The man from Albuquerque
There was a man from Albuquerque who didn’t like his roof. So he tore it down, to the ground and replaced it with one he did. A women from Santa Monica was so fed up with her yelping dog that she advertised it on ebay and sold the mutt the very same day. A young girl from Richmond was so tired of getting wet that she bought an umbrella and used it to keep the rain off of her and her fella. This guy from Cleveland couldn’t stand listening to his mother moan any longer, so he went downtown, found a place of his own and now he resides in a moan free zone. This lady had been reading the same book for two years. A guy walked up to her and asked, “aren’t you tired of reading the same book”. “Yes, I really am”, she said to him. He had another book with him and gave it to her. She’s now reading that said book. She’s happier and has a brand new outlook. Aren’t you tired of using the same washing powder? Go out and get another one and wash your clothing with that instead…munion It’s a combination of a man and a onion. He stinks cause he was washing his clothes with rubbish.
TVC
Audience: North America, International
Time: 60 sec
Product: Laundry Detergent
Notes:
The narrator is cocky and confident. He's wearing a very sleek suit and his qualities are almost robotic. He could be an automaton from the future. His confidence and charm is overwhelming.
He's walking straight down past the scenes he describes on a sound stage. The scenes replace each other like they are displayed on a conveyor belt rolling past.
The presentational style is almost like actors are playing a dumb show. Their behavior is staged and overly expressive. They are illustrating scenarios more than they are embodying the roles. This 'pleasantville-esque' effect is contrasted by the convincing and often times serious tone of the narrator.
The mise-en-scéne consists of predominantly stark primary colors with softer tones worked in just to balance the frame. The overall structure has a graphic novel look on a vaudeville stage.
The man from Albuquerque
NARRATOR
There was a man from Albuquerque who didn’t like his roof. So he tore it down, to the ground and replaced it with one he did.
INT. DAY. SOUND STAGE. HOUSE WITH GARDEN
The narrator walks past a house with the owner looking unsatisfied. A crane suddenly rips the roof off the house. It rips a part of a wall off as well and a women (presumably his wife) is caught in the act of taking a shower. She covers herself with her arms and screams. A new shiny roof suddenly drops from the sky and the house looks brand new. The gust from the dropped roof makes the owner's Trump like toupee flip up on his head. The trees in front of the house start to swing back and forth merrily to the music.
A man and woman in an air balloon float past just a couple of feet above the new roof. The man in the basket takes out a telescope and admires the roof.
NARRATOR
A women from Santa Monica was so fed up with her yelping dog that she advertised it on ebay and sold the mutt the very same day.
INT. DAY. SOUND STAGE. HOUSE LIVING ROOM
A conservative looking nervous wreck of a woman is sitting on a chair in her antiquated living room trying to drink a cup of tea. A dog, dressed in a Victorian nobility outfit, is sitting next to her on a table barking directly into her ear. Behind the dog is a computer screen on a table. The woman is stirring the tea quicker and quicker. She suddenly stops stirring and taps her spoon on her tea cup three times. The tapping makes the sound of a mouse clicking. There is suddenly a storm wind that pulls the dog into the computer screen.
NARRATOR
A young girl from Richmond was so tired of getting wet that she bought an umbrella and used it to keep the rain off of her and her fella.
INT. DAY. SOUND STAGE. STREET
The dog from the previous scene is swept past the next scene where a girl suddenly looks up. It literally starts to rain cats and dogs. Two kittens are tangled in her hair and and a puppy is sticking his head out from her blouse. The narrator is stroking a Golden Retriever pup as he walks and speaks. The street environment is littered with little pups and kittens. A hunk of a guy without a shirt is suddenly standing next to the girl holding the two kittens that were tangled in her hair. She effortlessly opens a huge umbrella and throws her free arm on the hunks chest. A wimpy guy in a cat suit with a bouquet of flowers jumps from a balcony only to bounce off the umbrella and falls on the pavement next to the couple. The narrator steps on him as he narrates and passes the scene.
NARRATOR
This guy from Cleveland couldn’t stand listening to his mother moan any longer so he went downtown, found a place of his own and now he resides in a moan free zone.
INT. DAY. SOUND STAGE. APARTMENT
A black guy in his underwear walks out of a room where his mother with curlers in her hair is pestering him. He walks into the adjacent room and closes the door. He goes to lie on his bed. The bed flips over to face the floor beneath his bed. He miraculously remains stuck to the mattress. Below his bed is a realistic train set complete with model buildings and figurines. A little sign lights up that says 'home sweet home'. He puts on a pair of earphones and opens a newspaper with a smile.
NARRATOR
This lady had been reading the same book for two years. A guy walked up to her and asked, “aren’t you just kaput of reading the same book”. “Yes, I really am”, she said to him. He had another book with him and gave it to her. She’s now reading that said book. She’s happier and has a brand new outlook.
INT. DAY. SOUND STAGE. PARK BENCH
The narrator walks right up to a bit of a larger woman who is chewing gum and looks completely engrossed in a book. The narrator himself is the man he is referring to. He walks up to her and puts his foot on the edge of the park bench as he speaks to her sitting on the opposite edge. He pushes down on the bench and it catapults her over his head. He grabs her by the foot and she ends up standing on his erect arm. The book however is propelled into the distance. He takes out a book from his blazer and tosses it right up into her hands. She is immediately engrossed in the story. The narrator walks away but she remains in the air and seems to make herself comfortable in the floating position on a passing cloud.
NARRATOR
Aren’t you tired of using the same washing powder? Go out and get another ONE and wash your clothing with that instead…mun-ion. It’s a combination of a man and a onion. He smells bad cause he was washing his clothes with an inferior washing powder.
INT. DAY. SOUND STAGE. LAUNDRY ROOM
The Narrator suddenly steps into a mini tank that is in the form of a washing machine. The tank powers up and starts moving forward as soon as he enters it. Foot soldiers dressed in the product's colors and insignia are running past the tank. The narrator's voice alters slightly into that of a commanding officer. The bottom half of the tank is transparent and you can see the gunner sitting below him. He hands the gunner a box of "Clean Strike"washing powder who loads the tank and aims the canon nozzle. The soldiers are doing hand to hand combat with dirty clothes that are animated. At the end the narrator loses a bit of his cool as his final dialogue doesn't rhyme. He addresses the camera directly but the camera starts to tilt up to a white sky.
