If you’ve spent any time watching TV in the past few months the chances are pretty good you’ve seen this commercial:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE4bcq8Plzk]
That would be Katie Brown and Alex Honnold climbing Ancient Art near Moab, UT. Compared to the things we’re used to seeing Honnold doing this is pretty tame, but what about the general public? What do they think when they see two people rock climbing? Well, apparently at least two words: IMMINENT DEATH. Watch:
Update: If you’re curious about how this commercial was cast, check out this post from Beth Rodden detailing the casting process (she was up for the commercial as well).
Jeanne Moos pieces are always of the best quality and incredibly informative.
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Narc, this is humor I needed on this Tuesday morning. I didn’t even give this commercial a second thought when I saw it. Alex Honnold with a rope, what? I love entertainment by the ignorance of the masses (even when I’m not exempt from the masses myself).
Oh, and I’ll agree, Brown is a good lookin’ girl.
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No offense to the band or Katie and Alex but I have to mute the TV every time this comes on. I love watching the video but that song just just burns my ears.
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I’m more confused than ever about the song. I now know the words, but was that a guy singing??
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Nope, that’s a woman singing.
It’s an artist that goes by the name L.P. (born Laura Pergolizzi). She’s an American pop/rock singer and songwriter.
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+1 that song is godawful.
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“Somebody LOVES po-ta-tooooooes”
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Pretty much just confirms that people are idiots.
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If you’re just now confirming that people are idiots, you might just be “people” too.
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Things can be confirmed more than once, people.
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I almost feel insulted by the CNN report.
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When I first saw the ad, my thought was “what shoes did she buy?” and now I’m wondering what the grade of the climb was; imminent death? not so much
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It just reminds me that I “need” to get some Super Mocs….
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Yes. NEED.
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I saw the commercial and didn’t think a thing, except… dang I need to get back to Moab. Didn’t even notice it was Katie or Alex. I didn’t even assume the producers would go out and pay world class climbers to do a climb that almost anyone with a half years experience could do. I didn’t think anything about the song either…
Even now all I see is a classic tower climb and all I think is, “when will I get back to Moab?”
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More on that here:
http://blog.bethrodden.com/2011/10/climbing-takes-hollywood.html
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I imagine the offended viewer’s eyes fixed on a huge flat-screen (his portal to reality) and clutching tightly to the arms of his lay-z-boy. It’s amazing to me that CNN would pick this up as news – seems more like E! TV material 🙂
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it’s saying something that “world class climbers” are as affordable as an actor with a special talent. our sport is still young…
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I thought the same thing when I saw it as well. I’d be curious to know more about how/why they chose the people they did.
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Supposedly they (alex and katie) had the best chemistry of the group… I think its nice that they had real climbers. Put some money back into the sport.
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also, no one recognozes Honnold in this commercial because of that skinny green thing…. was this a PR team mistake? or did he just need to put food on the table?
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It’s a little weird to have the line “somebody left the gate open” in a climbing commercial. Having a gate open in climbing seems sketch.
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excepting the Access Fund’s logo of course
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reminds me that climbing will never be as mainstream as lets say skateboarding has become….amen!
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What do you base this on? I would guess that way more people climb than skateboard, and they are are both used in commercials that make actual practitioners of the activity cringe.
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i have never seen a tv personality doubt the reality of what a skater does.
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Note that in addition to two famous climbers, they also paid a voice actress for the overdub. Bonus question: does Alex Honnold have a credit card of any kind?
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can i just say that ever since i was like 13 ive wanted to marry katie brown, anyone else?
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