Winter Commercials 09 pt.5

If you weren't aware, weird has only gotten weirder. The best kind of weird is rooted in relatable experiences and is used for a purpose other than shock value. Take these holiday Garmin commercials. The music, like in the Santa Running Late Target commercial, creates a sense of urgency and tension. If you can discern the lyrics, they're customized for each commercial and are quite comical. 

This is the first Garmin holiday commercial and it's focused completely on the core GPS navigation function of the Garmin device. The product tells you where you are and directs you to where you want to go. This commercial shows us the cruel fate of someone who doesn't have a Garmin. 

Oh the horrors of being lost at night. We all should be able to relate to this situation in one way or another. For this poor soul, it's dark and the commercial opens with an identifiable landmark; the moose. The situation is so dire, the driver dramatically considers ending his own life; "give me a noose." 

Riding past a "bad neighborhood" the driver is spooked by tough looking figures and an aggressive window individual with no teeth. In the next few cuts, the driver drives back and forth on the same road. He's clearly lost and now he's driving around in circles. The driver definitely realizes this when he spots the moose again. The figures from the bad neighborhood are only figments of his imagination as they spot the moose from the back seat. He feared getting lost, and it has happened.  And so the commercial and story is capped beginning and end with the moose. 

In this Garmin commercial, the Nutcracker comes to life and hits the town for a new twist on the classic idea. Apparently the Nutcracker is a very sociable and skilled individual. My favorite part is when the scary clown is spotted on the roundabout at the end of the commercial. If Nutcrackers can come to life why not scary clowns? The shocked expression on the Nutcracker's face is a perfect touch. 

Search around on youtube for more crazy Garmin commercials. 

Winter Commercials 09 pt.4

This commercial is very straightforward. A little girl feels guilt of her recent wrongdoings after receiving exactly what she wanted for Christmas. The part that I find the most amusing are the facial expressions at the end. The dad's gesture and facial expression in particular are ambiguous communicating a range of different ideas, which I read as saying... "You walked right into that one." "What can I say?" "Hey, you got them cause they were really cheap." "Not my problem." "Check and mate." "Tadaaa." "Merry Christmas anyway."

This one is another commercial ripe with ambiguous facial expression as an end cap. The kids and the husband are already occupied with their gifts at the beginning of the commercial. After the big screen HDTV is unwrapped, the parent go back and forth coding their words carefully and somewhat awkwardly in Santa talk. After the wife says, "Maybe Santa doesn't need any help doing Santa's job," the husband bites his lower lip as he butters his bread. Both parents put up strange smiles perhaps to fool the kids while keeping up with the Santa scenario. Perhaps because the conversation was quickly careening toward a sensitive subject when no one wants a fight near the Christmas tree. Or perhaps the wife stayed within a budget while still obtaining wonderful gifts. Judging from her face at the end of the commercial, it's hard to tell what's really going on behind the scene. 

Take single clever idea. Communicate it all within a single scene. Add slow motion for dramatic effect and some suspenseful music and you'll have a perfect Christmas commercial. It feels shorter than other 30 second commercials because everything is compressed and efficient. Also, for a little while Santa's runs in rhythm with the music.