Cheerios - ID# 363

Neuqua Valley

Commercial

Entry Description

A vintage commercial for Cheerios.

Copyright Info

This song “Grocery Grabbing” Mall Music Muzak - Mall of 1974 was obtained from https://archive.org/details/opensource_audio and is open source and copyright free. I will send the email of proof to Mr. Mark Ciesielski.

Recent Teacher Comments

• 4/23 1:35 pm - Cheerios - black and white retro cool concept. Pitch about health is contradictory to 1950s messages, girl with nose ring also out of place, along with horror “Psycho” stinger. Great overall production values
• 3/10 10:21 am - This is an excellent vintage commercial. AUDIO: Your work on the audio was impeccable. It really matched the sound of that era. From the voice over and ambient noise to the sound effects and music bed, it was a superb homage. CAMERA: Your camera work was also spot-on as a tribute to the era. LIGHTING: Your lighting was a little bit too contrasty for the time period. Most TV and film from that era was very brightly lit (excluding film noir). EDITING: on-point, evenly paced, if not a bit slow. But slower editing pace is appropriate for that era. STORY: as a commercial, story is important. You are selling a product and emphasizing why that product is the best choice. You sort of accomplish this, but one of the classic advertising techniques from that classic era was CONTRASTING with another product. When the VO mentions "great for all ages", we should have seen their kids eating Cheerios. Also, if you wanted to make this TRULY vintage, you should be mindful of anachronistic elements like the microwave in the background of the kitchen, or the wife with a nose ring. These elements don't fit with that era. Overall, this is excellent work and one of the best vintage style commercials I've seen in 14 years of video festivals.

Judge 1

Positives: Spot is executed well for the concept. "Cherrio'd up" is funny copy. Sound is well produced and helps underscore the retro technique. Actor's performances are quite good.

Improvements: The need for a retro approach is not clear here - not sure what advantage it would offer the advertiser. This almost seems to mock an earlier time. The point of retro advertising should be to appeal to nostalgia in a positive way, and drive purchase. And retro work still need a lens of modernity applied so it applies to a broad demographic. Featuring the wife as the person who serves her husband breakfast and stays behind while he goes to work could ultimately irritate female consumers, and backfire on the brand. The "razz my berries" line is funny but doesn't fit well in this spot - you perhaps could have connected this better by including fruit with the cereal and tweaking how he uses the statement.

Judge 2

Positives: Loved that you took this angle to tell this story. Original and Well thought out script! Great Storytelling! You did a great job at showcasing the product and having a good catch phrase at the end. Good branding throughout!

Improvements: the sound effect at :21 is more like a scary movie effect and pulls you out of the commercial. I would suggest using one that gives off the vibe that you found the perfect breakfast!

Judge 3

Positives: Story: Your script is tight and delightful, it works well with your vintage theme and made me chuckle. Sound: Audio is pretty good overall, the music is fun and works but is perhaps a little loud in the mix. I like the static announcer voice. Camera: A diverse range of camera shots, many are working for me but I enjoyed the use of the Lazy Susan to show off the box. Editing: The freeze frame is nice, the filters work well for this as well. The pace of the cut is fun and really moves your story along.

Improvements: Camera: In the opening shot the camera angle feels a little low, the relationship of the couple seems more important than the table top. Lighting: Generally very good when on your cast. There are a few reflections in the background, in the cereal bowl, and in the hero shot of the Cheerios box that do not help drive the story. Your shot at 38 seconds of the husband eating does a beautiful job of removing any reflections. Since you are going black and white you could have covered those pesky reflections with black cloth.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: