Napa Know How

Let's kick this blog off with one of 2011's strongest offerings to date: Napa auto parts stores "Napa Know How" jingle.  There is a lot to like here, much of which we'll dig into momentarily, but the strength of the ad is predicated on the song and the guy lip-synching it.



The star of the commercial, dressed in a full Napa employee's uniform, begins by singing about his inadequacies in the medical field and making overly dramatic gestures, with a patient laying in a hospital bed behind him.  After professing his inability to "diagnose a simple cold or flu" he shoves the patient's bed out of the scene and walks sideways into a Napa store (which is somehow adjoined to the dimly lit hospital and seems to be separated from the operating room by no door or wall).

The store is brightly lit, clearly telling us that going to a Napa store is more enjoyable than going to the hospital.  Incredibly, the patient from the hospital is now standing upright at the counter while the seemingly cocaine-addled Napa guy gives him instructions on how to fix illnesses afflicting the patient's car.  What is lost in the shuffle of the badass song and the crazy-eyed Napa guy's gesticulations is that apparently the Napa guy is some sort of miracle healer, because by merely shoving the guy's bed out of the room he was able to heal his ailment and motivate him to work on his car.  Pretty amazing.

The patient's expressions throughout the in store scene are pretty remarkable.  He starts out being confused and somewhat annoyed (:15), then seems to lighten up and at least feign laughter after being recommended a new air filter (:20).  The highlight of the commercial, visually, occurs around the :23 mark when the patient/customer is apparently fully invested in the Napa guy's sales pitch because he begins performing backup vocals for him with bountiful euphoria and enthusiasm.

Final Grade: A