Bring On The Commercials

Note: This article was originally drafted over a year ago. So, why bring it out now? Well, the 2nd best thing about the Super Bowl (and it is a DISTANT second) are the commercials that air during the game. Companies spend millions of dollars for a few seconds of air time, and there is always a big competition to have the best Super Bowl commercial. So, in light of all the great commercials that we will hopefully be seeing soon, I thought I would take a look back at one of my favorite commercials of all-time. I hope you enjoy it.


The Greatest Short Film of All-Time (or at least this week).

Those of you that actually interact with me on a daily basis know how obsessed I can get thinking that some new (or even old) song, movie, or book is currently the greatest thing in the world. This phase with the song/movie/book will probably last anywhere from two days to three weeks before I burn out and move on to something else. Hopefully, it is because I have just found the next greatest thing. Anyways, this entry is about the current greatest thing.

Before you read the rest of my entry, please do yourself a tremendous favor and go to this site. It should only take 1 minute of your time, and then just click back on your browser to return to this site. Go ahead, I’ll wait for you. What follows will make a lot more sense if you go to this page: Dr. Pepper.

Now, I know that everyone has seen this commercial many times. Some of you may even be sick of seeing it on TV at least a couple of times a day (if you are actually lucky enough to be able to watch TV). If you feel this way, I am asking that you please bear with me for a few minutes while I explain why this commercial is the greatest short film of all time (this week). Unfortunately for us, Television often only shows the shorter version of this masterpiece (probably due to Dr. Pepper’s desire to have more opportunities of showing the commercial for the same amount of money since advertising time is billed by the second). In fact, I hadn’t even realized that there was a longer version of the commercial until I searched for it on the internet today. Without further ado, I am going to walking you through the commercial in hopes of explaining why it is the greatest of all time.

Convenient Store Scene:
The first thing that strikes you is the piano. I can think of few better (or more widely recognized) songs for a commercial than Meat Loaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love…” It sets the tone for the direction that the commercial is going to take. You know instantly that the commercial is going to be about sacrifices and choices that one makes for the sake of love. The great thing is that you are able to glean all of this information before anything happens. As far as you can tell, a man is simply walking along the Convenient Store aisles looking for something in particular (we’ve all been there).

Next the director chooses to zoom in on the object that is the purpose behind this man’s search. We are stunned to see that it is a box of tampons. At this moment, it is almost as if the actor feels our hesitation/uneasiness with the situation – he reaches for a box and then pulls his hand back. He cringes, looks around, and hesitates as the camera pans to a shot of his girlfriend in the car. At this moment, it is as if a light bulb goes off in our heads - this must be one of the choices our hero must make for the sake of love. Clearly this girl is the girl whose love he is willing to make sacrifices for. Reaffirmed by a sweet (yet manipulative) smile from his girlfriend in the car, our hero removes the box of tampons and heads towards the cashiers station. It is important to notice that our hero is very aware of the sacrifice he is currently making and that he is still very uncomfortable with the situation. He is carrying the box to the register using what I like to term the “open palm” method. This method, while allowing everyone to see what the hero is carrying (good for the commercial), allows the box to be held in such a way that all of the customers of the store (not pictured) will know that he doesn’t want to be holding it. He makes his away towards the cashier with eyes darting back and forth across the store and a nod to the clerk. The clerk has an incredible smirk on his face that just screams, “You are a whipped!”
After the shot of the clerk’s smirk, the director immediately cuts to the hero standing at the register while the clerk calls for a price check over the speaker system in the convenient store – a despicable move that adds to the burden of sacrifice for our hero. Appalled at his now more precarious position, our hero turns around to face the others in the store. Mercifully, the next scene shows him carrying the box of tampons out of the store while also carrying a few cans of Dr. Pepper; sacrifice number one complete.

Laundry Mat Scene:
This second scene (or sacrifice) begins with a shot inside a laundry mat. Our hero is seen next to the girl from the car folding laundry. Initially, we cannot see the particular garment that is being folded because of the large white T-shirt being folded by the girlfriend. As soon as we have the setting, the film cuts to a close-up shot of the “happy couple” that has the girlfriend folding a sports T-shirt (number 35 on the back) and the hero folding a pair of see-through women’s underwear. The hero looks perplexed as he tries to fold them. We are then shown the reactions of other people in the laundry mat, and things do not look good for our hero. He is getting questioning looks from the other people. Our hero looks up from folding the underwear in time to make nervous, uncomfortable eye-contact with these fellow laundry mat patrons.
As if sensing he is uncomfortable and to demonstrate her level of appreciativeness for the sacrifice, the girlfriend leans in to kiss our hero as he still struggles to properly fold the see-through underwear. The smile on our hero’s face after the kiss suggests to us that he feels the sacrifice is well worth any embarrassment he may feel. We are left to assume it is for the love of the girlfriend. For some reason, there is also a Dr. Pepper bottle visible in this last shot. It appears with the cap off and a sizeable portion of the sugary sweetness missing. End of scene.

Yoga Lesson:
(Disclaimer: I think this is yoga, but seeing as how I’ve never done yoga or any group exercise thing, I could be wrong. It might be Pilates. Regardless, it is irrelevant because our hero shouldn’t be doing it – this much is clear). This is a quick scene where we are able to see our hero perform two moves that look extremely uncomfortable and unnatural. He exchanges a forced smile and waves at his lady while lying on his back with his legs extended over his head. Curiously, there is also a Dr. Pepper can sitting on the floor beside him.
One more side note, it should be pointed out that our hero is dressed in what I would term as “traditional women’s workout attire.” He is wearing a purple shirt, which could be ok with the right bottom piece (just kidding, pair of shorts). He’s also wearing what appear to be cut-off sweat pants. Definitely not kosher, and our hero appears to be making some tremendous sacrifices for love.

Dressing Room (new scene found in the extended version – previously unreleased):
This scene opens with our hero holding a few dresses for his girlfriend in addition to her pink purse and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. I’m beginning to pick up on the fact that Dr. Pepper maybe a theme throughout this commercial, but I could be wrong. A quick look at his face tells you that he’s in a difficult position. In fact, I can imagine that he is in the classic boyfriend/husband situation where the significant other asks you how she looks in a dress. We’ve all been there, and unfortunately we all know that we’ll be there again. The other key point in this scene is the manner with which our hero holds the pink purse. It may confuse some of you at first, but let me clarify it as I see it. First of all, he’s holding the purse by the very tip of its handles. He is also contracting his biceps so that the purse is in front of his chest. Now it may seem counter intuitive to hold the clearly embarrassing object in such a prominent position, but it is actually brilliant. First of all, it’s Murphy’s Law that if you are holding something you don’t want others to see, they will invariably see it regardless of your efforts to hide it. Secondly, our hero is holding the purse in such way (contracted biceps, in front of his chest) like you would hold something you thought was disgusting. I’m envisioning a new father holding a dirty diaper as he goes to throw it away. Regardless, it is clear that our hero has made another sacrifice (or has done “anything thing for love” as Meatloaf would sing).

Running In The Rain:

As the short film progresses to this scene, we are starting to notice that the music is rising to its climax. Our hero is seen running in the rain in a soaked pink shirt (is anyone else reminded of Ross from Friends?) and holding an open umbrella over his girlfriend. Curiously, he’s also holding a Dr. Pepper in his left hand. His girlfriend gets in the car, closes the umbrella, leaving our hero “uncovered” in the rain. It is important to note that it is a common theme in the history of literature and film to have key scenes take place in the rain. While our hero’s final decision ultimately is made in the next scene, it is important to note the manner in which he drinks the Dr. Pepper in the rain. He tilts his head way back in an act of defiance. Of course, we are not sure if his act is aimed at his girlfriend (whom appears to be walking all over him as the commercial goes on and on) or to the gods for causing the downpour. Regardless, we know that there will be resolution to our hero’s conflict in the next scene.

Final Scene: In the House
As we head to the final scene, there is only one question that is unanswered – “What is the thing that our hero won’t do for love?” It is with this frame-of-mind, that we come across our hero seated on the couch with his girlfriend lying across his lap. His face has a very troubled appearance on it as if he is mulling over some great question in his mind. Then, as if he has come to a final decision, he begins to smell her hair. As he smells her hair, she slyly reaches back with her hand and grabs his Dr. Pepper in order to steal a sip. Suddenly our hero is on the move right as we come to the part in the Meatloaf song where he emphasizes the line, “But I Won’t Do That.” He immediately heads to the front door, glances back at her with a defiant look (almost as if realizing he is now free from the many consequences/abuses that he has faced over the course of the film). He then exits the house and begins running down the road holding his Dr. Pepper. Our hero is happier than we have ever seen him throughout the commercial. He takes a sip as he glances back at his (now ex-)girlfriend before running off into the night.

The End.

Thank you for reading along with me as I explored this great advertising film. I hope that you enjoyed yourself as much as I did. Now, if you will excuse me, I think I’m going to go have a Dr. Pepper.