Relatively few things have me diving for the TV remote to quickly change the channel. Kia's end-of-year Kiafest commercial is one of them. Within three notes of hearing Michael Sembello's "Maniac" emanating from my TV, I'm on the remote. No, the mute button is not enough. It's a rare combination of audio and visual distaste that drives me. I don't want to see the mop-headed sales guy rubbing his butt and acting like an idiot, nor hear a tune I found tiresome and trite way back in the '80s.
I'm baffled by the continued resurrection of "Flashdance." It was a pop-hit movie in the early 1980s and I doubt it's on anyone's must-see list today. The movie reeks of the worst part of superfluous 1980s entertainment, although Jennifer Beals' dance double (Marine Jahan) was obviously very talented. I'm sure she's flattered by this latest insult to her work. I'm not sure to whom this commercial was directed. Kia has marketed itself to the young, hip, and adventurous. Do the young and hip even know the context of this ad? To heighten my anguish, this commercial played at least three times an hour the other night. Thank goodness for TiVo/DVRs.
Look, this is not a Kia thing. I like and appreciate the Kia folk. This is an ad agency thing. Seems ad pundits are falling over each praising this spot from agency davidandgoliath as clever and funny. Well, I don't think it's either one. It's creepy, and I can't wait till Kiafest is over.
While I'm not alone in my disgust, I have discovered real, live people that actually like the ad, or, at most, find it innocuous. Not surprisingly, it's mainly younger women that have never seen the movie. Ahhhh, perhaps that's the demographic here—except most of them didn't remember whose ad it was. The bottom line is: Will it sell more Kias? If it does, we may see it again during the next Kiafest, ad infinitum (excuse the pun). If not, hopefully, we'll see an end to inane "Flashdance" parodies.
For a better (i.e. less creepy) lampoon of "Flashdance," check out the Aussie beer commercial for Carlton Draught.