Favorite commercial
Friday, July 14, 2006, 6:39 PM

It's amazing what they're doing with commercials today. Advertisers are pulling out all the stops to catch our attention because they know we hate commercials, because we have TiVos and opposable thumbs.

But some of them are so. very. good. Like Liberty Mutual's take on responsibility. I get a lump in my throat every time I see this one. It amazes me that I even remember Liberty Mutual is the advertiser because I never remember this stuff, but obviously Liberty Mutual's new responsibility compaign is the power of successful advertising at work because I'm like two HUHs? away from Alzheimers. See proof of the magic of a successful message here.

The commercial begins with the scene of a congested sidewalk in a city like Chicago or New York where well-dressed people are doing the harem scarem in a mostly gray-toned world, while a gentle, absolutely beautiful melody plays in the background. In the smack of nowhere, a man in bends over to pick up a stuffed animal from the ground to give it back to the baby who lost it in the stroller. The baby's mother is visibly affected by this, so much so that she performs her own act of random kindness in a coffee shop moments later. And then a voice begins to sing, amplifying the emotion (Sally Ellison of the band Hem, a group I've never heard of before but because of this one commericial, a singer I'd like to hear more of), and the commercial shows how these acts of random kindness are continued by people who witness the acts in the first place; the lookers-on. The heros. Us. It's poignant and amazingly well done.

I know how this is reading. Like smarmy slop, right? But you need to see it. So go see it (scroll down the page a bit until you get to the video screen) and come back and tell me what you think.

And share your recent favorite commercial. There are a lot of good ones out there, don't you think?
7 Did the Unhingey Jiggy Engage in Unhingenosity
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