Anyone else seen the SBC Internet commercial?

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NUBlackshirts

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When I first saw it, I happily yelled to my wife that they were launching what appears to be an Aerotech Initiator during an SBC Internet commercial. Then, much to my chagrin, the same rocket took a nosedive into the guy's car and blew it up. Just when our hobby is trying to show that it is safe, along comes a commercial that the "unwashed masses" will probably perceive to be the norm for rocketry. Lovely. :rolleyes:
 
I wonder if the BATFE had anything to do with the advert.
Seems a good way to get there message across.
Nah they would'nt be that sneaky,,,would they?

David
 
Seems to me that SBC is portraying a recognizable product (you recognized it!) as being unsafe, possibly impacting the public opinion of that product, which would have direct implications with regards to sales. If AeroTech wasn't busy with other things right now, I'd suggest their people have some words...

Hey, legal action is the American way. ;)

That said, what does an Initiator have to do with internet access? The only other computer-related company I know of that used a rocket in its advertising had all the success of a Micro-Maxx downscale of Enron.
 
Yeah, but how many kids out there are going to see that, think "WOW... COooooooollll" and then go start pestering their parents to let them get into rocketry? I know I would! And of course, not wanting their cars to get blown up, the parents will start being involved with their kids, and all will be well with the land. And while I'm dreaming, I want a big house with a hot tub and a giant garage for building rockets.

WW
 
I thought it was pretty funny. It was obviously meant as a joke. I can't imagine it would turn anyone away from rocketry if they're considering it - if so, then maybe they need to find another hobby anyway!
 
Originally posted by Chilly
I thought it was pretty funny. It was obviously meant as a joke. I can't imagine it would turn anyone away from rocketry if they're considering it - if so, then maybe they need to find another hobby anyway!

I couldn't agree with you more! I was cracking up! Especially when he says..."I should've drove your mother's car"...lol
 
Chilly is right.

Humor in advertising has become the big thing. Just look at all the home improvement commercials where nothing works but the tool they're selling.

Also consider the fact that if an agency, (and agencies spend thousand on market research), considered model rocketry a hobby that young, upscale parents can relate to, well then it's a hobby on the rise.

Terri
 
Thanks Chilly!
you save me a lot of typing. I can't believe ANYONE could see that commerical and do anything but fall out of their chair.." Humm.. shoulda come it in you mothers car" AGH HAHA !!!!! The only thing what would have made this spoof funnier would have been to use a Micro-Maxx model:D:D:D
 
Originally posted by SecretSquirrel
Also consider the fact that if an agency, (and agencies spend thousand on market research), considered model rocketry a hobby that young, upscale parents can relate to, well then it's a hobby on the rise.

SS has a very good observation here. As much as it costs to broadcast advertising on TV, those folks don't stick their necks out too far to use obscure connections that viewers won't 'get' easily. After all, there must be more rocketeers out there in the world than just the few hundred of us here on TRF.

I thought the commercial was funny too. And in order to think it IS funny, you kind of have to know how harmless model rockets really are in order to see the incongruity of blowing up a car with one.
 
And that's why a MMX would have been perfect for this commercial... little itty bitty rocket... big boom... Only thing that would have made it better would be to blow up a Hummer H2... Heh.... heh... that would be... heh... cool........

WW
 
Originally posted by wwattles
Only thing that would have made it better would be to blow up a Hummer H2... Heh.... heh... that would be... heh... cool........

WW

I agree :D

-Chris H
 
Originally posted by shockwaveriderz
I saw it last night on the fox news channel during the O'reily show.....

that is the best show, why did he include it though
 
O'Reilly doesn't have much control over who/what is advertised on his show's commercial breaks - they've had some odd sponsors for Fox News Channel that have had ads air during his show from time to time, and he's gotten a lot of mail about it. Some of them are sponsors for FNC, some are for the local cable service providers.

Okay, just to get this back on topic:

if we could design a new commercial, starring rockets of course, how would we do it, and what would we advertise?

WW
 
Wel, a TRF logo would be nice, and some LPR-MPR stuff... Then show a O skidmark for the finale.
 
I just saw it .

holy crap,,, the father and son set up a launch pad in this nice grassy spot than their Initiator rocket power parngs into and!! blows up (very dramaticaly) a car!!

It' might be funny ,but I for one, aint laughing!
this is not the best message in any way
 
Any chance of anyone recording the comercial and sending me a mpeg version of it. I would like to see it too...
 
Just saw it a minute ago, and LOL that is Funny! I gotta see it again for the details tho.
 
I FINALLY saw it for the first time last night. I thought that it was quite humorous. I didnt see the whole thing with the internet shopping and such, just the launch and explosion. But thats really all i wanted to see anyway. That was a hoot... :D

-Chris H.
 
Any chance of anyone recording the comercial and sending me a mpeg version of it. I would like to see it too...

chance of recording an MPEG: 100%
chance of emailing you a 20 megabyte file: 0%
your reaction after seeing it? priceless!


look at the very bottom of Tony Cooper's web page

https://uscoopers.org/rockets/movies/movies.html

and you will find links for a WMV, "VCD" quality, and MPEG version of the ad.
 
I thought that commercial was just fine! I think a bunch of people launching a porta-pottie that ended up thrashing around in the air while spewing toilet paper and flames before landing on the ground in a heavy heap with a bunch of yee-haw type hollering in the back ground did far more damage to the hobby than this commercial did.

-Scott
 
I thought that commercial was just fine! I think a bunch of people launching a porta-pottie that ended up thrashing around in the air while spewing toilet paper and flames before landing on the ground in a heavy heap with a bunch of yee-haw type hollering in the back ground did far more damage to the hobby than this commercial did.

I agree...that guy should not have been on...especially the rocket motor on the bicycle...that was just dumb.

sandman
 
Thanks Sandman,
Also, is it me or is the rocket they launched something other than an Initiator with the same paint pattern? It looks like a 4" model with the Estes Maxi V-2 nose cone, and those definately are not Initiator fins.

-Scott
 
Sometimes when folks attempt to portray humor they inadvertantly end up striking a nerve with somebody(trust me, I'm ALWAYS sticking my foot in my mouth!), I don't think demonizing the hobby of model rocketry was at all what SBC intended to do, and I think we're reading way more into it than anyone else would, most people that watched it probably just chuckled and forgot about it completely.



As for the launching of the porta potty, I thought that was GREAT, if you're talking about the footage of the LDRS launch that aired on the discovery channel, I thought the guy used alot more imagination than the others competeing in the low altitude event.... no offense to the other competetors, but c'mon what's gonna have a lower flight than a porta potty.... except maybe for a telephone wire spool? If the launch control officers didn't feel it was safe then they should've stopped it before it even made it to the launchpad, after all they're the one's pushing the button, so they have final say over what flies and what dont, I sure wouldn't push the button on something I didn't feel comfortable with.
 
I agree that it was *so* tongue in cheek that it was funny even for me (and I am *very* sensitive to how rocketry is portrayed).

I think most people are going to watch it and chuckle, may even get a Yahoo account. But I also think that it will be the *rocket* that will stick with them. I can easily see someone walking through a wal-mart or even a hobby shop and seeing the wall of rockets and remember the *launch* in that commercial and thinking "yea, that would be cool"...

Bottom line, as off-color as this *may* seem, I think this commercial will actually *increase* our numbers.

One comment I have concerning rockets in commercials... There is a commercial just WAITING to happen and I want to contact the right folks for it...

They've used amature radio operators, computer geeks, and most recently airplane enthusiasts...

You know the commercial:

Young kid playing with a paper airplane. Then he's older and playing with a small balsa plane. As he grows he moves onto hand tossed gliders, then line control planes and as he trims the flight of his R/C airplane at 16 yrs old you see the tag line "We've been waiting for you..." and they switch to this youngster in the military (Navy I beleive, or Airforce), controling an R/C reconnisance aircraft....

*tell* me that using rocketry in one of these commercials wouldn't be just *perfect*!

I can see it all laid out too:

Starts with a small toy rocket, *wooshing* around the room at 5 years old
Then a pump-up water rocket
then a rocket starter set
then a science fair project
scratch building
mid power
high power
"We've been waiting for you...."

man, now *that* would be cool
 
Hi Larry,
As far as the porta-pot and the other antics that were aired on the discovery channel go, it was fine and amusing for those of us who are into the hobby. To anyone not in the hobby it made HPR look like something that is not to be taken seriously and that we just screw around. The kid packing a mess of D engines under a flying saucer and having them fly off in every direction, the dude getting blown off the launch pad by the ejection charge on the Nike Smoke WHILE the guy is talking about all the safety precautions they take... This does not help. I help to promote the hobby by going to educational conventions around the US. I man a model rocketry booth. I got to hear the reactions to that show from the general public, and most people viewed it more as a joke rather than a serious hobby. Unfortunatley successful launches are not as exciting to air as screw-ups, so I think the screw-ups got a little too much attention in that show.
 
Yeah! What Jim said! Someone contact the USAF!! :D :D

That commercial would be totally awesome!

Maybe they could use Nick DeBrita (Rocketman248) as the old kid in the last scene... ;)

Jason
 
I agree the clustered snitch and the accident at the launchpad were aired in poor taste, the fact is, no matter how safe the sport of rocketry is we're still human and prone to mistakes, I don't think the snitch shouldv'e ever made it to the pad in the first place, I could see that one comming and I'm not exactly an expert in thrust or thermal dynamics, as for the guy being blown off the launchpad by the recovery charge, I'm not really sure how that one could have been prevented other than a double and triple check on all systems before ever connecting the battery, and a test run with the altimeter they intended to use a day or two before the launch to ensure it was in proper working order, might not have been a bad idea to incorperate some kind of remote method of arming the alt into the design. The guy talking to the camera crew could have been helping his comraddes prep for launch instead of hamming it for the camera.
 
Hey Larry,
That was funny, I never thought along the lines that the guy on camera should've been helping! I guess it that commercial was doing the same thing as the discovery channel, a successful flight of Damon Wayans' rocket would not have been funny! On the other hand if he were the one launching that porta-potty it would have been acceptable; Comedian+Disaster=FUNNY!

-Scott
 
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