I've been meaning to post these images - and given Coke's Super Bowl Ad, it seems like a perfect time to do so. They are from a billboard in the Times Square area for Fage Yogurt. I'm assuming it's been up since the fall - I, myself only noticed it for the first time about two weeks ago.
It's situated along the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade route, a little more than half way before the parade's finish line downtown. It's exact location is atop
1623 Broadway, between
West 49th and West 50th Streets. The character balloon embedded in the yogurt bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain Warner Bros. canary. Makes you wonder what the cat did to create this situation?
It's a great ad in the tradition of Times Square "spectaculars;" Probably would have been just a little better if there was a huge, three-dimensional cup or tub of yogurt to clarify what's being advertised (the large white space and balloon distract from the almost-invisible-from-street-level yogurt tub illustration and tag line). I only say this because the brand doesn't exactly have the name recognition of say, Dannon and according to Fage's website, the company "...was established in June 2000 in the state of New York." Now that I know what they're selling, I'll be a little more aware of their product in supermarket refrigeration cases.
I love this commercial so much that I could end this posting here - but I won't because there is just so much that was done right with the production of it. As usual, it involves three things I'm extremely passionate about: New York City, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and cartoon characters.
In a previous posting, I made clear what I believed to be some of the biggest problems with CG animation and effects. So much of what's currently produced in CG looks plastic-y. It's either a limitation of the art form or purely a budgetary concern. Whatever the reason, some art directors and directors have wisely used it to their advantage while a lot of others have apparently tried pushing the envelope of realism and have fallen short.
"It's Mine," the title of this Coke commercial, features some of what I believe to be the attributes of CG. For me, it's effectiveness and believability, begins with it's application: inanimate objects. It's the reason why Toy Story worked so well thirteen years ago. And despite the fact that this spot's antagonists are "sculpted" versions of their animated counterparts, it features very subtle, "wind-induced" acting. There is a little cheating evident in the fourth shot, where Stewie's head turns (somewhat independent of the rest of his body) toward the Coke Balloon followed by Underdog with a similar gesture in the fifth shot, but that's minor and works in favor of the story. The often weightlessness of CG benefits the characters here in their inflatable state.
Incidental effects, like light reflection and sun glare on the balloons are practically flawless. Details like shadows cast from Central Park West trees onto the balloons, shadows from the balloons cast against buildings and, notably, a reflection on a cab windshield in the twenty-second shot are masterfully executed and ground-in-reality the world created in the commercial.
According to Duncan's TV Ad Land, cinematography was handled by Ellen Kuras. I've seen her work previously in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam, a truly underrated and overlooked film in terms of both visual style and performance [I'll add that I'm a bit biased because I live in the neighborhood where it was filmed]. In "It's Mine," Ms. Kuras manages to capture the majesty of an early Manhattan morning in the fall. The light, color and feel (minus the brisk chill in the air) are as accurate as anything I can remember experiencing on a November morning, maybe more-so thanks to the spot's idealized color-styling.
My only on-going pet-peeve about anything filmed in New York appears in the third shot. While that particular shot appears to have been filmed somewhere in streets of the Upper West Side, it seems inconsistent with the accuracy of parade locations used for shots one, two, four and five. I recognize that certain factors can come into play with stuff like this, like impact on traffic patterns during desired filming times, residential noise-impact, area street construction, finding a location that works for the shot's composition, etc. However, given the amazing effect of the commercial I'm not going to nit-pick.
Character selections are diverse and, barring another Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue special, unlikely to be seen on-screen together again. The spot's agency, Wieden+Kennedy, appears to have had an awareness of the popularity of the 1970's-1980's Underdog balloon, which makes his selection obvious. Stewie, I assume, appears because the Super Bowl was on Fox this year and Charlie Brown's plot angle pleasantly respects the unresolved Charles Schulz running gag while vindicating him in an entirely different manner.
It's interesting that the commercial received approval from Macy's in the form of their signature star balloons (complete with logo) whereas, in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street, the film's department store became the fictional Cole's. It's also interesting to point out that it's probably unlikely Stewie would appear in future parades due to Family Guy's high adult content and a statement on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade website's Marketing and Promotion page, which reads in part: "Our theme each year is 'Holiday Entertainment For Children Everywhere.' Therefore, it is important to Macy's that our corporate partners complement that image..."
Special mentions go to the ancillary gags featuring the arguing couple distracted by Underdog and Stewie's own battle outside their window and the little girl in the blue overcoat holding the football (ala Lucy) prior to Charlie Brown's triumphant interception of the Coke.
Finally, in this most New York-themed of blog posts, I'll send a shout-out to The Bronx's most famous Wisconsinite, Kevin S. There, are you happy now? At least I don't have to avoid eye-contact with you in the halls and elevator at work anymore.
I captured this video on my digital camera Monday night. It's the cast of Broadway's Legally Blonde: The Musical rehearsing "What You Want" for tomorrow's 81st Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Also rehearsed that evening was Young Frankenstein: The Musical and Xanadu: The Musical. Surreal, it is, when every musical highlighted in the parade is based on a film property produced in the last forty years. Coming Soon: The one-hundred dollar movie ticket and lines for the ladies' room at the multiplex. Enjoy the following preview (as much as you can with its poor sound and picture):
What can be expected over these next four days (or actually, next month and two weeks) in New York City? CROWDS!
Unbelievable, sidewalk-clogging 'OMG!-I've-never-seen-indoor-plumbing-and/or-buildings-over-four-stories-tall before,' crowds. I'll tolerate it this week because a large percentage of them are what will add to the electric energy of Thursday's 81st Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Considering that this event is approximately one-tenth of the reason why this blog exists, I would be remiss if I made no attempt to celebrate it this week. To kick off my Geeky Parade Enthusiasm Week (herein referred to, if at all, as "GPEW," which admittedly sounds like something you would say upon either the encounter of an unpleasant odor or an empty seat in church), I'm posting images of the four new character balloon models currently displayed in Macy's promotional parade window located on West 34th Street, between Broadway and Seventh Avenue.
They include: DreamWorks Animation's Shrek (l.), Sesame Workshop's Abby Cadabby (l.), Sanrio's Hello, Kitty (c.) and Jeff Koons' Rabbit (r.).
I know – we still have Halloween to contend with, but this gets me just as excited. Macy’s has redesigned its Thanksgiving Day Parade website for 2007 and it went online today: http://www.macys.com/campaign/parade/parade.jsp. The site features some of last year’s elements – namely the 80th parade line-up and some of the character balloon art – but also features a new layout and the television air times and channels. I’m sure it’s still a work in progress and will be further updated as we get closer to the parade and as they reveal more about this year’s "holiday ambassador" balloon (read more about that character below).
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A few months back I signed up for a google alert for “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.” I have it set for “as it happens,” which may have been a mistake. At least four times daily I receive google alert messages in my mailbox. It has a weird break-down in terms of usable information and looks roughly like this:
Forty-five percent of the alerts link to blogs where the author uses the term in conjunction with the phrase “like a balloon in…,” often referring to how much someone ate recently or how much weight someone has gained. [I want to say useless; however, it indicates the cultural impact the parade has on this country.]
Thirty-five percent of the alerts link to the same blog posting about the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s 1997 parade appearance on the Jell-O “falloon”. [Absolutely useless information and sad-but-true: I ‘went to the video-tape’ (DVD actually) and they were in the 1997 parade.]
Ten percent of the time the alerts link to blogs whose authors either have participated previously or will be participating in this or next year’s parade carrying an instrument. [Occasionally interesting/amusing accounts of people who are experiencing November weather in New York and/or the city itself for the first time.]
The remaining ten percent linked to useful articles, websites or press releases about entertainers, bands and characters scheduled to make appearances in this year’s parade. [So far I’ve learned that Wynonna will be performing something from her new Christmas album this year, Shrek will make an appearance in balloon-form (McDonald’s May ad campaign should have been a dead giveaway – it featured several Shrek the Third supporting cast members freeing and floating away on a giant Shrek inflatable tethered to a restaurant roof] - and as Macy’s holiday ambassador - and it costs on average about $500,000 to transport a marching band across the country.]
Should I, a self-described, obsessed (well, one of my obsessions, anyway) Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade fan, be worried? Although I try to be an optimist, I take nothing for granted – especially with two news items like these: A possible Macy’s buyout and a decline in American parade attendance.
Last Friday the Associated Press reported that “Shares of Macy’s, Inc. jumped 9 percent Friday amid speculation that the department store operator was being targeted for takeover.” While nothing is definite yet, one can begin to speculate what this could mean for the parade, especially when the article continues to say “[Macy’s, Inc]…has faced investor scrutiny as it struggles to transform its acquired May Department Stores Co. branches to Macy’s brand, resulting in lackluster sales [and]…blamed weak demand for home goods.” Should a buyout occur and inevitable cost-cutting begin, will it start with this 81-year old institution?
In a somewhat-related stretch, an article appeared on the Ventura County Sun’s website about a decline trend in American parade attendance. While the article (“Fourth of July event thriving, but Conejo Valley Parade nearly axed,” by Colleen Cason, Monday, June 25, 2007) focuses on the dwindling attendance and financial loses of small to mid-size parades there’s always the implication that this could be a future indicator for larger-scale events like Macy’s Parade. It was, however, pointed out that Macy’s Parade suffers no such loses similar to those of the Conejo Valley Days Parade and reasons offered for such declines included “multitasking modern families [with]…a host of entertainment options on any given weekend” and failure to employ media technology such as webcasting. Macy’s seemed to have covered this by having NBC’s coverage of the 2006 edition of the parade simulcast on satellite radio.
Anyway, aside from my alarmist news speculations, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is still a little less than five months away. In the meantime there’s still next week’s Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks, which I guess is as certain a sign of Macy’s, Inc’s commitment to its annual events.
Last Friday, most dogs not using the newspaper for house-breaking, probably came across this two-page ad placed by Macy’s:
On Sunday, those same dogs dug out their most ridiculous spring ensembles (and in some cases, the matching human-sized versions as well) and participated in Macy’s Petacular Fair. This was, however, only a portion of a larger event: Macy’s Flower Show.
As the description below this blog’s title suggests, I am an avid fan of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. As a result of my obsession, I’ve learned that Macy’s often re-purposes Parade paraphernalia for their other events. Take for example the following image from this past Sunday:
The two novelty balloons featured come direct from the Parade. The Dachshund (or wiener dog) is Frida, a reproduction balloon circa 1933 – the original, incidentially, was actually named Fritz. The Macy’s star is of the variety usually seen leading and closing the Parade.
Re-purposing is not limited to inflatables either; Last holiday season, the live-action/CG film Charlotte’s Web was promoted via a Parade float. On this day, it served as a promotional concert stage for the DVD:
Promotional floats and balloons are often a one-time deal though, so just like the baseball player balloon in Miracle on 34th Street, they find new life through a new paint-job. Case-in-point was the Disney/Pixar sponsored Falloon (combination float and balloon) promoting A Bug’s Life. Prominently featured on it was a cold-air inflatable of Heimlich the Caterpillar from the film. After the 1998 parade it was never seen again. Or was it? During Macy’s 2001 Flower Show, Heimlich re-appeared as a generic caterpillar atop Macy’s Broadway marquee.
It is not my intention to give the impression that the Flower Show is comprised merely of Parade cast-offs; there were a variety of inflatables and sculptures that appeared to be created expressly for it:
And of course there is the flower show itself within the store and in its Broadway windows featuring a new theme annually. This year’s theme is “Flora Exotica,” and features stunning African motifs and animal topiaries. It runs through April 15th at Macy’s flagship Herald Square store in New York City.
