Sometimes commercials are the best part of TV.
December 22, 2011 Leave a comment
The Joshy Grammy Award: Best music in a commercial. These were good ads to start with, but the music took them over the top.
Winner: Buick LaCrosse’s “Garage” featuring “Stars” by Girls Love Shoes
Dashboard looks very nice, voiceover is smooth and informative, and the commercial is stylish all around. But man, the song bumps. “Stars” has been near the top of my Spotify most-played list for a few months now.
Honorable mention: Captain Morgan’s “Ride Home” featuring “The Passenger” by Iggy Pop
Festive, fun, and catchy are a good combination…especially for a summer commercial.
The WTF? Award: The commercials that I watched numerous times to figure out what just happened.
Winner: Old Spice’s Fabio campaign
Bizarre, and didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Apparently Old Spice then had a battle between Fabio and The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, but by that point I stopped paying attention.
Honorable mention: Walmart’s “Yodeling Cat”
The “Yodeling Cat” is creepy and weird. The original is only on YouTube, but clips of it have been used for a current Walmart TV commercial.
The Wild Cards: These commercials didn’t really fit into any of my categories, but they still deserve recognition.
State Farm’s “Empire State of Mind”
Directed by Spike Lee, this would be a strong contender for commercial of the year. Stirring, powerful, and both solemn and triumphant.
Nissan Frontier’s “Landing Gear” and Hyundai Elantra’s “Fog and Smog”
I thought these were both stupid ads, but they were this year’s #1 and #2 posts on my blog, in terms of views and comments.
Well, that’s the conclusion of The 2011 Joshys. Hope you enjoyed it! I’m going to be heading to New York City through New Year’s, so I’ll try to update occasionally, but it won’t be as often.
July 1, 2011 Leave a comment
People always want to know about commercial tunes, so I think I’ll make this a weekly feature. What’s That Song? Fridays.
Artist: Iggy Pop, Song: “The Passenger”
Love it. One of my favorite current commercials. Drinking Captain Morgan is fun. Being a pirate is also fun, especially when it’s the romanticized type with spontaneous wench-filled parties on the high seas. A great choice of song complements this ad. Though as we learned from that South Park episode, real piracy isn’t such a good time.
Artist: Run DMC, Song: “It’s Like That”
Artist: The Knocks, Song: “Make It Better”
Another sweet summer commercial. More than drinking Corona Light, this ad really makes me want to go to a rooftop party. I really like the cinematography too…the skyline at night just pops.
Artist: Real McCoy, Song: “Another Night”
Lest ye think of me as some kind of drunk, I’ll include a non-alcohol advertisement. Though truthfully, the posts about alcohol commercials always get the most views on my blog. Anyway, this spot for Farmers Insurance is pretty amusing. And the song is a cheesy ’90s classic.
