Here is the translation:
| Un equip de futbol va ser el centre del món. I quin és el secret? Es preguntava tothom. La velocitat, el control? Anar sempre a l'atac? Buscar sempre el gol? És el joc en equip? no serà la humilitat? Sense protagonistes, ni cap divinitat. Un equip de futbol va ser el centre del món. I quin és el secret? Es preguntava tothom. La feina ben feta, qui no ho recorda una cosa molt nostra en els moments de més glòria Estimar el teu ofici, vigilar cada detall, va cantar en un poema Joan Maragall. Tot està per fer, podem aixecar el vol. Tot és possible, escrivia Martí i Pol Salvador Dalí, Pau Casals, Antoni Gaudí, Des d'aquí universals. La Ruscalleda amb la cullera, amb la ploma el Monzó, tu amb el teu martell i jo, amb el meu ordinador. Metges, periodistes, mecànics, pintors, fusters, lampistes, músics i escriptors. Un equip de futbol va ser el centre del món. I quin és el secret? Es preguntava tothom. La passió, la dedicació, l'atreviment, la curiositat, i estimar la feina és la nostra creativitat. Són les ganes, treballar fort, Desperta company, és millor que anar sol. No ens hem de reinventar Hem de seguir essent qui som, fer les coses com sempre, que no ens venci la son Un equip de futbol va ser el centre del món I quin és el secret? Es preguntava tothom Si fem les coses com nosaltres sabem Hi ha res impossible ho aconseguirem I el que facin els altres tant se val. La feina ben feta no té fronteres, No té rival. | A football team was the centre of the world. And which is the secret? Asked everyone Speed, control? Be always striking? Always aiming at the goal? Is it team game? can't it be humbleness? No protagonists, no master gods. A football team was the centre of the world. And which is the secret? Asked everyone. A job well done, who can forget, a thing of our own in the most glorious moments Love your trade, Care for every detail, sang once in a poem Joan Maragall. Everything's to be done, we can fly up. Everything's possible, wrote Martí i Pol Salvador Dalí, Pau Casals, Antoni Gaudí, From here, universal. Ruscalleda with her spoon, with his fountain pen, Monzó, you with your hammer, and I with my computer. Doctors, journalists, mechanics, painters, carpenters, plumbers, musicians and writers. A football team was the centre of the world. And which is the secret? Asked everyone. Passion, dedication, Audacity, curiosity, and loving our job is our creativity. Being eager, working hard, Wake up fellow, it's better than being alone. We mustn't reinvent ourselves We must still be what we are, do things as we always do, do not let sleep defeat us. A football team was the centre of the world. And which is the secret? asked everyone If we do things as we know Is there anything impossible? We can do it. And what other may do it is not essential. A good job has no borders, It is unrivalled. |
Now I'd like to ask you some things:
- What do you think of the ad?
- Do you think it is a good beer ad?
- Do you think it tells something to the (Catalan) audience?
- Does it tell something more to you, rather than just advertising beer?
- Do you like the ad text?
- Do you think it is a nationalist ad?
- Do you think it seems to mix things up?
I am interested on how you see the ad, especially if you are not Catalan (but Catalans are welcome too!). If you wish to do so, just comment on the post. Then, I will explain it and give my opinion on the next post. I hope you participate :)!
5 comentaris:
Let me be the first to answer your questions, one by one....
- I like the ad, it's nice and tells nice things about Barça, at first, and Catalan people, then.
- As I see it, it is definitely NOT a good beer ad. Unless the final message is “they did it so well because they drink that particular beer”…
- It reminds me of the old Generalitat's campaign "La feina mal feta no té futur" (something like... Things not properly done have no future (?). Do you remember that?
- I don't see it like a beer ad. It's advertising soccer. It is trying to give some different message... I’d love to see how a Spaniard understands it.
- Very nice text. Out of place, maybe? I particularly like “La passió, la dedicació, l'atreviment, la curiositat, i estimar la feina és la nostra creativitat” and “Si fem les coses com nosaltres sabem Hi ha res impossible ho aconseguirem”. Nice lessons for the everyday life.
- Could be a nationalist ad.
- It does mix things up! Now that I think about it again... this is just like Joan Laporta trying to be a politician, we have sport at the beginning and end up in absolutely different matters...
I'm so glad you posted about this ad! I've been seeing a lot when I watch full episodes of Cràckovia (I must have seen it almost 10 times by now) and I wanted to check if I understood it correctly.
Anyway, here are my answers to your questions:
- Yes, I like the ad. I actually love it because it's interesting, it's a poem, it has a nice rhythm to it, and it showcases different accents.
- In a weird way, I think it's a good beer ad. Good ads usually tell you something about the product but memorable ads make lasting impressions on you. This one does. It's crafty in a way that in the end, your mind sort of convinces you that drinking their beer will somehow help you do the fantastic things they mention.
- I think it would raise the spirits of any Catalans watching the ad. It's basically reminding them of their achievements.
- Of course. To me it speaks of how great my beloved Barça have become this year and also it gives me insights on Catalan artists, poets, chefs, etc.
- For sure! I think I might even copy some verses down as I'm finding them quite inspirational!
- Hmmm... I think it could be a nationalist ad. If it is, I'll like it even more. I think this verse: "Si fem les coses
com nosaltres sabem
Hi ha res impossible
ho aconseguirem" says it all. Maybe it's trying to give Catalans hope that independence is not impossible.
- Not at all. Sure, it's a beer ad that goes from football, to poets, to artists, to messages of hope, etc. but I think all those little bits are what make this a really fantastic dish of an advertisement.
Well, first of all it's very strange that there is a connection to football and beer. If there weren't the lines about the football time every now and then, then it could be a nice poem about anything. However, I think by using the football club, they try to address nationalistic feelings. Other than the beer brand being sponsor of the football team I don't see any connection to the text. They want to show that they support something great. But such images are often used in commercials, aren't they? (Sorry for not answering all questions, I just wrote what came to my mind)
- What do you think of the ad?
I'm going to have to come back to this one.
- Do you think it is a good beer ad?
I really couldn't say. It was made to appeal to Catalonians; I don't even know any Catalonians. I've been there once, but it was a long time ago and... well, I was 22 and wandering the European youth hostel circuit, so much of my focus was on trying to have sex with Australian girls. My point is that I have no basis to judge the ad’s effectiveness.
- Do you think it tells something to the (Catalan) audience?
As above, I haven't the slightest idea.
- Does it tell something more to you, rather than just advertising beer?
Definitely. It suggests to me that the sophistication and artistic fluency of Europeans (Catalonians in this case - I'm extrapolating) is even farther beyond that of the U.S. population than I'd thought.
- Do you like the ad text?
I do, I like the lyricism of it.
- Do you think it is a nationalist ad?
This one I really don't know anything about.
- Do you think it seems to mix things up?
I'm not sure what you mean by "mix things up." My best guess is that you're asking if I think the ad is provocative, or daring in some way, or (to use a current American expression) is it "pushing the envelope." My impression is that the ad is positive and upbeat - it seemed to be instilling Catalonian pride and fellowship. It certainly didn't make me feel like storming the Bastille or anything.
Returning to the first question (what I thought of the ad):
I can't get over how night-and-day different the ad was - not only from an American beer ad, but from pretty much any American television commercial that I can recall.
First of all, it's 1:30 long, which is unheard of here. A handful of consumer product ads on U.S. TV are 1:00 long, but the great majority are 0:30. Not only is this ad 1:30, but it doesn't even show the product until close to 3/4 of the way through! If I were the viewer, I might miss the product altogether if I was having a conversation, or cooking, or folding laundry while I was watching TV - which is often the case.
Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, the ad is much, much more highbrow than any beer ad I have ever seen in the U.S. It’s all montage, a tapestry. I can think of one American ad - ever - that included spoken verse, a software ad aimed specifically at young, educated, computer-savvy professionals, (i.e., nothing like our beer ads).
I don’t know if you guys have seen American beer commercials, but in case you haven't I'll try to give you an idea. The great majority of beer ads on American TV are targeted at men between the ages of 21 (legal drinking age) and about 30. Fifteen or 20 years ago beer ads used to show guys doing macho stuff like mountain climbing, bull riding, etc. and often involved popular music, and very often involved lots of scantily-clad women.
Nowadays, ads have changed. They're still targeted at 21-30 year old men, but that demographic is regarded as a bunch of lazy, overgrown juveniles. Hot women are still a frequent compenent, but what the ads are really about now is stupid humor. Like, fart-and-burp joke stupid. On a good day, it can rise to the level of silly humor (not comic genius, but it does get a laugh).
Here's a typical example of the “stupid” category.
Here's one I'd consider “silly.” A couple of things about it:
Do they "bleep" things on European TV? Here, the “bleep” sound is what they put in to cover "swear" words (ones you can't say on publically-broadcast American TV).
Last thing: the girl with the glasses who asks for a pen and then later is at the copy machine is a friend of mine. Her name is Irene White, and she’s a big sweetheart.
OK, enough of me typing... here it is.
Thanks for all your comments!
@MaryMoon: Thanks for the insight about Joan Laporta, it gave me an idea for a post.
@Isabel: thanks for touching the lovely topic of dialects.
@Anna: very good point about appealing to football to convey nationalist feelings.
@Derek: thanks for the insights on American ads and the long comment ;). The comparison made me question some things I never thought about. How is that your friend was in the ad?
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