tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707034857443698532.post9005940899504311700..comments2023-10-12T09:36:35.623+02:00Comments on This curious thing called Catalonia...: Barça, Estrella Damm, Catalonia or everything?Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288216469730298652noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707034857443698532.post-735955097055737032010-04-04T19:30:40.201+02:002010-04-04T19:30:40.201+02:00Thanks for all your comments!
@MaryMoon: Thanks f...Thanks for all your comments!<br /><br />@MaryMoon: Thanks for the insight about Joan Laporta, it gave me an idea for a post.<br /><br />@Isabel: thanks for touching the lovely topic of dialects.<br /><br />@Anna: very good point about appealing to football to convey nationalist feelings.<br /><br />@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?Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08288216469730298652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707034857443698532.post-88063912509038127892010-03-30T06:57:53.275+02:002010-03-30T06:57:53.275+02:00- What do you think of the ad?
I'm going to h...<b>- What do you think of the ad?</b> <br />I'm going to have to come back to this one. <br /><b>- Do you think it is a good beer ad?</b><br />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.<br /><b>- Do you think it tells something to the (Catalan) audience?</b><br />As above, I haven't the slightest idea.<br /><b>- Does it tell something more to you, rather than just advertising beer?</b><br />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.<br /><b>- Do you like the ad text?</b><br />I do, I like the lyricism of it.<br /><b>- Do you think it is a nationalist ad?</b><br />This one I <i>really</i> don't know anything about. <br /><b>- Do you think it seems to mix things up?</b><br />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.<br /><br />Returning to the first question (what I thought of the ad):<br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />Here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiTarkl31Gw" rel="nofollow">a typical example of the “stupid” category</a>.<br /><br />Here's one I'd consider “silly.” A couple of things about it:<br /><br />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). <br /><br />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. <br /><br />OK, enough of me typing... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI3Y1auTFpU" rel="nofollow">here it is</a>.Derekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00354418525228720346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707034857443698532.post-40665511699157935312010-03-07T17:05:59.863+01:002010-03-07T17:05:59.863+01:00Well, first of all it's very strange that ther...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)annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14989947994626570874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707034857443698532.post-42700922031499851702010-03-04T12:52:19.564+01:002010-03-04T12:52:19.564+01:00I'm so glad you posted about this ad! I've...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. <br /><br />Anyway, here are my answers to your questions:<br /><br />- 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.<br /><br />- In a weird way, I think it's a good beer ad. Good ads usually tell you something about the product but <i>memorable</i> 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.<br /><br />- I think it would raise the spirits of any Catalans watching the ad. It's basically reminding them of their achievements.<br /><br />- 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. <br /><br />- For sure! I think I might even copy some verses down as I'm finding them quite inspirational!<br /><br />- Hmmm... I think it could be a nationalist ad. If it is, I'll like it even more. I think this verse: <i>"Si fem les coses<br />com nosaltres sabem<br />Hi ha res impossible<br />ho aconseguirem</i>" says it all. Maybe it's trying to give Catalans hope that independence is not impossible.<br /><br />- 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.Isabelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08352514645957693532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707034857443698532.post-73418289320579957822010-03-03T19:52:49.722+01:002010-03-03T19:52:49.722+01:00Let me be the first to answer your questions, one ...Let me be the first to answer your questions, one by one....<br /><br />- I like the ad, it's nice and tells nice things about Barça, at first, and Catalan people, then.<br />- 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”…<br />- It reminds me of the old Generalitat's campaign "<i>La feina mal feta no té futur</i>" (something like... Things not properly done have no future (?). Do you remember that?<br />- 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.<br />- 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.<br />- Could be a nationalist ad.<br />- 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...MaryMoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10002726839887540729noreply@blogger.com