COMPLETELY OT, BUT HILARIOUS: I just saw the EDS "Herding Cats" commercial!

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O.K., I admit it. I missed it during the Superbowl.

For those of you who know what I'm talking about, IS THIS THE FUNNIEST COMMERCIAL EVER PRODUCED? LOL! LOL! LOL!

I guess it will air again tonight during Brokaw's MSNBC Silicon Valley Summit. Another reason to watch THAT, I guess.

Check back with you later.

(I guess you can also download it to view it on your own time, but it takes a bit. You can access here.

http://207.37.253.50/about_eds/homepage/superbowl.shtml)

Sorry for being so off-topic, but I just couldn't resist!

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), February 27, 2000

Answers

Just saw it this morning too. THAT was funny! Reminds me of what Ed Yourdon used to say about this forum early last year.

*Grin*

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 27, 2000.


Will someone please give a quick synopsis of the commercial? I don't watch much TV anymore.

-- (ladybuckeye_59@yahoo.com), February 27, 2000.

ladybuckeye,

The commercial is as FM states. The setting is out west with rough tough cowboys on horses herding cats instead of cows. Let your mind ponder this thought and you laugh. By far the funniest commercial of the super bowl.

-- trafficjam (road@construction.ahead), February 27, 2000.


They basically go through all the cliche`s of the "Old West" in terms of having a cat draped across the front of the saddle, the herds crossing a creek, the herds going across a HUGE expanse (more cats than you can possibly get into one area at one time [the computer time bill on this must of been HUMONGOUS]) the rescue of a cat from the tree, the heritage of the cat herders [have NO CLUE how those guys did it with a straight face LOL].

It is HILARIOUS!!!!!

unless you are NOT a cat person......

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), February 27, 2000.


I like the part where he's rewinding the yarn! Thank you FM for pointing this site out! I love cats,and have 9, and I can't imagine trying to get them all to do anything, when I want them to do it!! Margo

-- Margo (margos@bigisland.com), February 27, 2000.


I loved the lint brush scene, myself! I laughed til I cried - and I own 5 myself. Thanks FM!

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), February 27, 2000.

I don't suppose they showed one of the riders bulldogging a cat...??

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), February 27, 2000.

Tom, they didn't actually show a bulldogging scene, but there are two men comparing their face scratches! ha ha It's a great movie!

-- Margo (margos@bigisland.com), February 27, 2000.

Thanks for your answers, folks. Maybe I'll get lucky and someone I know will tape -- it sounds very funny!

-- (ladybuckeye_59@yahoo.com), February 27, 2000.

Ladybuckeye...can't you download it, and watch it on your computer? We don't have TV, but were able to watch it here. Took a while to download, though (10 minutes?).

-- Margo (margos@bigisland.com), February 27, 2000.


Hmmm...any way we can download it and re-post it somewhere so that people can view it using the Real Media Player? I'm clueless as to whether this is possible or not. Is it? I'll donate the server space if it is.

This one's a must-see, and I think today was its last "run."

Once again, LOL!

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), February 27, 2000.


LINK

EDS' first-ever Super Bowl ad spot brings to life the expression "like herding cats" -- a phrase often used in technology circles to describe the difficulty of managing the seemingly unmanageable. In short, the commercial creatively demonstrates the enormous challenge EDS, the worldwide leader in information technology services, meets every day in making the chaos of changing technology work for its clients.

"Herding Cats," a 60-second epic tale created by Minneapolis-based Fallon McElligott, is set in the genre of the great American Western Movie -- only with house cats assuming the role generally held by cattle. It follows the brave men and women responsible for moving thousands of house cats across the Great Plains. As the spot unfolds, the viewer sees a realistic portrayal of the life of a cat herder -- riding the range, herding and roping, even quelling the occasional stampede.

"We've found an extremely visual way to illustrate what EDS does for its clients," said David Lubars, president/creative director at Fallon McElligott. "It's funny, unique and smart, and we think sure to be memorable to the world's largest viewing audiences on Super Bowl Sunday."

The Talent The balance of subtle humor and incredible special effects needed to create this commercial required a unique combination of talent. Director John O'Hagan was chosen for his documentary-style direction and ability to work with real people. This experience was highly valuable, considering most of the stars of this commercial are not actors, but real cowboys from ranches in California, Colorado and New Mexico.

Creatively, this was an extremely challenging concept to execute. For example, the cats and horses didn't act together -- their scenes were shot separately and compiled in post-production. There were actually only about 60 cats (specially trained sleeping cats, running cats, swimming cats, etc.) and 13 cat trainers on the set. Through the magic of cutting edge computer graphics, Hollywood special effects house Sight Effects digitally cloned the cats, making it look like there were thousands of cats being herded in the finished spot.

The Good, The Bad and The Furry Online Game Even if, as the new EDS ad shows, cats aren't exactly herding creatures, players can test their own herding skills by riding along with Earl, Dusty or Sal, EDS' official online cat herders. Like their real-life and digitized counterparts, EDS' online cats have distinct and complex personalities -- some cats are quick and agile, others restful and sedate -- that create a challenge for players having to ride the range and wrangle the cats into the corral before time runs out. The game illustrates the difficulties of managing complex E- business in a fun and creative way.

Duffy Design and Interactive, the design subsidiary of Fallon McElligott, developed this game to complement and extend EDS' marketing campaign beyond the Super Bowl. The game was built using Macromedia Director 7 and is PC and Macintosh compatible.

"We draw on an expression commonly used in the technology industry to represent what EDS does. Today's business environment faces a chaotic swirl of diverging technology, information and ideas. At EDS, the bottom line is to defeat the complexity of these issues and to solve important business problems," said Don Uzzi, EDS senior vice president, global marketing, communications and government affairs.

Missed It the First Time? Catch It Again Look for the EDS ad during the following programs:

CBS Face the Nation on Feb. 13, 20 and 27, from 10:30 - 11 a.m. EST (check local listings) The Nissan Open on CBS on Feb. 20 The MSNBC/Silicon Valley Summit on Feb. 27, from 8 - 10 p.m. EST. The day after EDS' Super Bowl appearance, eds.com registered for the first time more than 1 million hits in a day. The ad was ranked No. 1 in most online polls, including MSNBC/CNBC, The Washington Post, USA TODAY, CNN Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, The Atlanta Constitution Journal and the "Battle of the Super Bowl TV Commercials."

The USA TODAY print edition said EDS is among the "first-time Super Bowl advertisers who got into the end zone." The spot ranked among the Top 10 most popular advertisements, according to the newspaper's 12th annual Ad Meter, a survey of 273 viewers gathered in New York, Chicago and Sacramento, Calif., to watch the game and rate the ads.



-- canthappen (n@ysayer.com), February 27, 2000.


God I love high bandwidth... ;-)

O d d O n e, who really really likes being the only one on his cablemodem node...

-- OddOne (mocklamer_1999@yahoo.com), February 27, 2000.


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