Skateboarders not skateboarding on TV
First up, Mark Gonzales in a Nissan commercial. Funny thing is, when I saw this commercial the very first time I kept expecting a skateboard, but it never materialized. Something about the commercial exuded a skateboarding vibe, or a similar sense of fun. I didn’t recognize the Gonz the first time because he was completely out of context, and quite frankly I didn’t pay attention to it after the first viewing. That thirty second commercial skip button is great. Watch the spot after the jump. – Thanks to Seth Berg for the tip.
Next up, not one, but two Stacy Peralta items. Did you know he was the one who made the Burger King commercial titled “Whopper Virgins?” Well, neither did I, but Fuel TV did. They implied that the skateboarding community might have something to say about it, Im not sure why though, because he was a filmmaker hired to do a job, not a guy appearing as a skateboarder in a commercial for say… a video game.
Skateboarders not skateboarding on TV
The TV spots for Burger King’s Whopper Virgin’s are really just trailers for the extended “documentary” commercial. If you can get past the morality of exporting American fast food culture to the few places left in the world left untainted, the documentary is actually fairly interesting. You wouldn’t think it, but it’s not inherently obvious how a hamburger should be eaten if you’ve never seen one before. Also interesting, they scoured the earth for remote cultures, invited them to a taste test, and they all showed up as if dressed for the wedding of the village elder’s daughter. Surprisingly, Whopper Virgins is a very soft sell for the product, considering it is a commercial after all.
Peralta does actually appear in some of the footage. He says he was unhappy about it and asked them to remove him from it, but ultimately they ignored his request, probably trying to cash in on his indie-film cred. Peralta didn’t have control over the final edit. He talks about the bad taste the BK commercial left him with in a short but good interview over at Fuel TV. Stacy has a documentary coming out about Crips vs. Bloods gang warfare in LA called Made in America. The film is getting good reviews and the trailer looks engaging. After all, that is Stacy’s home turf, roughly speaking. And his friendship with Jay Adams makes it obvious that he’s not entirely unfamiliar the effects of falling in with a bad crowd. So it’s already likely better than some random bleeding heart liberal taking a shot at it. The interview is good and the trailer for Made in America is embedded there, so check it out.
Burger Whopper Virgins – Directed by Stacy Peralta
Mark Gonzales in a Nissan Frontier commercial – Directed by Spike Jonze.
Whoa, that Wooper Virgins commerical is getting top honors as “Worst Commercial of the Year” from all sources. Here is one:
http://advertisingwizards.blogspot.com/2008/12/whopper-virgins-more-pain-from-crispin.html
I can’t say that Peralta is at fault for the content. Maybe he just made the commercial. Let’s hope so. Whoever came up with the concept will have that line deleted from their resume forever.
Maybe not at fault for the content, but he should have had the consciousness to turn the job offer down. The commercial was more or less “Let’s screw these clean living people by introducing them to American junk food crap. See what your missing?” How can anyone get behind that and smile about it. This is an old post I’m commenting on, but several years later I’m still riled up by it. Elders should know better.
That Gonz one was pretty good. I wonder what led them to cast him in a commercial. Must be some viral marketing ploy.
I’d say that (casting MG) has something to do with “Directed by Spike Jonze.”
Some one should tell the guy who made that coat he can get it done cheaper and quicker in Thailand. Some one must have seen death bowl to dogtown and put gonz in for historical accuracy. Good casting.
stacy “just does commercials to fund his movies”. so thats definitely not being a sellout, thats just smart business. the crips and bloods movie looks way better than “dont be a menace 2 society while drinking your juice in the hood”
Woah, that Nissan commercial is pretty old…
The Frontiers haven’t had that body style for 8 years at least.
/Nissan owner
//Approves of Gonz in commercial, even if it’s old
That commercial is actually recent. They may have made it a while ago, bit it aired in 2008.
hmmm, I must investigate this further on the interwebs…
I saw this nissan commercial several years ago on TV. Not sure why it aired again in 2008. I didn’t think about who the guy in the chair was either.
does stacy still skate?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5uKJHwTkek check this out it is sweeeet
Seriously? That video is way old, plus we’ve already covered it here.
After seeing “bastards of the party,”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnb2g0eTfKc
I can’t imagine why someone, especially outside that world, would think they could make another crips & bloods movie, granted I haven’t seen Stacy’s movie, but just from the trailor and descriptions in the fueltv interview it seems like this is just more sensational and has better graphics.
Maybe it’s a challenge to present a subculture that he’s outside of in a way that he’d like to see outsiders treat skateboarding? Again, haven’t seen his film, but can’t imagine it is bringing anything new to the history (“Bastards” was not only produced/directed by an ex gang member but also had f’n mike davis!)