If We Spelled Things Differently, Would You Give Us the Good Commercials?
Yesterday, Scott alerted me to the new Bravia commercial from Sony.
It’s stunning. Perhaps not as stunning as the superball ad, but still spectacular in its own right.
And yet, as dazzling as these ads are, I have to admit to being more than a little bothered by them. More specifically, I’m bothered by the fact that neither of these ads aired or will air in the United States. Instead, we get the vapid Bravia ads that I saw probably four times tonight. I feel like they had something to do with Peyton Manning buying shoes, but I’m admittedly a little hazy on the plot.
Apparently, the idea that a television has breathtaking color must not have tested well in the US market. I’m left to assume that what did test well was appealing to base gender stereotypes. Which will somehow make me want to buy a television.
Rumor has it that the US ads are part of some grand scheme to keep people from zipping past their commercials with a DVR, so there’s some extra fanciness for the Tivo crowd.
Tell you what, Sony. You want people to stop what they’re doing and watch your commercials? Try blowing 70,000 litres of paint out of a building. Or launch a quarter of a million superballs down a hill.
What’s that? You say you did both of those things? That’s great!
Then show it to me, already. I promise I won’t look away.