Charmin Ultra - Bears

Now that we're past the Super Bowl, I'll take a request from a reader, and analyze Charmin Ultra's Bears commercial.

Right from the start, this commercial is a bit ridiculous.  The bear is trying to examine his butt to see if he has pieces of toilet paper stuck to himself.

I'm wondering exactly how the TP got on his butt in the first place.  If he can't reach back there to remove the leftover pieces, how was he able to wipe himself?

By the way, does anyone else find it strange that the TP roll is on a tree in a clearing?  I was always under the impression that bears did their business in the woods.

Anyway, the problem of having TP pieces left behind is apparently a recurring one in the bear family.  It's gotten to the point where the mother actually has to inspect her son's butt to make sure that it is clean.

If she knew that this was a problem, why did she wait until now to give him the Charmin Ultra?  She obviously had the package with her, so why did she hold off?  Was this his last chance to prove he could successfully use normal TP before she had to upgrade to the Ultra?

We briefly put those concerns aside as we cut to see the real world testing of the Charmin Ultra.  I do appreciate the fact that they put the testing statistics at the top of the screen.  I would be very concerned if I didn't know exactlty how much water was being used for this test.

Apparently, Charmin is very thorough in their testing process.  They've precisely measured out exactly how much time and water is necessary for a proper test.  Not only that, but we can clearly see that the test is performed using a three pound weight.  Did they think that by only using a one pound weight, they would leave most Americans unconvinced of the strength?

I've never really thought about how much pressure I use when wiping myself.  Has Charmin somehow determined that the average American uses three pounds of pressure when cleaning themselves?  How would they go about measuring this anyway?

We check back in with the bears, and find a much happier scene.  Both mother and son are thrilled to see that after using Charmin, not only are there no paper flakes on the son's butt, but his fur also somehow shines.  How exactly did this happen? 

Honestly, I'm not sure I want to use toilet paper that will leave my butt shiny afterwards.

Apparently, this is not a problem for the son.  He seems to really like the Charmin Ultra.  He likes it to the point that he rubs it against his face afterwards.

I can't say I've ever enjoyed a toilet paper to the point where I'd want to rub it against my face, no matter how soft it is.  Maybe it's just a bear thing.

That makes more sense the more I watch the commercial.  After further viewings, I have come to the conclusion that this product is actually being marketed for bears.

Is having bits of toilet paper left behind that much of a problem for most humans?  Maybe it is an issue for those people who have hairier posteriors, but to the point where special toilet paper is required?  I don't think so.  I think most of us would be just fine with the regular brand.

Bears, on the other hand, probably do get toilet paper stuck in their fur quite a bit.  So maybe this product would be very useful for them.

Rating: 2.5 TVs - While I appreciate the detailed information given about the trials, I think the commercial misses the mark a bit.  The target audience appears to be bears, but I'm not sure how many bears actually use toilet paper.

Super Bowl: Suzuki

This may be my last full Super Bowl ad review before I do a quick round up of some leftover ads tomorrow.

Here is the ad for the Suzuki Kizashi:

At the beginning of the commercial, we see a man driving his Suzuki down a snow covered road.  I'd like to give this guy credit for his driving skills.  Living in the DC area, most of my fellow motorists do not know how to handle driving in wintery conditions.  Faced with this scenario, most of them would just stomp heavily on the brake and skid out.

This guy clearly knows how to drive in the snow.  The key is to not overreact, and from the look of things, this guy isn't fazed by much.  He comes under seige by an army of demonic snowmen, and yet he doesn't panic. 

Let me repeat that: He comes under seige by an army of demonic snowmen and he doesn't panic.  And look at the way those snowmen were moving!  This was not some leisurely chase.  They were definitely coming for him.

Although if we take a closer look, he does seem to make a questionable decision in the face of the snowman attack.  He swerves to avoid the snowballs, but I have to wonder if that was really necessary.  Wouldn't it have been a better strategy to simply concentrate on staying on the road?

We've already seen the car get hit by a few of the snowballs early on and it doesn't seem to suffer any damage.  Yet, if he were to swerve off the road and crash, then he might be faced with some real danger.

Still, I guess I can forgive a little bit of nervousness in this situation.  I'm assuming he doesn't get attacked by living snowmen all that often.

Ultimately, he gets away, but I think that had more to do with the poor strategy emplyed by the snowmen rather than any special abilities of his car.  If you notice, the snowmen choose to surround him right as he comes to a side path, allowing him to get off the road.

Why didn't the snowmen in front of him wait further back?  He still might have turned off the main road, but they would have been able to continue their pursuit.  And as we saw, the snowmen can move faster than the car.

Come to think of it, is that such a good message for Suzuki to be sending?  "This car does not move as fast as demon snowmen."

Regardless, the guy might have escaped from this attack, but is he truly safe?  Are we to believe that this was just an isolated incident of snowmen rebelling against their human creators?  Isn't it more likely that these unholy creatures are a product of the apocalypse?

What happens when the car finally runs out of gas?  Hopefully he'll have made it to a warmer climate where he won't fear snowmen, but I'm sure there will be other demonic creatures lurking. 

There's a good chance that those creatures will attack him with something much more substantial than just snowballs.  Wouldn't he better suited with an SUV that might be able to store supplies and withstand some damage?

Come to think of it, if he had a Hummer or something like that, couldn't he have just run over the snowmen and been done with it?
Rating: 3.5 TVs - Demonic snowmen are kind of cool, and I like seeing someone actually be able to drive well in the snow.  But still, I am left with the impression that the Kizashi truly isn't the best car for this situation.

Super Bowl: Chrysler 200

A lot of people were talking about Chrysler's commercial featuring Eminem:

I guess we're supposed to be moved because Eminem is showing pride in his hometown.  And if Eminem can show pride in Detroit, we should all show pride in Detroit.  And nothing says "Detroit pride" like driving a Chrysler.

Basically, they're trying to tell us that if we don't buy the Chrysler 200, we're un-American. 
Is it just me, or would Eminem's message have more impact if we hadn't seen a cartoon version of him promoting Lipton iced tea earlier in the game?

Do you think he mentioned this fact to Chrysler?  "Hey guys, I know you're paying me a ton to be in your commercial, but just to let you know, I'll also be doing an ad for Lipton in which I kind of kill my credibility."

If not, I would have loved to see the look on their executives' faces as they anticipated seeing their ad, only to see them become crestfallen upon watching cartoon Eminem tell us how brisk Lipton iced tea is.

He should have just gone the full mile and worn the Alf shirt.

So now, the reaction that many of us had to the ad isn't "We should all buy a Chrysler!" but rather, "Wow, Eminem really sold out."

Assuming we hadn't just watch cartoon Eminem whore himself out earlier, the commercial might have worked really well.  It is clearly trying to be "epic," and for the most part it succeeds.  "Lose Yourself" works well in building the mood of the commercial, and the "Imported from Detroit" tagline brings the message home.
Rating: 3 TVs - A good commercial, ruined by circumstances.

Super Bowl: Bridgestone

All this week, I'll continue to look at some of the ads from last night's Super Bowl.

Bridgestone isn't necessarily known for their commercials, but I thought they did an admirable job this year.  This one really stood out for me:

For many of us, this is a common fear: Thinking you're sending a private email, but discovering that you actually hit 'Reply All.'

I'm sure that most of us have sent a message to a friend, and then panicked as we wondered: "Wait, did I reply just to him, or to everyone?"  The time it takes to check your sent mail folder for confirmation can be some of the most tense seconds you'll ever experience.

It seems odd to me that he didn't seem to have sent the email to anyone in his company.  He spends most of his time driving around to various places in order to destroy the computers of people who might have read the email.

Isn't it much more likely that he would have sent the email to co-workers, and he would have spent his time trying to destroy the company's server, or at least disable the computers of everyone in the office?

I suppose that wouldn't make for a very good tire commercial, but it would have been more true to the spirit of the ad.

He also seems to have sent the email to quite the diverse group of people.  One minute, he appears to be in a business meeting.  The next minute, he's attacking someone in the woods or at a coffee shop.  What kind of email distribution list is this guy on?

How bad was this email anyway?  I realize he might not want these people to read it, but is what he wrote going to make them any angrier than stealing or destroying their computers?  I might not appreciate an offensive email, but I really wouldn't appreciate someone destroying my laptop.  Those things aren't cheap!

I think the answer becomes clear after we take a closer look at the people to whom he sent the email.  It seems like there is a disproportionately high number of minorities in the group.  This leads me to believe that the email he sent out contained some racist content.

That makes sense, as he probably thinks it is better to be branded as "insane, computer destroying guy" rather than as a racist.  Eventually, people will look back at his madcap computer stealing spree and laugh about it.  If they think he's a racist, they'll never treat him the same way again.

In the end, I'm not sure what to think about this commercial.  Sure, the guy underwent quite a trauma, but ultimately, his reputation will be unharmed. (Excluding of course all the people who are probably really pissed at him for destroying their computers)

But is that a good thing?  Shouldn't we want him to be outed as a racist?  Is it really a happy ending if he and his Aryan buddy can keep making their hateful jokes, and they are never forced to face any consequences?
Rating: 2.5 TVs - I thought I was onboard with the commercial's message, but in 2011, there is no place for racism.

Super Bowl: Pepsi MAX

Pepsi MAX has had a few commercials in the Super Bowl, and they've all been fairly good.  In my opinion, this one was the best of the bunch:

I will give this ad a lot of points for realism.  This is probably the mindset of just about every person who has ever gone on a first date.
I would like to point out the first thing that the woman wondered: How much does he make?

Yes, this is the most pressing question in her mind.  Apparently, how much money a guy makes is more important to women than his relation with his mother and whether he wants kids.

I'm sure this does not come as a surprise to anyone.

By the way, what is with the goofy face that she makes after she wondered if he was the one?  Unless he can read her thoughts, then that look is really kind of bizarre.  If I was on a date with a woman, and she made that face, I'd be a little weirded out.

Of course, by the end of the commercial, it appears that maybe they can in fact read each other's thoughts.  If this is the case, you'd think that they would be doing a better job of hiding their thoughts.  If I was on a date with someone who could read my mind, I don't think I would keep thinking "I want to sleep with her." 

More likely, he'd be trying to cover his thoughts by thinking of stuff like baseball statistics.  Of course, this commercial would have made a lot less sense if the guy was just thinking about baseball stats the whole time.

When the woman gets her Pepsi MAX, the guy's one track mind goes from wanting to sleep with her to wanting her Pepsi MAX.

Why exactly is he so obsessed with getting her Pepsi MAX?  They're at a restaurant.  She must have just ordered a Pepsi MAX, so what's stopping him from ordering one too? 

And wasn't he listening when she ordered the Pepsi MAX in the first place?  If he wanted a Pepsi MAX so badly, why didn't he just order one when she did? 

It's not like he watched her drink it and saw her enjoy it, prompting his desire to have one as well.  No, it was just the arrival of the can that prompted his obsession.  Is the can that appealing that it could prompt this kind of desire?  The can certainly doesn't appear that spectacular at first glance.

I think it's a bit odd that the waiter just dropped off a can at the table.  Wouldn't most restaurants serve their sodas in glasses? 

Maybe, they were having some shortage of soda at the restaurant, and they only had a few canned sodas left lying around?  If so, I suppose it is possible that this was the last Pepsi Max left, and that would explain why the guy wanted it so badly.

If that is the case, then maybe they should have picked a better restaurant for their date.  You'd hate to have poor soda selection at a restaurant ruin a potential relationship.  At the very least, I hope they received some sort of discount.
Rating: 4 TVs: Aside from the potential mind reading, it's nice to see some realism in a commercial.  Men are obsessed with sex and women are gold diggers.  That sounds about right.

Super Bowl - Chevy Cruze

Another review of a first half ad.  This one wasn't quite as good as the Doritos ad:

The guy finishes with a date, gets in his car, and the first thing he wants to do is check Facebook. 

I can understand this.  In this age of smart phones, people can't seem to go more than a couple seconds without updating their statuses or checking in on Foursquare.  So I get that for some people, the ability to check Facebook via voice interface in their car could be appealing.

But are people really going to buy cars just because it can read Facebook updates to them?  I mean, while it might be an attractive option, I can't believe they're using this as the main selling point.

I am also a bit skeptical about how accurately the car is going to be able to read things from Facebook.  My mother-in-law has caller ID on her phone that reads off the names of the person who is calling.  But the names get so garbled to the point that they're almost unintelligible.

Yet, we're supposed to expect the car to read people's names correctly?  Not to mention some of the things that people post as their statuses. 

I might consider this feature just for the amusement factor of listening to my car try to read Facebook statuses, but that seems like an expensive way just to amuse myself.

As for the commercial itself, the premise is a bit ridiculous.  This was their first date, and they're already Facebook friends?  Did they add each other before they even went on their first date?  Wouldn't that be a bit awkward if it didn't work out? 

Or maybe the date was going so swimmingly that they felt that they had to add each other as Facebook friends while still on the date.

Is this what dating has come to in 2011?  You take time out from the date to get on your smart phones and add each other as friends?  Maybe it's just a sign of the times that even on "best first dates ever" people can't turn off their phones.

Anyway, Facebook reveals that the girl enjoyed the date as well.  I wonder if he doesn't feel a little bit of regret as he drives off.  If she enjoyed the date so much, maybe he could have gotten more than a quick kiss at the end.

You've got to think that on their next date, he's going to be more aggressive.
Rating: 2 TVs - I would have liked this commercial better if her status was something like "Worst date ever.  The guy is such a loser."  At least that would have been funny. 

Super Bowl - Doritos

While the Black Eyed Peas are performing, I decided to do a quick review of a commercial from the first half.

Overall, I'd say the commercials in the first half have been solid.  Much better than the fare from recent years.

I'd say the best ads have come from Doritos.  So, here's a review of one of their ads:

I'll move past the fact that I personally hate Doritos, and say that at first watch, I thought this guy was someone who I could relate to.  Much like him, I'm the type of person who insists on getting every last bit of food out of the bag. 

In my younger days, whenever people didn't finish their meals, I would be quick to eat whatever they left over.  Heck, sometimes I didn't even have to order my own food.  I'd just eat a little bit of everyone else's scraps.

Would I have ever gone to the point of licking someone else's fingers?  No, that is clearly over the line, and the finger licker is obviously a bit crazy.

Really, if there's anyone I relate to, it is the guy with the bag.  This guy knows what he's doing.  He finished off the chips and now he's dumping the crumbs into his mouth.  I'd say there's a good chance that his next move is to lick his own fingers.  Because that's what I would do.

That's why the finger licker's actions are so egregious.  He didn't even give the guy a chance to lick his own fingers.

This appears to be taking place in an office somewhere, and I have to wonder, in this era of political correctness, is there any way that this guy would remain employed at this company?

This guy is clearly obsessed with Doritos, so I would be surprised if this was his first time doing something like this.  Wouldn't someone have complained about him by now?  Unless he works for Dunder Mifflin, I'd think something like this would be a fireable offense.

At the very least, wouldn't word have spread around the office not to eat Doritos because crazy finger licker guy might practically molest you to get the crumbs?  By this point, I'd think that people would know not to get Doritos from the vending machine.  So maybe the guy who got his fingers licked had it coming a little.

And the guy at the end of the commercial kind of deserved what he got too.  First, he wipes the crumbs on his pants.  The slob couldn't find a napkin anywhere? 

And the guy did wipe a lot of crumbs on his pants.  If he's going to waste that much food, then should he get upset when others want to have some?

Not to mention that he should probably invest in some higher quality pants.  It didn't look like the pants were pulled on that strongly, and yet they ripped quite easily.  Maybe this is what he deserves for wearing such cheap pants.

Rating: 3.5 TVs - It was a funny ad, but I couldn't rate it any higher, because I'm not sure if the message we're getting is clear.  Are they saying that Doritos are so good that it might lead to crazy, obsessive behavior?  Or are they saying the Doritos are the snack food of choice for the mentally unstable?

Budweiser - Frogs

Throughout the years, one of the more prominent Super Bowl advertisers has been Budweiser.  They can usually be counted on for at least one clever ad each year.

One of their most memorable ads came in 1995.  The commercial featured three frogs who said "Bud," "Weis," and "Er."

Naturally, the frogs became a big hit.  It was a simple but brilliant commercial.  It featured animals (which are always popular in commercials) and a catchphrase that everyone in America would be repeating for months.

The frogs went on to appear in more commercials over the next few years.  But Bud knew that as great as those frogs were, they wouldn't remain popular forever.  Even the cutest of animal mascots can grow tiresome (anyone seen Spuds McKenzie lately?) and people can only watch frogs say three syllables so many times before the appeal is lost.

So in 1998, they gave the frogs a nemesis: Louie the Lizard. 

Unlike the frogs, Louie - who hung around with his pragmatic friend Frank - had a lot to say.  Most of it was regarding his jealousy over the frogs being chosen for the original ad instead of him.

This was a definite game changer, as we're no longer supposed to think that we're watching a commercial.  Instead, we're supposed to be watching a behind the scenes look at the original series of frog commercials.  It's very meta.

As the commercials progressed, Louie's bitterness grew to the point where he sought to violently eliminate the frogs.  During the 1998 Super Bowl, he hired a ferret hitman to electrocute them.

Louie's plan seemed to fail as the frogs somehow survived the ordeal. 

But as it turned out, he was actually successful.  After the attempted hit, the "Weis" frog began to suffer post traumatic stress and couldn't fulfill his role in the commercial anymore.

Much to Louie's delight, he was chosen to be the replacement:

Like all good things, eventually these ads had to end.  In the commercial world, (remember that according to the logic of the commercial, these aren't actual commercials, but a behind the scenes look) Budweiser grew tired of the frogs - mostly due to Louie's unscripted improv attempts - and fired them.

The frogs were not happy.  Finally, after years of only saying one syllable, they revealed that they could indeed speak, and got some revenge on Louie. 

This probably prompted a bunch of kids to whip each other with towels and scream, "Squirt some tears, punk!"

If the frogs were truly actors, you've got to give them a lot of credit.  Even when they're about to be electrocuted, they don't deviate from the script.  No, they continue to say only "Bud," "Weis," and "Er" even though their lives are in danger.

I believe Louie and Frank might have continued to appear in some commercials after this one, but I'm pretty sure that the saga of the frogs was complete.

Rating - 4.5 TVs - These were some of the best ads that Bud has ever done.  They managed to turn a simple concept - Frogs reading the Budweiser sign - and turn it into a multi-year epic. 

In addition to successfully advertising their product, Bud got the added bonus of being able to merchandise the characters.  They sold hats, shirts, and posters featuring the frogs and Louie.  I believe there were also stuffed animals made of all the characters.

There is probably a whole generation of Americans who feel loyalty to Budweiser because they had a ferret doll.  Now that's marketing!

Netpliance - i-Opener

No look at retro Super Bowl ads would be complete without taking a look back at the dot com era of the late 90s/early 2000s.

From 1999 to 2001, the Super Bowl was loaded with commercials from start-up internet businesses.  One of the problems these companies had was that they spent a ton on advertising, instead of worrying about such things like a sustainable business model.

Here is one such example:

I'm not sure any of us remember the company Netpliance, but apparently they had an commercial during the 2000 Super Bowl:

Apparently, back in 2000, people who used the internet were perceived a little differently than they are today.  According to this commercial, back then the internet was still the domain of nerds and geeks (who are easily identifyable by their large rimmed, taped glasses.)

Maybe I'm misremembering things, but weren't most people in America using the internet by 2000?  I mean, "You've got mail" had become a common enough phrase that they used it as the title of a movie two years earlier.  It might have been a bad movie, but it starred Tom Hanks, so I'm sure that a decent amount of people saw it.

Yet this commercial seems to assume that up until this point, the only people using the internet were nerds.  Mostly because the internet required the use of a computer.  And only nerds used computers!

I guess Netpliance didn't realize that there was a booming personal computer market.  Or that the reason all these dot coms were starting up was because a lot of people were indeed using the internet.

But reacting to the perceived problem of non-nerds not being able to use the internet, Netpliance came up with a solution: The i-Opener!  It allows you to access the internet without the use of a computer.

Am I missing something, or doesn't the i-Opener look an awful lot like a computer?

I decided to do some research on the i-Opener, and found that the company sold it at a loss in order to sell online access subscriptions.  Back in the day, there was speculation that this would be a common business model.

The business plan failed because of the very people they were advertising against: Nerds. 

Technically saavy users discovered that the i-Opener could be configured into a fully operational PC.  So they bought the i-Opener, reconfigured it, cancelled their subscriptions, and essentially had purchased a really cheap computer.
Rating: 1 TV - This commercial wasn't especially funny, nor did it seem to have a grasp on the market it was trying to reach.  It's no wonder that the company failed.

Lays - Fence

For the second Super Bowl retro ad, I decided to look at an ad from the last time that the Eagles played in the Super Bowl.  Here is Lays' Fence from 2005:

The commercial starts out with a familiar concept of American youth: Kids are playing baseball, the ball goes into the neighbor's yard, and they can't get it back.  Apparently, Old Man Higgins is quite the grouch, and doesn't return things that go into his yard.

You'd think that the kids would have learned to hit the ball in a different direction.  If they had merely batted facing away from Higgins' yard, they could have avoided this entire mess.

Fortunately, the little girl has an idea: Give the neighbor some Lays chips and maybe he'll give the ball back.  This girl really seems to enjoy her Lays chips.  She has at least two bags of them with her, and she gets this weird look of delight on her face every time she eats one.

Considering how much she seems to love Lays, I'm surprised that she is so willing to give up the bag for the boys.  I mean, it doesn't appear as if she was actually a part of their game since she seems to be just standing to the side eating potato chips.  So either this is just a really nice gesture on her part, or maybe she thinks that if she helps get the ball back, the boys will finally let her play with them?

As it turns out, the girl's plan works.  I'd say it was a very lucky break since the plan had some major flaws: They were counting on Old Man Higgins being out in his yard when this all happened.  And isn't it more likely that Higgins would have just gotten annoyed by the kids throwing more stuff into his yard?

Anyway, as hoped, after receiving the gift of Lays, Higgins does return the ball, as well as some other things that he had been holding on to.

The commercial takes a bit of a dark turn when we realize that this old man has been holding the child's dog hostage for some time.  Did the kids realize that Higgins was a dognapper?  Based on their surprise on the dog's reappearance, I'm guessing that they didn't know Higgins had him.  Either way, I would have expected more of an emotional reaction at the dog's return.

At the very least, shouldn't they have been angry at Higgins for holding their dog hostage?  If it was my dog, I probably would have gone over there and yelled at the guy.

What happens next might explain why they didn't pursue this course of action.  Higgins had also been holding onto a car as well.  And apparently, he is strong enough to throw the car over the fence.

If my neighbor was a cranky old man with super strength, then maybe I wouldn't want to confront him either.  I might just say "I got the dog back.  Let's count that as a victory and be done with it."

Finally, MC Hammer is thrown over the fence.  The kids are surprised by his appearance, but I wonder if they would even know who MC Hammer is.  These kids look to be about 10 years old.  Since this commercial was made in 2005, that means that Hammer would have long since faded into obscurity by the time they were born.

Finally freed from his super strong captor, does Hammer look to run away to safety?  No, he begins to sing and dance for them.  This leads me to believe that Hammer had been a prisoner for years and undergone some sort of emotional torment.

Did Higgins keep Hammer on hand as his musical slave?  Was Hammer forced to perform for him at a moments notice? 

This would explain why Hammer simply starts to perform without prompting.  The years of torture had conditioned him that way. 

The kids are unsympahtetic to Hammer's plight, so they throw him back over the fence.  But look at how powerfully they throw him.  That certainly seems beyond the capabilities of mere children.

Perhaps it isn't just Higgins, but rather everyone in this commercial who has enhanced strength.  After all, looking back at the beginning of the commercial, the kid hits the ball a pretty good distance.  Is this commercial supposed to take place on Krypton or something?
  Rating: 2 TVs - If there is one thing that America loves, it is seeing washed up celebrities in embarassing situations.  This commercial certainly delivers in that department.  And I'm sure that this commercial made an impact with the super strong, kidnapping old man population of the country.  But for the rest of us...I don't know if I'd want any part of Lays chips after seeing this.

Super Bowl Retro Week: Nike - Hare Jordan (1992)

This week brings us the event that many consider to be the Super Bowl of advertising: The Super Bowl!

In preparation for the big game (and the commercials that will come with it), this week will be Super Bowl Retro Week at The Ad Pundit.  All week, I will take a look back at some classic Super Bowl commercials from years past.

The first Super Bowl retro ad is Nike's Hare Jordan commercial from 1992:

In 1992, Michael Jordan was the most popular athlete in America.  He was unquestionably the best basketball player in the world, his Chicago Bulls had just won their first title, and he was already well known thanks to previous commercials.

But Nike thought of a way to make him even more popular: Team him up with Bugs Bunny.  It made a lot of sense.  If Jordan teamed up with a beloved cartoon character, the kids would love him even more, and as a result, buy more of his sneakers.

Let's see how the commercial turned out.

When the commercial begins, we find that Bugs Bunny has chosen to shack up in a rabbit hole directly underneath a basketball court, and he is annoyed by the noise and vibrations from above.

I can sympathize with Bugs.  I have had several problems with upstairs neighbors stomping around when I am trying to sleep.  It is incredibly frustrating, and makes one want to inflict violence on the people above.

But why did Bugs choose to build his rabbit hole directly beneath a gymnasium?  Didn't he realize that people would be playing basketball directly above him?  I have to think there were better possible locations for him.

He goes up to investigate, and the guys playing basketball get pissed off.  I think they overreacted a bit.  It wasn't like Bugs provoked them.  All he did was ask "What's the racket?" and they physically abuse him.  I'd say there's a very good chance that these guys were on steroids.

So Bugs decides to play them in basketball.  I'm not sure if this is going to help him with his original problem of not being able to sleep, but it seems that Bugs has pushed those concerns aside in favor of getting some revenge. 

At first, we might wonder how Bugs will stand a chance against these four roided up meatheads, but then we see that he has a teammate: Michael Jordan. 

Honestly, Bugs probably could have taken them on by himself.  After all, he did once beat an entire baseball team by himself.  How much harder could this be?

I do wonder why Jordan decided to team up with Bugs.  Wouldn't it really have made more sense for him to have been on the team with the other humans?  Since Bugs did not premeditate this situation, I have to assume that Jordan was already at the gym in order to play basketball.  So why is he going to team up with someone who wanted to stop people from playing?

Maybe we can assume that Jordan and Bugs were friends, and when Jordan saw that Bugs was in trouble, he simply decided to help out his friend.  But there may be another explanation.

In his later years, it was revealed that Michael Jordan may be the most competitive person on the planet.  He was already dominating the NBA at the time, so maybe he felt that he needed a new challenge.  Maybe he thought that teaming up with a rabbit to go two-on-four was exactly the sort of thing to stoke his competitive fire.

As it turns out, even a two-on-four game isn't a challenge for the team of Jordan and Bugs.  Although it should be noted they do cheat considerably.  You'd think at some point those guys would have started to complain, or even fight back.  But it seems that they were so intimidated by Jordan's presence that they just passively took the abuse. 

The opponents also get distracted when Bugs dresses up like a woman.  In Bugs Bunny cartoons, I never understood why men got so worked up over Bugs in drag.  I mean, it's not like he's an especially attractive woman.  He just looks like a rabbit in a wig.

And yet, these guys rush over to stare, whistle, and drool at him.  Is this how they react when they see a woman?  I don't know many women who would be charmed by that behavior.  This definitely makes me think that they were taking some sort of performance enhancing drugs.

In the end, Jordan and Bugs win the game, and leave their opponents a dazed mess.

But did anything really get accomplished?  Sure, Bugs got revenge on the guys who abused him, but there's a good chance that the next day, someone is going to be back on the court playing basketball, and Bugs won't be able to sleep again.

And next time, will Bugs have Jordan around to bail him out?  I doubt that Michael Jordan has nothing better to do than hang around a local gym in case his rabbit friend needed assistance.

Anyway, they made a follow up commercial the next year in which Bugs and Jordan play basketball against Martians.  That commercial was so popular that they made an entire movie out of it: Space Jam.

Rating: 4 TVs - While Bugs' victory in the commercial may be shortlived, there's no denying that this was a victory for Nike.  Michael Jordan became even more popular, and I don't know if there was a child in America who didn't want a pair of Air Jordans after seeing it.