Israeli Advert

April 4, 2007 - 4:00 PM by

A few comments about this video.

First, the preoccupation here with Iran is pervasive. From Israel’s Eurovision entry to daily news reports to this ad for high speed Internet depicting an Israeli in Tehran.

Let’s leave aside the message on the guy’s tee-shirt – “Combat (units) are the Bomb, Bro” -(loose translation) because …well let’s just leave that.

The film quality is beautiful. The choice of music is apropo. And the spark of hope it lends is worth hanging onto i.e. casually strolling through Central Tehran and hooking up with an Iranian friend at a cafe.

I can see the potential. But regardless of the advert’s concluding message – “It’s not yet possible in real life but on the Internet it happens every day” – the ad is almost too powerful for a high speed Internet campaign.

Judge fer yerself.

Thanks to Of the Art of Crossing the Oceans for the lead.

Tags: • Category: A New Reality, Business, Israeliness 

Comments

12 Comments on Israeli Advert

  1. Daniel on Thu, Apr 5th 2007 8:58 PM

    2. Translate the shirt more literally, taking into account the root/shoresh of the word “Combat”. “Closeness (neighborliness, peace?) is the best, my brother!” The slogan is a double entendre, and I believe it is this meaning that the director wants to capture.

    Stephanie – I agree. I think its a great commercial. OK back to work at my ad agency…

  2. TMA on Fri, Apr 6th 2007 2:39 AM

    3. wasn’t there a very similar ad a few years ago? but not set in iran? I remember some blog or other had a link to it, but I can’t seem to find it right now.

  3. Stephanie on Fri, Apr 6th 2007 8:34 AM

    4. Don’t know about the ad of years ago but Avi, would love to think the double entendre is true..You have insider information, perhaps? hee hee

  4. Daniel on Fri, Apr 6th 2007 5:49 PM

    5. No insider information. Now would be the time in which I should pretend that I came up with this interpretation, but I will be honest. I read in in a blog like half a year ago. TMA, I don’t think this ad existed a few years ago, but I did see it half a year ago and it was the same ad. I can’t remember what blog, but if I find it again I will post it here.

  5. TMA on Fri, Apr 6th 2007 6:57 PM

    6. Two years ago, at least! Found it!

    See March 26 & March 30 (2005) posts:
    http://balagan.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_archive.html

  6. Daniel on Fri, Apr 6th 2007 8:43 PM

    7. Interesting! Is this commercial still running?

  7. Aviv on Sat, Apr 7th 2007 1:04 PM

    8. 013 Barak has been leading a different campaign over the past few years, where Israelis abroad interact with strangers they percieve as family figures. They realize they’re desperate for that interaction because they miss their family at home so much. The taglines all address the viewer, along the formula: “His brother, look how much he misses you”. Hence, the international call service. (Ka-ching!)

    And I hate to say this, but I don’t see the double entendre… qravi (“combat”, adj.) shares a root (q-r-v) with qirvah (“closeness”) but the two meanings are quite distinct. There are many similar examples: d-b-r meaning both “bee” and “speech”; z-q-q meaning both “need” and “refine”; sh-m-sh meaning both “sun” and “use”.

  8. Daniel on Sun, Apr 8th 2007 4:57 AM

    9. I was under the impression that combat is called kravi because it is engaging in a close-up battle (or at least theoretically). Correct me if I am wrong. If that is correct, then the connect between kravi and kirva is yoter karov m– bee and speech.

  9. Stephanie on Sun, Apr 8th 2007 5:54 PM

    10. Yes you are correct that combat in the orthodox sense requires contact and “krav maga” is one step closer i.e. hand to hand or physical. But I’m not down with drawing the parallel using military terms. I mean I get it and all but…

  10. Daniel on Sun, Apr 8th 2007 7:24 PM

    11. I am sorry Stephanie. You asked us to leave the shirt slogan alone, but that is all we are talking about :) Pink elephants!

    I empathize with the point you are all making. The alternative translation is so far removed from how the slogan is used, even though the shoreshism work. I understand your point, but I still ask this: if the double entendre wasn’t intentional, why use this slogan at all? Surely there are hundreds or thousands of messages they could have put on the shirt. They could have picked a message that expresses neighborliness or closeness or peace, or they could have picked a completely neutral message. But they chose a message that appears to run counter of what the rest of the commercial expresses. Therefore, I still believe that the double entendre is intentional.

    Chag Pesach/Pischa Sameach!

  11. Aviv on Sun, Apr 8th 2007 9:04 PM

    12. BTW

    I just noticed this is one of the few neutral slogans that wouldn’t evoke rivalry between the various combat units. Anyone who was a combat soldier can sympathize with it. (Just ask a Golani infantryman what he thinks of the Paratroopers…)

  12. RMils on Fri, Aug 24th 2007 12:28 PM

    13. How add your blog to google database?

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