Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Peace through Coke!




This was my favorite of yesterday's Superbowl commercials. Maybe I'm just a a sucker for the message of peace and understanding through sugary soft drinks.

I also loved the surrealist juxtaposition of Napoleonic-era uniforms and the obvious radio tower in the near background. Also the volcanic cinder cone in the distance.

Also, there's the music! As economist David R. Henderson pointed out to me on Facebook, the majestic music track is the Sarabande from the Harpsichord Suite #11 in D Minor by Handel. Old George Frederick sure know his way around a minor key!

Stanley Kubrick used this piece for the main titles in Barry Lyndon. I think it also appears in a fatal dueling scene later in the picture.

2 comments:

Max said...

When I saw that ad, I immediately thought of Barry Lyndon.

Lester Hunt said...

In an odd way, so did I. The music for this ad reminded me somehow of the slow movement from the Schubert piano trio they used in Barry Lyndon, and I didn't understand why -- the two piece are obviously different and about 100 yrs apart.

The connection, no doubt, was the movie itself. I guess this shows that music connects with really primitive parts of the self, circumventing conscious thought, visual imagery, and ratiocination to a significant extent.