the Mustang's windows. I love it!)

Hands down, the commercial for the 2013 Mustang may be the best commercial of the year. But I'll tell ya, that Chevy Sonic commercial and the one for Trex decking are right up there. If only ALL television commercials were as good as these three.