More Snickers, more Coke, I love these products
This is an advert, for a product, made by people who are trying cleverly to make you buy it. Not my usual sort of thing. But it is fucking brilliant*. Just promise you won't be influenced to buy the thing it's advertising if you enjoy it. Deal? Good.
*Actually, having read about it in whichever media section I read about it in this morning, it's not quite as good as I'd hoped, but it's still worth a look.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 1:05 PM
26 Comments
Contact
Andrew at
26 Comments:
Sorry to be a Hicks pedant but it’s ‘more Snickers, more Coke’ in that order.
There are three things inherently wrong with that advert. Firstly, Phil Collins dreadful In the Air Tonight, the musical equivalent of a Bordeaux derived hangover, secondly, a Gorilla playing the drums is inherently funny, yet that advert makes it something as amusing as being informed that one has a shadow on the lungs, and thirdly, Phil Collins and a drumming Gorilla are as far away from ‘Chocolate’ as I am from screwing Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Manson and Charlie Manson on Jim Morison’s grave in Paris.
However, if Cadbury were advertising their salmonella outbreak I’d give it 10 out of 10.
Dairy Milk is yummy.
I couldnt see what the connection was between a drumming monkey and a chocolate bar - you could put any product on the end.
Seems to me that the self serving ad people had a funny idea and looked for the rich and willing client to bolt on and pay up.
Ad people seem to have a think about mexicans as well at the moment
This is off-topic, but there's quite a few mentions of Andrew in Richard Herring's latest (sunday) edition of Warming Up (see the link on the right of this blog). Although what's the story behind him calling Andrew's last name Collings?
The monkey rocks!
Are adverts evil? I'm not sure I understand why.
I don't know about evil, David, but they are designed to make us disatisfied about our lives with their glamorous imagesin order to promote consumerism, which lies at the heart of capitalism and the free-market holy grail of growth, thus pumping up the private sector and making us all miserable.
You are, of course, right, Jades, when you say that the drumming gorilla could be advertising anything, but I'm not judging it by its power to advertise, merely by its funniness, which, to me, is high. Piqued disagrees.
Cerebusboy, Richard calls me Andrew Collings because it's his humour to get names deliberately wrong, like Tony Blairs. I am, of course, flattered that he would go to this much trouble.
Cadbury's needed a hit after their catastrophic Trident "Mastication for the Nation" campaign.
Ah, cool. Most of the linked blogs are good but Richard Herring's Warming Up is great. Talking of funny adverts, anyone else a fan of the Darth Vader Woolworth's one?
First time I saw that advert I was half-watching King Kong from 1979 on Channel 5 and half using the internet with headphones. I looked across to the television and got really confused- I had to watch for most of the advert to be absolutely sure it wasn't a really bad part of the film - hence the bad reviews. Of course they did it on purpose which just annoyed me and made me less likely to buy their chocolate.
I don't get the ad. I don't think it's particularly funny, clever or anything. I don't get the link with the product - as a lifestyle aspiration from the ad or anything.
I'll still buy Cabury's chocolate because I like it.
I used to always understand and quite enjoy the adverts. Now I frequently don't. Is it because am I getting older? I'm only 34.
There’s no point anyone trying to explain to anyone else why something is funny. But I do find the very drummerish mannerisms by the gorilla (it is a gorilla isn’t it?) quite funny. I think it’s incongruity what does it for me.
The first time I saw it I thought it was ace, if a little scary. The next time less so, because they'd added the purple half glass thingy that identifies it as Cadburys on to the start, which seemed a cop out.
Also - why does chocolate need advertising??? It'd take something more drastic than salmonella to stop me buying Dairy Milk....something like it being associated with Phil Collins maybe....
I think combining a drum playing gorilla and a Phil Collins record is the only obvious method of adevertising chocolate left. A chocolate advert shouldn't be someone simply eating chocolate unless it's the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate, that tastes like chocolate never tasted before.
I wondered what had happened to Clarence Beeks.
ST
incidentally, that Woolworths advert with Darth Vader? I hated it so much, until the bastards made me laugh with the toast gag. So then I had to buy all my Christmas shopping there, right? I'm onto next Easter now. How many shopping days until the apocolypse?
ST
I don't see many adverts these days due to the wonderful skip 1 minute button on my PVR (4 presses is normally right to skip instantly through all the ads) but I saw this ad a few times on holiday. Awful as I think it is, it wouldn't stop me buying Cadburys products because I wouldn't have been able to tell you what it was advertising - the first time I saw it I hoped it would be nice and short and stop before the dreadful whining started - sadly it didn't. On subsequent viewings I've just braced myself for the whining.
"they are designed to make us disatisfied about our lives with their glamorous imagesin order to promote consumerism, which lies at the heart of capitalism and the free-market holy grail of growth, thus pumping up the private sector and making us all miserable."
Ah yes, when you put it like that it described the drumming gorilla perfectly ;-)
For every drumming Gorilla there is a mud-soaked Gary Lineker.
"By the way if anyone here is in advertising or marketing... kill yourself" - Bill Hicks.
When I first heard about this ad and saw the intro I was very excited, but then somewhat disappointed when the drums kicked in. I mean, apparently they got a proper drummer to play in the suit, but he doesn't do it right. The tom fill at the beginning should all be double strokes, but it seems he only plays one hit per tom. Also, they could have edited it so when the groove kicks in it's the one with hits on the toms between each snare hit. Just search youtube for the vid of Phil Collins playing it live to see what I mean.
In my opinion, whilst this is funny, it would have been 10 times funnier if the gorilla actually looked as if it was a good drummer.
I've never seen a TV advert for fair trade chocolate and I think we should. They wouldn't have to bad mouth the competition, just show the difference between the wages and working lives of the different workers.
Ah thank god you like this too. I have an old cynics tendency of cussing just about every commercial that comes on, but I found myself having a soft spot for this one that slightly disturbed me. I have broken an analysis of this down to:
1. It's a guy in a monkey suit.
2. It's that phil collins tune which is easy to diss but then it comes to that bit where the big gated reverb toms go: doo doo doo dedeedoo dedeedoo, etc.
3. For years, I've been a drummer trapped inside a guitarist's body. As middle age beckons, I have recently finally made some kit excursions and becoming evermore drum obsessed. I even found myself scanning this advert to try and figure out if the ape was playing the kick heels up or not. It's someone in a gorilla suit for godsakes!
I seem to recall reading at some point, however, that you were a skin thumper for a few bands yourself Mr Collins. Is this perhaps why you also enjoyed this ad with a slightly guilty frisson?
I agree with tristan. It spoils the whole joke for me. If they do a follow up maybe they can use Wot Gorilla? from the Genesis album Wind And Wuthering. Just an idea.
I certainly hope the monkey is playing heel up on this Mumbler. It's the only way to really get the power you need on this kind of track.
Oh, and you need to brush up on your drum-speak. The fill you're referring to actually goes:
"pa-pa pa-pa po-po puh-puh bom----bom"
;-)
So, is this true Andrew? Are you a drummer?
I am a drummer.
I had a drum kit when I was in my teens, and I played in local bands in Northampton. This was the only exercise I did as a young person, but it stood me in good stead - my calf muscles are still shapely through all that pedalling!
When I moved to London in 1984, I left my kit behind, and my parents eventually sold it. I have not drummed in any meaningful way since then, but I played with Cud during a soundcheck as a music jouranlist in 1991, which was a rare treat!
And I played in the 6 Music band, Totalshambles, on a borrowed kit. We did one gig in the BBC club at Christmas. You can hear a brief snatch of my drumming in this YouTube clip, but don't get too excited. (You can't see me either, as I'm behind the speaker!)
The Cud pic is here. (Mind that quiff!)
I drum on my desk and my bag all the time, so I'm in practice for the day I buy a mansion with a cellar and get a kit for my retirement years.
Can't see the youtube clip as I only have phone internet access, but will check it out when we get broadband put back in.
Forget the mansion plan. get yourself a set of Roland V-drums. I never thought I'd see the day that I thought an electronic kit was worth getting, but the TD-20 is absolutely amazing!
There are a load of recordings I've done with Surrey sound recording students here: www.myspace.com/tristan_od (mainly on my old trusty Pearl Export)
The embedded video clip on there is from the day I bought a new kit. Oh, and my old uni band recordings are here: www.myspace.com/trayscrape
The band sounds pretty together for a one off gig. It's hard to see, but I take it the gidmeister's in there too on guitar?
Based on their recent performance, however, I would suspect 6music management would make the best line up for this years totalshambles!
My drumming's still too poor to broadcast alas, but you can hear some sterling skin work from my good friend colin livingston supporting me on some tunes at www.myspace.com/musicmumbler
Post a Comment
<< Home