Ads that made you laugh, cry or simply think

[TinyRedLeaf]

A pair of lovers, a man from Fukuoka and a woman from Tokyo, pined for each other despite being so very far apart. To prove their love, they ran towards each other in December 2008, covering a total distance of 1,200,000,000mm (1,200km) over three arduous weeks.

Come see their story again, exactly one year after their epic feat:

Man: Week 1			Woman: Week 1
Man: Week 2			Woman: Week 2
Man: Week 3			Woman: Week 3

And, finally, in Osaka on Dec 24, 2008:

Spoiler for the night they met again:

Spoiler for the making of 'Love Distance':

This post is dedicated to all fans of 5 Centimetres Per Second.

---

This thread is an offshoot of an old one created back in July 2008. I first posted the above commercial in a thread on Anime Festival Asia, where I learnt about the above ad campaign.

Basically, I hope everyone would also share their favourite ads here. While it's true that commercials are usually the bane of our existence, it's also interesting how — with a little bit of inspiration and a whole lot of perspiration — a well-executed ad campaign can become a vehicle for simple yet effective storytelling.

Particularly for those working in the media industry, whether as writers, artists, animators, we share a symbiotic relationship with people from advertising and public-relations firms — the former cannot exist without the latter, and vice versa. That being the case, we might as well learn how to better make use of each other. With luck, maybe this thread could serve as a useful reference. If not, I hope it'll at least be fun while it lasts.

[Irenicus]

Not the funniest or slickest of ads, but I thought this one was very powerful. Coincidentally, it's also Japanese:

To continue on TRL's theme, I found this ad to be the TV equivalent of a masterful short story. Every element is there to contribute something to the overall effect. The music, the scenes, the actors, the idea...

Magnificently done, really. As a writer of short stories, I aspire to that.

[Mattie]

I remember an old burgur king advert that took a stab at mcdonalds and it said "eat like a king not a clown" i lol'd so much at that

[RadiantBeam]

I can't find links for them on Youtube, but these two ads against smoking still have an effect on me even now. If I remember correctly, they came out in the 90's, so I was still pretty young when I first saw them.

1. An anti-smoking ad. Two of them stuck with me: the first was of an older brother taking his younger brother to the park and smoking with his friends. The ad ends with the boy seeing his brother smoking, almost disapproving and disappointed; and when the brother sees that, he looks absolutely horrified. There was another one in a similar vein with two sisters, only in this version the younger sister rolled up a napkin and mimicked her sister and her friends; cue older sister's horrified expression.

2. I can't remember exactly what drug this was for, but I saw it as a promo before a movie. In the promo two men, who appear to be high, are fooling around at a drive through at a McDonald's and always pull out as a little girl goes riding by on her bike. Each time they pull away, the car keeps getting closer and closer to the little girl. The last time, just as it looks like they're going to hit her, the screen fades to black and you hear the sound of screeching tires and a scream. The next image is of a little girl's smashed pink helmet on the street.

...

God, I'm getting chills just remembering them.

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

1. An anti-smoking ad. Two of them stuck with me: the first was of an older brother taking his younger brother to the park and smoking with his friends. The ad ends with the boy seeing his brother smoking, almost disapproving and disappointed; and when the brother sees that, he looks absolutely horrified. There was another one in a similar vein with two sisters, only in this version the younger sister rolled up a napkin and mimicked her sister and her friends; cue older sister's horrified expression.

These sort of things just foment hate among people. Just because someone is a smoker doesn't mean you should hate them. As a smoker myself (though not so much recently due to brokeness) I have experienced this sort of treatment on many occasions.

I consider people who refuse to associate with me just because I smoke to be ridiculously shallow people. Just because I was stupid as a teenager and got addicted to nicotine doesn't make me a bad person. Everyone makes mistakes in their lives.

More effective anti-smoking ads would be simple and inexpensive.

Just tally up the average yearly cost of a pack a day smoker. (Hint: the number is fucking enormous.)

That would be enough to scare almost anyone away from the habit.

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

These sort of things just foment hate among people. Just because someone is a smoker doesn't mean you should hate them. As a smoker myself (though not so much recently due to brokeness) I have experienced this sort of treatment on many occasions.

I consider people who refuse to associate with me just because I smoke to be ridiculously shallow people. Just because I was stupid as a teenager and got addicted to nicotine doesn't make me a bad person. Everyone makes mistakes in their lives.

More effective anti-smoking ads would be simple and inexpensive.

Just tally up the average yearly cost of a pack a day smoker. (Hint: the number is fucking enormous.)

That would be enough to scare almost anyone away from the habit.

I'm not saying that it was implying the correct image for smokers. I have cousins in my family who smoke, and while I dislike it personally, I don't look down on them for it. The ads just hit a cord with me because I'm an older sister myself, so I'm always worrying about what influence my actions could have on my younger sister.

[Gin]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

2. I can't remember exactly what drug this was for, but I saw it as a promo before a movie. In the promo two men, who appear to be high, are fooling around at a drive through at a McDonald's and always pull out as a little girl goes riding by on her bike. Each time they pull away, the car keeps getting closer and closer to the little girl. The last time, just as it looks like they're going to hit her, the screen fades to black and you hear the sound of screeching tires and a scream. The next image is of a little girl's smashed pink helmet on the street.

Dave Chappelle did a hilarious spoof of that ad, I will see if I can find it.

[Dilla]

Originally Posted by Gin

Dave Chappelle did a hilarious spoof of that ad, I will see if I can find it.

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/...ana-commercial

[TinyRedLeaf]

I'm told that a key part of the skit was lifted from Good Will Hunting. Be that as it may, it's a tear-jerker nonetheless.

On a lighter note, another ad from Japan:

And since we're on the subject of mad cheering:

[Chiibi]

I don't see that many cms that make me cry or think deeply...but there IS one that always made me laugh.

The Snickers one with the viking throwing trash cans at cars. It's funny.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Many of you would probably know of Takehiko Inoue, the outstanding creator of the legendary 1990s sports manga series Slam Dunk, as well as the more recent chambara epic Vagabond. What you may not know is that Mr Inoue is also active in Japan's TV ads industry, particularly in commercials for Shisedo cosmetics and body-care products. For example:

Shisedo Aleph

Mr Inoue is especially proficient in creating large-scale drawings, which were used to terrific effect here:

uno [Draw The Air]

Now, back in 2004, Mr Inoue worked on a special project with mass media and ad agencies to bring his manga characters to life. The event, called 10 Days After, celebrated the sale of over 100 million copies of Slam Dunk in Japan. Mr Inoue was moved by thousands of messages from fans who thanked him profusely for creating the series, so he wanted to do something for them in return.

Therefore, an ambitious plan was hatched. The idea: To borrow the use of an abandoned school in Kanagawa prefecture, where Mr Inoue would draw original, never-before-published, life-sized manga on 23 black boards, detailing the epilogue that unfolded 10 days after the final chapter of Slam Dunk. Once he was done, the school was opened to the public, allowing them to "interact" — in real-time and real-life — with the characters they had grown to love, in effect creating a story of their own, simply by being a part of the live project.

The overall process of conceptualising, producing and delivering the project was documented in the following programme. Enjoy.

Slam Dunk — 10 Days After

[Ansalem]

I always found this ad funny for whatever reason.

[chikorita157]

You might have seen this kind of commercial where Verizon poked fun at AT&T's 3G coverage... The sad truth is that it's true since the AT&T network only have limited 3G service and people always seem to complain about dropped calls. For me, I have no problem with AT&T and their service. AT&T went so far by suing Verizon, but eventually both sides dropped the lawsuit.

[Dilla]

[xKeen]

The new years/festive season ads in my country are really touching.Will post once I am able to find it.
After thinking,I guess I wouldn't post it because its a multi-racial thing...

[risingstar3110]

One of the best ad i saw

If by the end you still do not understand what is it about, then wikipedia can explain it ^^

[Woopzilla]

I've always liked the Tekken Ads:

And you can always be sure to find funny japenese ads:

I've never really come across an ad that makes me seriously think though... otherwise I'd probably be able to remember one.

[Tiran86]

For sheer awesomeness, the Carlton Draught Big Ad

[Jeffry2009]

As a title says that.

Spoiler for space:

Since 2010 has come to an end, I've just need to get off my chest to watch nothing but commercials from the past. Nostalgia Critic references much?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Don't mean to spoil the party, but I did create a thread for ads that made you laugh, cry or simply think just a little over a year ago.

The subject is different, true, but it might work better to merge the threads? Whatever the outcome, I've tagged the threads to make them easier to search for in the future. Meanwhile, in keeping with the spirit of things:

Everyone loves Pocky

Actually, I have no fricking idea who Segata Sanshiro is,
other than that he was once the brand ambassador of Sega Saturn,
and that he's tougher than Chuck Norris

Posted simply because it's that time of the year