Ad of the Day: DirecTV

Dude, watch the road! You know how in old movies the moving road will be rear-projected on a canvas over the hero's shoulder, and he'll just be blithely chatting away to whoever's in the passenger seat? This is like that times a thousand. Granted, on a third viewing I realized that the guy was supposed to be in the backseat, but a) how often do adult men find themselves in the backseat of a sedan? and b) the establishing shot through the windshield threw me off. That said, the sci-fi/war-movie/fantasy stuff our hero sees through the window is all beautifully designed and shot, especially the dragon and the flying saucer hovering over the car. DirecTV has really decided to go all-out with its advertising lately, and it's been doing an excellent job with it. The "Parecidos" ad from last year is one of the funniest/weirdest spots I can remember watching, and while the concept is a little less spot-on here, the execution and production design are very good indeed. A question: Where are they driving? I mean, I feel like if you can get from the 1940s to the future on one highway, somebody should at least make a note of where the road is, so that selected scientists and humanitarians can hang out with the inventors of the spaceship and maybe do a few tests on that dragon. Also: Best road-trip vacation ever. This spot, from Grey, New York, and MJZ director Rupert Sanders, is a departure from the humor that another MJZ director, Tom Kuntz, brought to other recent DirecTV ads—the one with Charlie Sheen, etc. With new strides in technology like DLNA rolling out across the tech world, it may actually be time for the company to point up specific features to make it clear that it really does provide an interesting and useful service. While this may be less memorable than the company's variations on the Law of Unintended Consequences, it's also a much more effective description of the product's advantages. [jwplayer PVg6eGT8-1kT9Z8rj] CREDITS Client: DirecTV Spot: "Road Trip" Agency: Grey, New York President, Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren Executive Creative Directors: Todd Tilford, Perry Fair Senior Vice President, Creative Director, Art Director: Denise O'Bleness Executive Producer: Andrew Chinich Associate Producer: Lindsay Myers Vice Presidents, Account Directors: Tamar Arslanian, Beth Culley Production Company: MJZ Director: Rupert Sanders Director of Phortography: Greig Fraser Producer: Laurie Boccaccio Editorial Company: Work, Spotwelders Editor: Neil Smith Visual Effects: MPC Managing Director: Andrew Bell Visual Effects Supervisors: Franck Lambertz, Mike Wynd Visual Effects Team: Ben Persons, Brendan Smith, Sharon Marcussen, Brinton Jaecks, Ryan Knowles, Mike Wynd, Ross Denner, Daniel Marsh, Fred Durand, Ian Wilson, Danny Wynne, John Cherniack Telecine Company: MPC Colorist: Mark Gethin

Brand Marketing

Ad of the Day: DirecTV

The satellite provider has you covered, whether you live in the past, present or future

Sam Thielman

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Sam Thielman