I'm Ready For My Close-Up!

Here's a new TV ad, just created this month by the ad agency I work for, for you to watch.  I won't tell you what it's about, only that it's rated G and very sweet.

Like that one?  How could you not, with such an ANGEL CHILD STAR!

No, not that one -- she's my cousin Shelley.  The other one, with the round face.

No, not that one -- that's my dad.  You're not very good at this game, are you?  The one with the pixie haircut and the Mrs. Beasley doll!  That's me!  Or, it was in 1967.  The pretty lady in red is my mom, and my Aunt Ann and my father's parents were there, too.  I miss them.  But not my parents and my cousin, they haven't gone anywhere!  Are you drinking?

Can I join you?

Here's the next one:



There I am again!  Any of you rolling around on the floor in the fetal position yet?

I did a lot of jumping at the age of four, boing boing boing.  I know what you're thinking: it was 1969 -- nobody really looked that wholesome and sober in 1969, did they?  Well, the LaGrones did.

These ads are part of a series done for a Chico business, Brusie Funeral Home, for which we have used old home movies, in all of their scratchy, blurry glory.  The ads are easily among my favorites of all of our work (I say "our" as if I had anything to do with it).  We exhausted my boss's personal home movie collection, then that of the Brusie Family.  Now we're onto the LaGrone archives, and they don't know what they've gotten themselves into, do they?  Some viewer out there liked the Christmas spot, though, because she called the Brusie's business to ask for a copy of the ad.  Never had that happen before.

The second spot will air in January, so you are getting an advance release, so to speak.  Boing boing boing.

Comments

[MommyTime]

These are great ads -- and 7 year old me is HUGELY envious of 7 year old you and that Mrs. Beasley doll which I sorely wanted at that age.

[Kathi D]

I wasn't drinking before, but I am now. Sudden urge.

Seriously though, what a great idea for funeral home ads. And I know what I'm talking about, because I am reliving the entire 5 years of "Six Feet Under" right now with the husband, who has never seen it. If the Fishers had ads like that, they could have done away with Kroner Enterprises a lot sooner.

[Ellie]

Well, that is just so adorable and awesome. We've got MILES of reel-to-reel home movies. And nobody's asked for them yet. Harumph.

[Cactus Petunia]

That was sweet!
When I worked in the advertising dept. for a department store here, we'd put all our kids and family photos in the ads for picture frames and christmas ornament frames...
My family never had a movie camera when I was a kid, thank God. Crazy Italian families don't really translate well in silent super-8 format.

Happy New Year!
And by the way, stop by when you get a chance...You won an award at my blog!

http://buenosburritos.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-favorite-bloggers-of-2008.html

Cheers!

[Jason]

Cute and sweet. You are a child star now.

[Mental P Mama]

I have no idea what to say. No. I don't. I think I am duly impressed. But, I am drinking at this point.

[foolery]

Thanks for all the nice comments, everyone.

The older man in the first video was my grandfather, and he was rarely without a camera. Black and white, often, but good quality photos. In the '40s in Hawaii he did all of his own developing. So he was the one who gave this camera to my parents, Christmas of 1967, the day of the first movie. We have maybe 1 1/2 total hours of movies, mostly of kids, mostly of people shielding their eyes from the blinding camera light (I'm not joking). It's pretty lucky.

When faced with how to present a funeral home in advertising, the usual route is flowers, trees and pastoral scenes, with a soothing voice. It's not easy. But I think my boss's idea of home movies, plus James Gabriel's brilliant jingle -- who expects a funeral home to have a jingle?! -- was a creative, workable and effective solution.

The saddest funeral I've ever been to was one year ago, and they played a 5-minute video, set to music, of photos of the deceased. We were all crying before the video; we were almost sobbing during the video. Very powerful.

Thanks everyone!

-- Laurie

[Rick's Cafe]

Mrs. Beasley Dolls & Dr.Dentens....if only I had bought stock!! Smack! (the sound of hand hitting forhead)

[Nickel & Dime]

You're soliciting this advertisement to all local photo conversion-to-digital shops....right?

As morbid as it might sound, it is comforting & very popular in various regions to have 'home movies/slide show' playing off to the side while people mingle.

[Chesapeake Bay Woman]

It's not everyone who can say they have home movies from their childhood (well, kids nowadays can, so nevermind), and it's certainly not everyone who can say their family's movies are on a TV ad(now THAT one I believe I'm correct about), and finally very few people can say their home movies are in a funeral home ad.
The number of people with Mrs. Beasley dolls is probably higher than those whose home movies are in funeral home ads - I can count myself among those people.

You're one unique person.

This wandering comment brought to you by caffeine deprivation.

Happy New Year's Eve!

[Maria]

I'm gonna cry. I'm not sure if it's because you have home movies and I don't,because your so cute and I was so cute in the 60's or because it's a FUNERAL ad. That took me by surprise. It was almost scary. But then can funeral ads EVER not be scary?

[The Glamorous Life]

For reasons I can not explain these ads cracked me up!

Isn't it bad luck to put yourself in a funeral ad?

We have no home movies. None. Zero zilch. I am sorry, because I know you were going to ask to see some of mine for your next spot.

:)

[Suz broughton]

These are precious. You are so very lucky to have these home movies, now on YouTube!
I had that Mrs. B doll. I loved her.