As a Dad I’m highly critical and a bit sensitive to the way that advertisers or entertainers portray Dads. All too often Dads in the media are portrayed as ‘dumbass dads’ who excel at failure or are aloof and come up short at anything they do. Tide’s stay-at-home-dad spot got it right in their recent television ad and now VW does it right too.
The young kid in the first scene is wearing Vans
Every dad of a certain age had Vans when they were growing up. Another thing that sticks out about this scene is that ALL of the bikes in the bike shop are 12 speeds. There are no mountain bikes or hybrids; this is a late 70’s bike shop right down to the posture and wardrobe of the sales guy.
The moped and the denim jacket in the second scene
Look at the shaggy hair on these kids. Granted boys have shaggy hair today too, but the hair, combined with the denim jacket, moped and the extra large back pack make the scene work. What’s a moped? It’s a bike/motorcycle combination that you rarely see on the road now. It’s what was fun to ride around on in the early 80’s, that is until somebody saw you on it of course.
The salesman in the third scene
“I don’t even know if it’s street legal”, the salesman says. I know some kids that I was growing up with that said that. There was always that rogue kid who supposedly had Nitrous Oxide hooked up in his Mazda RX-7. They were fast and furious before the bad movie, but with mutton chops and a Cheap Trick cassette in the player.
The Music
Guys like Ted Nugent, but perhaps not all guys like his music. Some may like his attitude, politics or just a little bit of his music. He’s a guitarist that also sings, but his guitar and attitude outweigh his vocal abilities. Having said that, he has numerous classic rock guitar riffs that are legendary, like Stranglehold that is featured in the commercial.
The introduction to Stranglehold is instrumental and perfect to pump up audiences at sporting events. Arguably, the opening segue to Stanglehold is better known than the vocal parts of the song. Yes, there are vocals to Stranglehold that start at :41, it’s a classic tune that doesn’t get enough airplay on terrestrial AOR radio.
Is It Fast from VW nails everything down to the floor. It’s funny, short and gets its point across-all the while being respectful to Dads.
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I considered writing about this commercial last week after the game, but I thought, “Nah, Trey will get it.” Nice job sir.
Low hanging blog fruit my friend. Have you seen 8-Bit Dads “Dadvertising” column? Nice, similar to our posts on guys in ads.
Hey boys, just popped in to say “thanks” for the shout! Also, I have a write-up started for this commercial too, and a call into VW about it…stay tuned!
Good write-up, Burley!
Why thanks and I’ll keep an eye open for your post at http://www.8bitdad.com/
Yeah, I give him crap when he borrows my ideas too.
My next post will be titled Topless Pictures of Jennifer Anniston.* Keep an eye out for it!!
*Don’t have pictures of Ms. Aniston. They’ll really be pictures of my cats.
Love this commercial from the first time I saw it…though I didn’t think of it as as significant as you’ve pointed out. THEY are beginning to GET IT! Thank G*d!
I really like your perspective. I really liked this commercial for the exact reasons you stated, and I’m a female 🙂 A dad-friend of mine said he hates this commercial because he said that it is alienating to “car guy” dads by implying that the will to live is gone after having a kid. I think he was taking it too seriously. I see it as caring more about yourself (and speed) to being more mature and thinking about the safety of your family.
Sweet, a woman that likes the Nuge!! Yeah, I don’t know diddley about cars and that’s one reason why it spoke to me.
I loved this commercial more than the Darth Vader one and I’m a huge Star Wars geek. When he asked “Is it safe?” and then revealed that he had a baby in the pouch, I was just blown away. How amazing! I really hope that this is the beginning of some trend in advertising showing involved fathers. And more baby pouches.