Sometimes commercials are the best part of TV.
December 30, 2011 6 Comments
In October, I wrote a post about a certain Nissan Frontier ad. You know, the one where it helps land a plane. It became one of my top-viewed entries, and I still see people searching whether or not it’s real. Which is funny, because it so obviously is fake. Here’s another Nissan Frontier commercial…and this time, it’s snowboarding. Why? Just because. Oh, and this one isn’t real either.
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.
October 6, 2011 14 Comments
Yeah…I’m sure it’s JUST like that. And despite the helpful “Fictionalization. Do not attempt” warning on this Nissan Frontier spot, I’m sure someone will try it, and probably die as a result. Though how badass would that be if it actually happened and you saw it?
Bonus video: “Interviews” with those who witnessed and were involved in this crazy fictional event.
AND another “over the top” commercial for the Nissan Frontier.
September 5, 2011 Leave a comment
Artist: LMFAO, Song: “Party Rock Anthem”
If you pay attention to popular music, you probably know this song, seeing as that it was #1 for 6 weeks earlier in the summer. But I don’t really follow the top 40 anymore, so I just found out about it. Both the commercial and song are somewhat weird, but this ad for the Kia Soul definitely stands out.
Artist: Foster the People, Song: “Don’t Stop”
Another car commercial with a recent breakout artist. Foster the People is perhaps best known for their great song “Pumped Up Kicks”, a sleeper hit that’s climbed the charts to a current peak of #3. This ad taught me that the Nissan Versa has the most headroom per dollar, even if you have a goofy haircut or hat.
Artist: Josh Ritter, Song: “Change of Time”
Getting psyched for the NFL? This is a nice song, but it doesn’t exactly feel like a football song. Though I guess the sentimentality of the tune does fit the overall tone of the ad.
