Bad Movie Logo
"A website to the detriment of good film"
Custom Search
HOMEB-MOVIE REVIEWSREADER REVIEWSFORUMINTERVIEWSUPDATESABOUT
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
March 19, 2024, 03:07:00 AM
712924 Posts in 53040 Topics by 7722 Members
Latest Member: GenevaBarr
Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Bad Movies  |  OT: Chevy Cobalt commercial « previous next »
Pages: [1]
Author Topic: OT: Chevy Cobalt commercial  (Read 2093 times)
Scott H.
Guest
« on: March 12, 2005, 12:53:35 PM »

Here is an e-mail I recently sent to Chevrolet Motor Company concerning a recent commercial they have been airing about the Cobalt, a new coupe/sedan they have begun to market. If you haven't seen the commercial, it involves cars bouncing a ball between themselves. The name at the end is my alter-ego....oops, I mean, my cousin's alter-ego.

Regarding your Chevy Cobalt car commercial,

Considering data collected from a broad range of people I have questioned, your Chevy Cobalt commercial is irritating, ineffectual, and trite. The lack of an appeasing soundtrack coupled with a childishly played out game of ball with a lack of directorial control over the actions of the cars, coupled with an inconsistent unfolding of events and absolute lack of any knowledge of physics has left an acrid taste in the mouths of those who view your commercial.

It appears there is an attempt at creating a character for each car, however the attempt falls short. Not only are the car motions short and irregular, they tell me nothing of the features of your cars. As the ball bounces between the cars, all that is shown is forward, reverse, and a car door opening. I yield to the fact that they perform other actions such as slides and the likes, however it is not where the action of the commercial should lay. In a car commercial such as this where an object other than the car takes the spotlight, the object should be used to highlight the car and make an example of it's abilities, not detract from them. Likewise, the plot of the cars that shows their actions in relation to each other is contrived and hard to watch. A general lack of care to the actions on screen was felt by all who were questioned. The cars did not interact with each other in an interesting manner. As they passed the ball to each other, their movements did not flow, nor did they comply to any simple law of physics. Continuity with the ball from car to car was nearly nonexistent. Direction, bounce, and velocity were inconsistent. Even at the end where the ball rolls back down the parking garage entrance/exit after the cars have given up is lame and uncompelling. What humor lies in it? If whimsy was trying to be achieved in this commercial by showing child-like motions in cars, it was lost.

Most detested of all aspects of your commercial is the soundtrack. The annoying sound of a Casio keyboard sounding guitar riff layered with "Hey!'s" and no discernible bass line drives me to make an effort to turn off the television when your commercial airs. Others agree the agitating music subtracts from the commercial and all comment that an alternate soundtrack would make the commercial more bearable. (by the way, your first choice of music, "Woo-Hoo" by the 5-6-7-8's is equally as bad considering the commercial's execution). I cannot stress enough how irritating the music to this commercial is. A suggestion would be to drop the whole "Hey!" segment of the song, and actually USE SOME OF THE WORDS. The Yardbirds are a great band, play great music, and sing great songs. Clapton's riff is acceptable, though not his best, and certainly only in moderation. It is not good enough to hold up on its own in a commercial that cannot support it, and trying to force it only shows an utter lack of style. The party/parties responsible for the creation of this commercial should not be allowed to make any more. This commercial has turned me off of the Chevrolet Motor Company in general, and will deter me from ever buying a Chevrolet automobile. Even considering a career in your company now seems a waste of my time. To summarize, use your endless budget to hire talented auteurs to create commercials with a little character. Please refer to the works of Spike Jonze, Baz Luhrmann, Ang Lee for competent examples of commercials and respond with a better commercial. For your company's sake, please heed this commentary.

-Fred Bombasky


Am I wasting my time telling other people what they should already know, or is this fresh, new, and innovative material?
Logged
Mr_Vindictive
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 129
Posts: 3702


By Sword. By Pick. By Axe. Bye Bye.


« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2005, 01:24:52 PM »

LOL Scott.  I seriously hate that commercial as well.  It seems to run a spot during every TV show now, and it has worn my nerves thin.

Logged

__________________________________________________________
"The greatest medicine in the world is human laughter. And the worst medicine is zombie laughter." -- Jack Handey

A bald man named Savalas visited me last night in a dream.  I think it was a Telly vision.
Scott H.
Guest
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2005, 11:10:39 PM »

I guess I am alone on this subject.

People making a commercial need to understand it is supposed to emcompass a story. That story is then supposed to have relative characters and a common goal. Most commercials, this commercial in particular, don't for some reason. It's a simple rule in story writing that all these elements of a story exist, or it won't be interesting. Where do people come off trying to force this down our throat?

Commercials are an art form. They are as much a work of art as a feature length film is the same way a 1 act play is a work of art compared to a Greek tragedy. Today it is being butchered into a lump of incoherent commercialism (yes, there is a difference between commercials and commercialism; the difference being commercials create commercialism, therefore commercials can change commercialism). What the commercial world needs is some guidance, someone to show them what is right and what is wrong. They don't need Test Groups, they need critics. The public doesn't know what they want. They are the uncivilized masses. People like us on this board have a specialized interest in movies and in what makes a good movie and a bad movie. The same thing is needed for people who make commercials. They need someone to guide and advise them.

I feel that these days, commercials have become a tool of the executives to create an assembly line demand for their products. There is no quality left in anything, and that the desire is for an impersonal contact with the people who buy the product. Remember the IBM or Microsoft commercial that was run during the Superbowl back in the 80's where a guy with a computer runs down the middle aisle of people bankly staring at a screen and hurls it at the screen in a huge explosion? If that didn't scream "break away from the ordinary" I don't know what does. It was so good that even Futurama paid homage to it in their 80's guy episode. That commercial told people what their product was, it set a mood, it established characters, it even told us what to do! It was great.

I don't think I could stop writing about this with a completed conclusion, so I'll just break off here. Commercials are art too. They need to be treated like they are art again.

-Scott H.
Logged
ulthar
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 368
Posts: 4168


I AM serious, and stop calling me Shirley


WWW
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2005, 10:39:03 AM »

Scott H. wrote:

>
> People making a commercial need to understand it is supposed to
> emcompass a story. That story is then supposed to have relative
> characters and a common goal.

Sorry, but I disagree with this.  Commercials are not stories.  They are supposed to sell a product.  The idea is to create product awareness.

Personally, I find commercials that try to be stories, or artistic in any grand fashion, more annoying than commercials that just say "here's our product, please buy it."

Logged

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Professor Hathaway:  I noticed you stopped stuttering.
Bodie:      I've been giving myself shock treatments.
Professor Hathaway: Up the voltage.

--Real Genius
Scott H.
Guest
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2005, 11:10:27 AM »

> ULTHAR
> Sorry, but I disagree with this.  Commercials are not stories.
> They are supposed to sell a product.  The idea is to create
> product awareness.


Perhaps I take the Warholian approach to the commercial world and state that everything around us is art. Even the most mundane piece of advertising had to come from somebody's head, and inside that head is the workings of art. Warhol's Campbells Soup Cans, his Superman and Popeye comics, all of his work in the 50's with Look Magazine, Bazaar, etc.... they are advertisements in some form, or an homage to the art of the advertisements in another. They all create product awareness, because that is what an advertisement is. But to do it in a lamebrained manner and without any kind of style, that is unacceptable.

Now I do digress on what makes good art and what makes bad art. Most commercials today are not good art, but they are art nonetheless. I therefore believe they need to be treated with the same respect as other works.
Logged
ulthar
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 368
Posts: 4168


I AM serious, and stop calling me Shirley


WWW
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2005, 02:32:34 PM »

Scott H. wrote:

>
> Now I do digress on what makes good art and what makes bad art.
> Most commercials today are not good art, but they are art
> nonetheless. I therefore believe they need to be treated with
> the same respect as other works.

Oh I agree with this.  But not all art is STORY.  Your earlier post was that a commercial should have a story.  It was that point with which I disagreed.

Logged

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Professor Hathaway:  I noticed you stopped stuttering.
Bodie:      I've been giving myself shock treatments.
Professor Hathaway: Up the voltage.

--Real Genius
Dreggen
Dedicated Viewer
**

Karma: 2
Posts: 52


« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2005, 03:54:39 PM »

I'm not trying to nitpick here but the commercial that Scott H. mentioned was an Apple ad for the original macintosh computer that was released in 1984.  The commercial used imagery from George Orwells book 1984 to show an rebellion against big brother, or in their case big blue (IBM) and Microsoft.
Logged
Brother Ragnarok
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 17
Posts: 1246


« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2005, 04:22:49 PM »

I don't have a particular beef with this commercial, but can we all agree everyone responsible for everything Old Navy has ever put on TV (except the dog, it wasn't his fault) should be skinned alive and lit on fire?



Post Edited (03-14-05 15:24)
Logged

There are only two important things in life - monsters and hot chicks.
    - Rob Zombie
Rape is just cause for murdering.
    - Strapping Young Lad
Flangepart
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 653
Posts: 9477



« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2005, 06:16:29 PM »

I'm of the Stan Freberg school of commercial appreciation....make it funny, and i'll seriously conciter yout product!
Cause if you make me laugh, i can tolerate giveing you some of my viewing time.
Can you say, "AFFLAC!"...sure, i knew ya could...
"Great. I love duck!"
"WAhhhh!"

That, and the trunk monkey stuff.

But if your commercial bores me, or annoys me...bite my hair filled sweaty shorts!

Logged

"Aggressivlly eccentric, and proud of it!"
BeyondTheGrave
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 70
Posts: 1386


Punks not Ded sez Rich


« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2005, 12:17:07 AM »

I agree with you Brother Ragnarok. I never liked the Old Navy commercials but they hit a new low of annoyance with the X- Mas ones. People caroling EVERYWHERE they could. Its like are you waiting in my closet? Ok thats breaking and entering and creepy.Wait their while I get my shotgun you are all squashed together two good shots should get you all.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can’t give it, you can't buy it, and you just don't get it!-Aeon Flux



Post Edited (03-14-05 23:18)
Logged

Most of all I hate dancing then work,exercise,people,stupidpeople

ulthar
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 368
Posts: 4168


I AM serious, and stop calling me Shirley


WWW
« Reply #10 on: March 15, 2005, 01:31:00 AM »

Don't know if you are into racin', but imo, NASCAR has THE funniest commercials on tv during the races.  The DE Jr and Michael Waltrip ones are generally particularly funny.

I think the commercials shown during races are 1000% funnier than the drek during the Superbowl (with a few notable exceptions).

Logged

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Professor Hathaway:  I noticed you stopped stuttering.
Bodie:      I've been giving myself shock treatments.
Professor Hathaway: Up the voltage.

--Real Genius
WENDY
Guest
« Reply #11 on: March 16, 2005, 09:27:48 PM »

WHAT IS THE SONG USED IN THAT COMMERCIAL...
Logged
Scott H.
Guest
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2005, 02:04:12 AM »

"Over, Under, Sideways, Down" by the Yardbirds, though the version they use is a remake of the original.
Logged
No one special
Guest
« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2005, 07:29:02 AM »

 "I don't like Artsy Fartsy"- Werner Herzog
Logged
Eric4353435
Guest
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2005, 06:41:26 PM »

You are a complete moron.
Logged
Pages: [1]
Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Bad Movies  |  OT: Chevy Cobalt commercial « previous next »
    Jump to:  


    RSS Feed Subscribe Subscribe by RSS
    Email Subscribe Subscribe by Email


    Popular Articles
    How To Find A Bad Movie

    The Champions of Justice

    Plan 9 from Outer Space

    Manos, The Hands of Fate

    Podcast: Todd the Convenience Store Clerk

    Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

    Dragonball: The Magic Begins

    Cool As Ice

    The Educational Archives: Driver's Ed

    Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

    Do you have a zombie plan?

    FROM THE BADMOVIES.ORG ARCHIVES
    ImageThe Giant Claw - Slime drop

    Earth is visited by a GIANT ANTIMATTER SPACE BUZZARD! Gawk at the amazingly bad bird puppet, or chuckle over the silly dialog. This is one of the greatest b-movies ever made.

    Lesson Learned:
    • Osmosis: os·mo·sis (oz-mo'sis, os-) n., 1. When a bird eats something.

    Subscribe to Badmovies.org and get updates by email:

    HOME B-Movie Reviews Reader Reviews Forum Interviews TV Shows Advertising Information Sideshows Links Contact

    Badmovies.org is owned and operated by Andrew Borntreger. All original content is © 1998 - 2014 by its respective author(s). Image, video, and audio files are used in accordance with the Fair Use Law, and are property of the film copyright holders. You may freely link to any page (.html or .php) on this website, but reproduction in any other form must be authorized by the copyright holder.