[rtwolfe]

Funny, but not a positive review. I think the reviewer makes some good points. I think this is the funniest line.

Side note: freeze the video at :15 and tell me she doesn’t look as if she took acting lessons from Dramatic Chipmunk.

.

Commercial Grade: Jennifer Lopez and the Fiat 500


If you watched football Sunday, you probably saw the new Fiat commercial featuring Jennifer Lopez as often as you saw the Detroit Lions score against the Kansas City Chiefs. Which, for those of you who didn’t watch the ineptitude of Haley’s Vomit (not the catchiest nickname, but after being outscored 89-10 through two weeks it is fitting), is a LOT.

Since football watchers are predominantly male, and men are easily excitable and are reduced to their most primal during rough-and-tumble contests such as football, it’s not unreasonable to believe that guys could be influenced by whatever they see in this exaggerated, caveman-like state of mind. For that reason, a commercial with an attractive lady trying to sell a car seems like a perfect spot to run during football games. Watch it, Ben. Your Madden commercials could be next.

Almost everyone can agree that JLO is a beautiful woman. At 41 years old (she’s now 42) she was named People’s “Most Beautiful Person” and she has one of the most famous rear ends in the world.

I’m willing to forgive her for dating Ben Affleck and P. Diddy , although with Affleck’s Madden voice-overs this year, it’s tough to forgive anyone who ever associated with him. Well, unless it’s Boiler Room Ben Affleck, then he can do whatever the **** he wants because Boiler Room Ben Affleck is AWESOME. There is no denying her success, even if its deservedness is questionable. She’s managed to have lucrative movie and music careers despite not really being a great actress or singer. She is considered by many to be a fashion icon, even though she once wore this to the VMAs.

In being selected to lead the judging panel on TV behemoth American Idol, JLO reasserted her dominance in the entertainment industry. Of course, a new album has followed, and it seems like we might be in the midst of JLO’s final run as a legitimate superstar performer. She’ll continue to be hugely famous, but this is probably the last time we’ll see her going all out as a sexy Latin pop star. Maybe she’ll cap it off with another failed marriage to a backup dancer.

So up until Sunday, JLO and I were cool with eachother, at least as far as I was concerned. But what she and Italian automaker Fiat (who owns Maserati and Ferrari) have done has soured my previously neutral opinion of JLO and guaranteed that when I spend half a million bucks on an outlandish sports car, it will **** sure be a Lamborghini.

As the commercial opens, JLO is driving a compact Fiat 500 down a city street with her latest single, “Papi,” playing as the soundtrack. As she drives, men begin to chase after her, but it’s unclear what their intentions are in the event they actually catch her. She and a bank teller (seen at :05) seem to be the only living women in this strange Fiat utopia, and since JLO is the more attractive of the two she is the one being stalked. We see a bunch of men climbing over eachother and running after the car, like a bunch of super-zombies out of 28 Days Later. I’m thinking terrible thoughts about how this all might end.

A few seconds later, a guy jumps on JLO’s windshield and mouths “I love you” to her. Unfortunately, this doesn’t do anything to lessen the creepiness of the situation. In fact, it reinforces my thought that these men are some sort of procreation-starved, living sex zombies in pursuit of the most suitable mate of an extremely limited pool.

(Side note: freeze the video at :15 and tell me she doesn’t look as if she took acting lessons from Dramatic Chipmunk.)

I really feel for the bank teller at this point. Sure, she’s not conventionally beautiful, but I would expect at least one of these fellows to be going after her while all the others chase JLO. It is at this point I really feel depressed about the prospects of living in Fiat utopia and decide that if buying a Fiat 500 brings us anywhere closer to this scenario, then count me out.

For the next several seconds we’re shown more highly functioning guys chasing after her in cars and on ramp-jumping dirt bikes. Then, via text on the screen, we’re told that if we like the car, we should go online, and if we like JLO, we should get in line. Still sounding pretty creepy, huh?

In between those instructional messages JLO comes to a stop and is instantly surrounded by the pursuing mob. They yank her out of the car through the sunroof as I brace for the worst…
… And they break into a choreographed dance sequence as the chorus of “Papi” hits its crescendo! Phew, I was really worried that this was going to turn into a Wes Craven movie. Luckily, it only turned into a really bad music video. Fears soothed, I must point out a couple of things. I know pop music is filled with nonsense lyrics, as the idea is to get people dancing, not enlighten them. We have Rush and Miley Cyrus for that.

As best as I can tell, this song is about dancing with hordes of dudes while loudly proclaiming that you’re faithful to your husband, or “papi.” And can you believe that the lyrics to the chorus are Move your body/Dance for your papi, Rock your body/Dance for your papi? I could have listened to it a million more times (and I probably will, Sunday while watching NFL games) and not been able to decipher that.

Lastly, JLO started out as a professional dancer, so shouldn’t she be good at, um, dancing?

Final Grade: D

 

[rrucker]

I hope this becomes a little mini-series, like those Maxwell House commercials several years ago. Where's JLO going? Is she running from something or to something? Who can rescue her, or who can she rescue? Let's make a story out of this!

 

[Deron]

The spot didn't make any sense to me either until my wife had me watch her entire video on Youtube...the Fiat spot was lifted from that.

She eats too big of a bite of a magic cookie that has a love potion and the chase is on.

Meh, it wouldn't have impacted me one way or the other, I would still have bought my 500C.

The chipmunk look is hilarious though.

 

[breakpulse]

Looks like there's a full music video of it of the j lo song papi, check it out on youtube

 

[Hilldweller]

J.Lo sings too?

 

[Mr. Abarth]

Another person who seemingly hates Jennifer Lopez, and for VERY trivial reasons...lol

 

[Hilldweller]

Look.
The J.Lo thing is boiled down to this.
For a company to enter a new market, one where they had a tainted reputation, where their credibility might be questioned, during political unrest, global monetary hysteria, poor economic times, a fan of the brand would have hoped that the company would've picked a spokesperson with some gravitas.
She's a lightweight, that's all. Nobody with a motor-related rep. Nobody that stops a conversation at a party when she comments on tv.
She's pretty; I've always liked looking at her. But if I see her on the tube, I turn down the audio and play some Skynyrd or something.
Nobody cares what and why she drives. She's just a bit of fluff.

That's not hate. That's just calling it what it is.

 

[Retired Rev]

Bill, let's analyze your comment. Kia has the worst reputation in the Auto world. They have hip-hop hamsters do the ad for the Soul, they sell a boat-load of the cars, kicking the butt of Toyota's XB. So, do hamsters have "gravitas"?

Introducing a car into the US market during a recession is no easy task. The JLo ads are round one and based on the success of those ads in getting people into the showroom we'll either be seeing more of her or some other spokesperson that all of us keyboard critics can rant about.

 

[Hilldweller]

KIA had a poor rep, and deserved it. The product was terrible when it was first introduced. Just like Hyundai years ago.
KIA's rep changed after Hyundai purchased their majority and improved the product.

I still can't get past the acronym. Killed In Action. Hideous thought to drive a car with that stamped all over it. Despite the chic gerbils and sock-monkey spokespersons.

And yes; a sock-monkey has much more street cred and gravitas than Ms Lopez...

 

[rrucker]

It may be that FIAT is just trying to appeal to many markets with different upcoming ads. No one complained about the drive-in ad, and that hit the nostalgia quotient, now they're working the fashion angle, and next, maybe it'll be the weekend road trip crowd.

It's early days.

 

[smark]

I think the J Lo ad commercial is fine! That stupid song sticks in my head all day. Wish that modern car commercials would focus more on the product. Less background nonsense. I would like to see more of the car. Human interaction with the car. All that matters, if it sell cars.

 

[Deron]

Look.
The J.Lo thing is boiled down to this.
For a company to enter a new market, one where they had a tainted reputation, where their credibility might be questioned, during political unrest, global monetary hysteria, poor economic times, a fan of the brand would have hoped that the company would've picked a spokesperson with some gravitas.
She's a lightweight, that's all. Nobody with a motor-related rep. Nobody that stops a conversation at a party when she comments on tv.
She's pretty; I've always liked looking at her. But if I see her on the tube, I turn down the audio and play some Skynyrd or something.
Nobody cares what and why she drives. She's just a bit of fluff.

That's not hate. That's just calling it what it is.

Spokesperson? LMAO

Dude, give it up already, it was one freaking commercial spot that was lifted from her video.

Geesh, go take some hormones.

 

[rrucker]

Over on FB, there are a lot of negative comments, and some here as well. I think part of that is because those who want to complain have an easy outlet. Also, people will make more of an effort to complain about something they don't like than to give a nod to something they don't like. Think about it -- if you get bad service at the local steakhouse, you're probably going to say something, but if you have a good meal and service, you probably won't, because that's what they're supposed to do, feed you a tasty meal and treat you favorably. That's the expectation.

So, that leads to this interesting (to me) fact: I've continued to ask people face-to-face; at work, at home, in the locale, mostly male, several die-hard petrol-heads, aged anywhere from mid-20's to mid-50's. I've discussed it with 30+ people, I'd estimate.

You know how many people have said they disliked the commercial? None. Not a one. Nada. Zippo. Some have complained about the frequency, but the worst anybody said about the commercial was was that it was "a little too bubble-gum." Most people liked it and when I asked if they thought it was a good ad for the car, the most common response was, "Sure, why not? Hot girl, hot car, what's not to like?"

IMO, I think the FB postings and the negative responses here are probably magnified. The person-on-the-street, I don't think they give a ****. Sorry to keep talking about this, but I'm really kind of fascinated by the psychology of the whole thing.

Ryan

 

[smark]

I was cleaning my 500 tonight on the driveway. My neighbor was walking up the street. He called me J Lo. I did a little dance for him. My legs are hairy compared to hers. Someone watching the commercials. It got out to him.

 

[rrucker]

Funny, I did the same thing. I was parking at work and a co-worker said, "Hey, JLo has your car!", so I did a little dance for her. All I was missing was the baggy short pants she's wearing.

 

[Hilldweller]

I work with electrical engineers, chemists, PHDs, and other analytical types. I guess our crowd just appreciates a bit more substance.
The only comments I've gotten about the commercial have been, "J.Lo... ...what's up with that?" Then they smile a little, shake their head, and stroll away.
One friend's wife does want to test drive a C. And one of our instructors would like to drive one but her husband is seriously concerned about the image and is discouraging her.

I don't understand the previous "hormone" comment.
What I do understand is that a large demographic in America is totally REPULSED by the hip-hop culture.

 

[rrucker]

For the record, I also work with highly trained, highly educated people, systems engineers mainly (of which I'm one). I attributed the surprised looks I got to that, in part, thinking that maybe my analytical co-workers were having an easier time separating emotion from logic. I don't know. Like I said, it's fascinating to me.

I don't know if anyone views JLo as hip-hop any more (if they ever did). Hip pop maybe (I just made that up). She's about as street as a McDonalds commercial.

 

[Retired Rev]

What I do understand is that a large demographic in America is totally REPULSED by the hip-hop culture.

Funny, Hip-Hop Hamsters have helped Kia sell over 10,000 Souls a month.

 

[Hilldweller]

Funny, Hip-Hop Hamsters have helped Kia sell over 10,000 Souls a month.

To a specific demographic...

That's another commercial I haven't seen

The people that I know that are coming up to me and have intelligent/thoughtful conversation in mind about the 500 are car-guys, people who've used a spanner and bloodied a knuckle.
They wear their baseball caps bill-forward, their britches are all the way up and secured with a belt that fits, and they couldn't tell PuffDaddy from DogSnoopyDog in a police line-up.

I was just hoping for a commercial that introduced the 500 and FIAT as a car, a serious car. Not a prop, an accessory, a piece of jewelry.
Whether you call the Lopez video hip-hop or pop, it's still something I would turn off if I heard it on the radio. Her music, her opinions, her entire world are irrelevant to me.

They coulda shoulda done better.

 

[Deron]

Funny, Hip-Hop Hamsters have helped Kia sell over 10,000 Souls a month.

I especially like the stoner hamster on the drum kit.