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The best Mercedes spot Josh Brolin's not in
You might have noticed that Josh Brolin stars in the inaugural Mercedes-Benz work by London-based agency AMV BBDO. But meanwhile, hiding in the shadow of Mr. No Country is this considerably better spot from the new campaign. Not only does it feature a downright hypnotic voiceover by the relatively unknown Lucy Holt, but I also love that director Joe Roman uses gritty shots of old Vegas instead of taking the obvious route of showing more modern attention-grabbing locales. There’s something very 1980s crime cinema about the whole shoot. I should disclose that I occasionally write print ads for Mercedes-Benz’s U.S. operations, but that doesn’t make me any more disposed to liking car commercials. And to be frank, I’m not a big fan of the payoff to this spot. But I could listen to Lucy Holt read the entire E-Class owner’s manual, so I’m willing to forgive quite a bit. —Posted by David Griner |
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This spot would make sense if it was 1850. But it is 2008 and we are all familiar with the car invention by now. The awe factor just isn't there anymore (and hasn't been for a long time). When is the auto industry going to realize this?
The VO is very interesting. It would have been difficult to cast her from a dry read without the music. Kudos to those who had the vision (or in this case the hearing) to do so.
Posted by: Adman315 | Jun 12, 2008 9:27:53 AM
Cars aren't new, but the concept of "This car will get you the girl" is timeless.
Posted by: Steve | Jun 12, 2008 12:55:15 PM
