Next Sunday is the Superbowl. This means nothing to you if you’re aren’t a football fan, but if you are a fan, then you’ve likely stocked up on nachos with cheese, beer, and a fantastic assortment of delicious junk food. If you happen to live where this year’s two teams hail from, like me, then you can not get away from the Superbowl buzz. I hope the New England Patriots win, but only because I hate to see my brother-in-law cry, and I know that’s what will happen if they lose. I’m watching for one thing only this year. That’s right, the commercials.
Even though I do like football, this game of games takes far too long to play and is really outdone by the spectacle of the event. From Janet Jackson flashing her boob (gasp) to fireworks to who knows what, the Superbowl is less and less about football every year. Still, it’s fun and you sort of have to watch just so you know what everyone is talking about the next morning. Sometimes, the commercials are so good that people are talking about them before they’ve even aired, like this year’s Ferris Bueller spot.
I saw Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in a movie theater when I was in high school and I fell in love. Not so much with Matthew Broderick, although he was a cutie, but with the whole idea of doing whatever the heck I wanted for a day, not worrying about the status quo and just having a good time. I may have actually done this once, or twice, maybe, but I can’t really confirm or deny because my Mom reads this blog. I’m not going to get busted for what I may or may not have done after all this time.
When they aired a little teaser for this ad last week, I could not wait to see what it all about. It was right up there with the little Force-wielding Darth Vader from last year which made me want to buy a Passat. I had very high expectations for Ferris, he of the leopard print vest, singing on a float and stealing people’s lunch reservations. Now, the whole ad is out there for our viewing pleasure and I have to say that I love it, and hate it, all at the same time.
Yes, he reenacts some of the best scenes from the original movie. He sings on a float and there’s even a stuffed panda who’s grooving to that famous music. Who doesn’t like a dancing panda? But, and this is a big but, it’s an ad for a Honda CR-V. What?! In the original they abscond with Ferris’s best friend’s Dad’s unbelievably sexy and beautiful red 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California. And now he’s ditching work in a Honda.
I like Hondas. We once owed a CR-V and now have a Civic Hybrid. It’s our responsible adult car that saves us a ton on gas and is the one my husband takes to work every day. I don’t care what color it is or how tricked out, but a Honda is not going to inspire me to floor it and take off down the highway. That’s why I drive a Dodge Charger, that growls at other cars and demands they get out of the way lest I run them over. Responsibly, of course, adhering to all the laws of the road.
But a Honda CR-V, aw man, talk about a let down. Ferris, you need a new Ferrari.
I can similarly recite the movie, and was very excited about the commercial. I am similarly somewhat, um, flummoxed about it being a Honda commercial. Why not at least another model of Honda, like a sport Civic…at a minimum?