Today's selection is Shake Up Christmas by Coca-Cola:
We start off with a pleasant little scene. People are enjoying a nice dinner while listening to piano music played by a guy who kind of looks like Screech from Saved by the Bell. I'm kind of disappointed that they didn't get Dustin Diamond to actually play the part. I'm sure he could have used the work.
We then cut to an office building where a man is obviously working late based on his forlorn look as he checks the time. Finally, we see a man hanging decorations on the side of a building.
All of this seems normal enough. But then, the various characters hear an odd soda fizz sound and look to the sky. The camera pans out and we learn the truth: The entire city and its populace are trapped inside one of Santa's snow globes.
Santa apparently has several collections of snow globes, and I can only assume that each one contains a similar community of miniature people.
Just what is going on here? Did Santa somehow create these mini-people with his magical powers? Are these normal people that he shrank down and imprisoned? Is the snow globe some sort of portal into another dimension?
Whatever the explanation, one thing is clear: These people and their city are now subject to the whims of their lord and master Santa Claus!
On this particular night, Santa decides to have some fun with his minions. He tilts the globe, and chaos ensues.
Due to the tilting, the people begin to slide all over the place. I'm impressed by the sturdy construction of Snow Globe City. You'd think that the buildings' structural integrity would be tested by all the shifting, but everything seems to be holding up just fine.
Strangely enough, the people of the city don't seem to be especially disturbed by any of this. I'm guessing this isn't the first time that Santa has decided to shake up their world, so maybe they have adopted a "it's going to happen, so let's just go with it" attitude.
Apparently, this is Santa's attempt at making his minions happy. But did he consider the consequences of these people skipping out on their jobs?
The patrons of the restaurant are no longer going to have mood music while they dine. That building isn't going to be decorated for the holiday. Whatever it was that the office guy was working on, well that surely isn't going to get finished.
The office worker eventually slides into what looks to be a school concert. When the boy on stage - most likely his son - spots him, the man has the nerve to give his son a wink and a "Of course I'm here!" look.
Who are you kidding, pal? If not for the Santa intervention, there's no way you would have been there. And look at the expression on the kid's face. He may be happy, but he's not fooled. If anything, I'd say he's surprised that his deadbeat father actually managed to show up to something.
Meanwhile, the building decorator has swung over to a neighboring building where a comely lass was conveniently standing on her balcony. She doesn't seem frightened or bothered by this in the least. Instead, she shares her Coke with him, and from the looks of things, they'll probably be doing it later on.
Finally, the pianist slides into a house where he is greeted warmly. He soon leaves his piano behind and joins the family for dinner.
It isn't clear if this is actually his family, or some random family whose house he just happened to crash into. It's probably a fairly common occurrence in Snow Globe City for strangers to randomly slide into your house, so maybe they've just gotten in the habit of welcoming all visitors.
At the end, Santa looks pretty darn pleased with himself. He brought happiness into the lives of three of his miniature subjects, despite what kind of damage might have been done to the rest of the people and the city itself.
Perhaps this is the reason those women in the Best Buy ads were so mad at Santa. Perhaps they knew the truth about him. Behind his jolly, gift-giving exterior, there is a cruel tyrant who has thousands of helpless, miniature prisoners at his mercy.
Parents teach their children to behave so that Santa will put them on the "nice" list and bring them gifts. But maybe they should just warn them that if they're naughty, they'll end up imprisoned in Santa's snow globe.
Rating: 2 TVs - I guess as far as nights in Snow Globe City go, this was a good one. But I'd be worried to see what happens when Santa is in a bad mood.
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