Coke does it

February 21, 2010 - 10:55 AM by Jessica · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Business, General, Israeliness, Pop Culture, design, tv

Could the world’s soft drink giant be ripping off Israeli chocolate milk maker Yotvata?

Very possibly. It seems that Coca-Cola had a Super Bowl commercial last Sunday titled “Sleepwalker,” and it showed a guy getting up in the middle of the night and sleepwalking to a fridge with bottles of Coke in it. Let me say that the two ads are extremely similar, from the music, plot to even the placement of the moon in the background.

A Coca-Cola spokeswoman told “Advertising Age” that any similarities to the Yotvata Dairy ad were coincidental.

“Advertising Age” quotes Coca-Cola spokeswoman Susan Stribling as saying, “When we created the Coca-Cola ‘Sleepwalker’ commercial, we and our agency were unaware of this other ad. Now that we’ve seen the ad, we think both commercials are equally entertaining. While the two share a few common elements, any similarities are coincidental and unintended.”

Until now, Yotvata hasn’t made any complaints about the Coke ad, and according to a Globes articles, Israeli analysts said that the “near-imitation” could be considered flattery by Israel’s marketing industry. Which, of course, is just hilarious. But not unheard of. I’ve experienced more than one instance of Israeli copycat flattery. I’ve had articles published in the New York Times that were then translated and copied, word for word, in the Israeli press. When it was about the secondary mortgage market in Israel, the article in Yediot Achronot read, “The New York Times says…” blah blah blah.

Nice workaround, no? But alas, I, the writer, never got any credit. Ditto for Yotvata.

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Tags: Advertising Age, coca-cola, New York Times, Super Bowl, Yediot Achronot

Springsteen – Born to play in Tel Aviv

February 1, 2009 - 9:51 AM by David · 5 Comments
Filed under: General, Music, Pop Culture, Sports

The Boss It’s Super Sunday here, just like in the US. Except that ours lasts all the way to 5:00 am, when the Super Bowl is likely to wind down.

This year I have no vested interest in either the Steelers nor the Cardinals, and would not even consider staying up all night, if it weren’t for the half time entertainment. How many times do you get to see Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band perform live, albeit for only 12 minutes?

Apparently, it’s the only way Israelis are going to see them live. Each time a new tour is announced – and the past few years with Springsteen’s prolific resurgence, he’s been on tour all the time – I anxiouxly wait to see the European itinerary hoping that Tel Aviv will finally be listed. The dates for his 2009 tour in support of his new album Working on a Dream have just been announced, and again we’ve been snubbed, with Bruce preferring the tried and true European venues he’s familiar with like Copenhagen and Barcelona.

Granted, the Boss’s Israel connections are a little tenuous. But let’s not forget that an Israeli – violinist Suki Lahav - played on Born to Run’s “Jungleland” back in 1975. And hey – isn’t “The Promised Land” about us? And as my friend Arthur once wrote, seeing Bruce play the song in Sultan’s Pool overlooking the Old City in Jerusalem would probably be one of the most transcendent moments of any concert anywhere.

But to get down to it, the real reason that Springsteen should come here is simple – I haven’t seen him perform since moving to Israel in the mid-80s. After seeing Springsteen a half dozen times in the late 1970s, I’ve been spoiled for life, and no other concert I’ve seen since has compared.

So, c’mon Bruce – hop inside, you know just what we’re here for. Talk to your pals Bono and Paul McCartney, I think they were pretty impressed with Park Hayarkon as a venue and the the enthusiasm of the Israeli audiences. We can take you and Patti out for some humous in Tel Aviv, you can go entertain some Palestinian children like Sir Paul did, and we can even import some of Clarence’s favorite chicken for after the show.

In the meantime, chances are I’ll doze through the first half of the Super Bowl tonight in order to stand at attention for 12 minutes during halftime for the greatest show on earth.

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