Saw this YouTube ad today for Trader Joe’s. I was trying to figure out if it’s viral or not… Carl from Carl’s Fine Films (who supposedly shot it on his Palm Treo) claims it’s “unauthorized” but I’m not convinces… What do you guys think?
Our old studio on Bryant was right up the block from Trader Joe’s and as you might imagine we would wander over there several times a day. One day I was taking a photo of a primitive but lovely hand-drawn chalk sign when a manager came running over to tell me cameras aren’t allowed in Trader Joe’s. Well, he didn’t say anything about cell phones so I decided then and there to make a commercial for TJ’s on my Treo. Up until now they haven’t done any TV advertising at all so I have no idea if this is the kind of thing they would like.
you can watch a longer version on Carl’s website:
http://www.carlsfinefilms.com/cff_website/tjs/
What’s cool about this ad, being it “unauthorized” or viral is that it’s spot on. It’s funny, catchy, well written/directed, and most important -- anyone who’s a TJ fan can easily relate to it! The good things said, the bad things said, the jokes, all combined, makes TJ the favorite place it is for TJ members of the tribe.
On a personal note, Águas de Março (Waters of March) is one of my favorite Brazilian songs (written and composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim):
Art Garfunkel (among many other) did a nice English cover:
I read somewhere that the creator of the video was kicked out of Trader Joe’s when he was caught filming it. He managed to get a lot of filming done first! I think that this is not viral because TJ have never done advertising in the past.