Commercial Critique : "Office"

      The Mexican Insurance Institution Association’s mission promotes long living. The commercial “Office” demonstrates just that mission. Car accidents are the number one cause of death, hints why portraying a car accident for an insurance company’s commercial is so appropriate. The commercial begins with a still wide shot of a man sitting at his desk. The lighting is dim and the open window blinds reveal it is nighttime. The mood is calm and the only sound present for the first 6 seconds of the commercial is the ticking of a clock. On the seventh second the climax of the commercial takes place and a horrific car-crashing sound effect happens and the man is projected forward in his chair as if he has just been in a car accident. My hypothesis is that the car accident special effect was created with CGI. His papers and water glass go flying in the air. The man falls onto his desk dead and the mood returns back to being very flat and silent. The screen remains dim as it fades out to present the statistics that 7 out of each 10 car accidents happen when you are thinking of something else. The screen switches to the last frame presenting the tag line “if you drive, just drive”. I believe this commercial was chosen as a Golden Lion because of the creative approach it took to represent the major cause of a car crash, distraction behind the wheel. The commercial’s tagline reinforces the fact that we are in charge of our minds and it is our responsibility to stay focused on the road. The commercial has such a strong impact because if its accuracy of depicting a car crash; happening out of nowhere and are over in the blink of an eye.