Sometimes, I surprise myself when evaluating commercials. Every now and again an ad comes along that is filled with things that suck, including, but not limited to: bad songs, terrible jokes, stupid people, B-list celebrities, insurance, school, the word "epic," and sincerity. So, imagine my surprise when I saw a commercial featuring at least two or three of these things and didn't fully hate it.
If you know me or have been to this site before you are probably disgusted with me right now. I can't pretend I don't like the song in this commercial. Lyrically, it's awful. But it sort of has to be, since the point is to make us aware of Education Connection's ability to help us choose the right college. Also, this is the latest in a series of musical ads for E.C., the most popular of which is horrifyingly executed, so they had to follow in the footsteps of the earlier spots to capitalize on the brand recognition it had created for them.
The music is actually not too bad, in a bubble-gum-pop kind of way. I really like the hook (starts at about :38), and it vaguely reminds me of a Lacuna Coil song from several years ago. I have found myself walking around the house singing it on more than one occasion. Maybe I'm crazy (and the fact that I like this commercial may very well be an indicator that I've totally lost my fucking marbles), but the girl seems to be a pretty good singer. Although, I guess that is assuming the girl we see is the girl we hear. Quite a leap of faith in the unsavory world of visual marketing.
Speaking of the girl we see, does she look like a hotter version of Hilary Swank or is it just me? Shit, Hilary Swank is a hideous creature, but if she got a butt-load of plastic surgery and was younger I could see her looking like the girl in the commercial. I think the girl in the commercial is actually pretty good looking, Swank-ness notwithstanding. Commercial Girl does have really strange hair, though. It looks like a bad wig in certain scenes. She more than makes up for her hair and Swank-ness with dance moves, however. Check out the sweet shimmies at :27 and :35. Pretty great, right? Then she really starts to feel it when the hook comes in, owning her performance fully and throwing in some fist pumps as if she's playing Madison Square Garden. I don't blame her. I feel like fist-pumping when that part comes on, too.
There are a few other noteworthy items in this piece. I can't quite figure out why they did the mustard reverse/fast forward thing on the corndogs at the beginning. I understand that they pulse to beat like the readouts on an EQ, but it's just fucking weird. I can't let the corndog hat go without comment - that thing is great. I really like the fact that it spins. I get very angry when the voice-over cuts into the chorus (the part when she's fist-pumping). They should have either cut the song down to allow more badass chorus, or dropped the voice-over and just used text. Worse yet, I can't seem to find a longer version of the song anywhere online, meaning that when I really want to jam I have to deal with the second hook getting interrupted by some bullshit sales pitch.
Lastly, I'm not sure what the hell Education Connection is trying to sell me. I know they say I can get connected to the right college for me for free, but there has to be some type of catch. I'm far too lazy to go to their site and investigate so I guess it will remain a mystery. I would think most people can pick the right college for themselves, anyway. Just get the list of "biggest party schools" that comes every year and go from there. If you can't get into any of those, give up, because higher education is probably not in the cards for you.
Final Grade: B+
the hairstyle is a mullet, no doubt shes "swank"n it too. the hair & clothes look like it was filmed in the 80's and her "moves" are just as ridiculously outdated. my opinion.. its a B-commercial that features swank but just made its debut in recent years.
ReplyDeleteShe is really singing that song in the commercial.
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