Wow, what an insight; an SUV – the Lexus RX 450 Full Hybrid – that doesn’t make you look bad. Maybe a little too American for the Dutch market. But then again, SUV’s were invented in the States, so the American touch might just add to its credibility. Anyway, great ad by Launched. Directed by Hein Mevissen (Bonkers) and shot by Benito Strangio.
You see it all the time, advertising being inspired by art. This commercial quite literally is. Which is to say, we’ve seen this concept, a mosaic of choreographed webcam images, already many times in many forms. It started in a music video we believe. But we can imagine that for the average (potential) Prius Wagon driver - in the Netherlands certainly not the George Clooney’s of this world – it makes quite a cool ad. And, in all fairness, it is very well art directed. Made by Launched and directed by André Maat (Hazazah). Creative tunes added by Massive Music.
Weird, but pleasantly weird. That was our first thought when we saw this commercial for telco provider Ben, created by Kumpany and directed by Hein Mevissen. The story roughly combines the tradition of Sinterklaas (the Dutch St. Nick) with the style of a Spaghetti Western. The protagonist is wearing Ben’s corporate colour and needs to “deliver this sack to Holland”. We don’t know what our blue friend is carrying or when he will be arriving in “Holland”, but that’s o.k. cause according to the press release nobody knows. To make the campaign integrated, you can follow him on Facebook and see what places he is visiting. One thing seems pretty sure, he’ll bring something for everyone – which is probably an interesting telco deal with Ben. It’s quite a bold choice of Ben to change its advertising property so radically. Then again, it is the only wise choice to make Ben stick out again in the overcrowded competitive field. Ben was introduced in 1999 by KesselsKramer with a legendary style that was so distinctive that the brand obtained instant fame. Then T-Mobile bought the brand, killed it in 2003, and made it come back again in 2008. But it was never able to reclaim its fame. This brand new commercial has the potential to do so. Let’s see what happens.
We’ve always found it difficult to understand alien humor. Especially the kind that comes from the planet Comedy Central. Making holes in the earth; that’s ridiculous! Here’s another one talking about trying to get Schwarzenegger back on earth (?). And it doesn’t help that these creatures look like a scruffy version of ET, drink beer all the time and burp in their speech. The campaign consists of five commercials, of which one is a short film that will be shown tonight on Comedy Central. In this skillfully made long form film one of the bad mannered aliens borrows the body of ‘John from Burlington’ for a year, changes his job, stocks his fridge with cans of Budweiser and gets his white trashy neighbor pregnant. That is pretty funny – even for our Earthy standards. It could easily be a pilot for a new TV series. The campaign is created by John Doe and directed by Hein Mevissen. Through its long lasting relationship with MTV John Doe has specialized itself in making absurd channel bumpers. And since Comedy Central is a MTV Networks brand, that’s probably how they ended up replacing Comedy Central’s bankrupt agency Modernista! Great campaign that has lots of mileage and will easily build Comedy Central as a loveable brand.
Nice. I like the very castrated looking, but temporarily victorious dad at the end.
In the States, the SUV is essentially an apparatus for “peacocking” brute strength. In every way, it is a basic enlargement of ego, from enabling an aerial driving perspective, to driving over curbs without noticing.
This ad gracefully (and I think unconsciously) links the 450 (a particularly dainty SUV) with the father’s momentary triumph over his whiny, unruly daughter. His smirk sighs, “finally, a little control. Thanks car.”
However, I’m a bit new to the Netherlands, and I would love to know what emotional cues drive SUV purchases here. The sensation of driving an SUV is physiologically distinct, so many of the feelings are probably quite similar. But, as an American import, it might carry the novel (fleeting, and effectively inauthentic) excitement of being especially conspicuous and individualistic looking, even if its just for the time of the lease before getting back to reality.
Countrymen, what do you think?
Our first gut reaction would be: the cues are indeed very similar. Every trend that starts in the US eventually seeps into the Netherlands. Random example: nail studios. One of us saw them in NYC in 1996 and about a decade later they started to emerge in Amsterdam. The only difference with respect to SUV’s might be the fact in the Netherlands they are a little less accepted because our city infrastructure is not well equipped for them and because our Calvinistic nature doesn’t approve showing off your wealth.
AAB: interesting. I am learning more and more about the deep influence of Calvinism here. And now I’m especially curious about how do the Dutch brag. In a more scientific frame, how does a Dutch person advertise gene fitness relative to his or her social group?
Ehm… nail studios already exist in the Netherlands for decades, as far as I know. For example, this one is already active since 1992: http://www.studioelle.nl/
Anyway, nice Lexus-commercial! Like it!
I love the girl;-) she is fantastic.
Am I the only one that thinks the acting is horrible in this film? Completely over the top. Both the shrink and the girl.
@Phil
You’re probably not the only one. But it’s ‘totally’ part of the concept.
Hey Phil, I think you are the only one.
You obviously never saw a valley girl or you are one of these anonymous ‘hero’s’ that try to target their personal frustration to the makers of this film.
And as a Dutch man you could hardly have an opinion about acting as you live in the only country the world knows that has absolutely no talent for acting or film whatsoever. I live for 4 years now in Amsterdam and the thing that I learned is that the advertising is horrible, bad acting, never funny and dumb.
This Lexus commercial is a true relief for Dutch tv. When you claim this to be overacted then everything else on Dutch tv is total garbage and waste.
The girl is a great actress and performer.
Why is it in English?
Because the brand is? It isn’t.
Because it feels more international? Unnecessary.
Because the creatives thought it would help at the awards festival? Probably.
The whole commercial feels like a typical ‘Fuck the client, fuck the brief, we just want to win.’
It is nicely done, don’t get me wrong, but it just feels like a spec ad.
Why so negative?
I thing the commercial is brilliant. Very well done, great actors and it looks great. Why all the fuzz?
@Eric
Let me guess. You work for a Dutch agency and have never produced any international work.
Since you don’t know what the client brief was like, you cannot judge the work’s international character.
@Eric, must be very frustrating for you to work on Dutch campaigns only. But F.Y.I a lot of agencies work international and then English is the best language to make a commercial in.
Maybe when you become a better creative you can apply for a job at an international agency instead of a Dutch agency…