Christopher Walken, sheep, Queen and more in today's sports-fueled Thursday Five
The Superbowl among many ranks very highly in the world of sport as one of the biggest annual athletic extravaganzas — a grand mash up of sportsman celebrification, Gatorade showers, and muscles. So many muscles.
But the Superbowl sports event proper holds no real interest for little old me. I’m far more interested in the commercials that surround it, which themselves have become an event to behold. So it’s only fair that as yet another superb bowl approaches this weekend, Thursday Five takes a look at 2016’s top five Superbowl car commercials.
‘What he said’ — Acura NSX
Limited ‘spin’, no gravelly voice over; just some beautiful slow-mo footage spliced together to the screaming jeers of David Lee Roth. Excellent.
‘#DefyLabels’ — Mini
It’s ballsy to take an institution like the SuperBowl commercial and use it to make a point of substance, but Mini have done it well — despite naming the campaign with a bloody hashtag.
Focusing on numerous celebs, including old mate Tony Hawk, tennis royalty Serena Williams, and the exceptionally cool Harvey Kitel, the ad aims to poke holes through stereotypes commonly associated with the Mini.
There’s an irony to a car company taking on and adopting the name and mannerisms of a historical company, only to try and throw the stereotypes associated with the historical Mini under the bus years later. But, maybe I’m reading too far into it ...
‘Walken Closet’ — Kia Optima
Get it!? It’s a closet that you ‘walk in’ to, and famous Hollywood actor Christopher 'Walken' is in it!
Genuis! Pure unbridled comedic GENIUS!
‘Ryanville’ — Hyundai Elantra
Just a few years ago, it would’ve been terrible to be Ryan Reynolds — apart from, you know, being one of the most drop-dead, hold-the-phone, cardiac-arrest inducing male forms on the planet. His films were being widely panned (particularly Green Lantern and R.I.P.D, which I wish I could somehow unwatch), and I personally thought we were watching an actor's career spiral into the abyss.
But it’s 2016, and Ryan Reynolds is the man again. The upcoming Deadpool film has thrown him back into a positive limelight thanks a superb marketing campaign, coupled with an unparalleled amount of penis jokes. It’s great to see Rey Rey with swagger again — as underlined by Hyundai above.
‘A New Truck to Love’ — Honda Ridgeline
Oh yes, no commercial compilation is complete without singing animals. It’s funny, it’s G-rated, it’s simple, and it tells us almost nothing about the product — the Honda Ridgeline — whatsoever.
In other words, it’s the perfect car ad.