College Grads Create Fake Tesla Commercial That Elon Musk Loves 100
cartechboy (2660665) writes "Two University of Southern California grads were looking to start a digital content company so they decided to roll the dice and create a home-made (but incredibly professional looking) television commercial for Tesla — just to see if they could get some attention for it. Well, apparently, mission accomplished. R.J. Collins and James Khabushani took $1,500 and created a 60-second Tesla 'faux-mercial' dubbed 'Modern Spaceship' that is well, pretty good. Elon Musk noticed, tweeted it and has helped the thing go viral."
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At least it is being manufactured in the USA man.
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Re:A toy for the 1%ers (Score:5, Interesting)
Just like the Chinese have been able to undercut the price on SpaceX rockets?
Not saying that just because *one* of Musk's companies managed to make something (in the USA!) for less than the Chinese or Russians could manage means that *all* of his companies will have the same fortune, but there's a lot of engineering knowledge that goes into making a Tesla. Yeah, cheap knockoffs - things that don't have anywhere near the specs - will probably appear, but they won't have much penetration outside of Asia.
Tesla doesn't just "make electric luxury cars". They make electric cars that have both more range *and* more efficiency than anything which can reasonably be called a competitor (i.e highway-safe enclosed multi-passenger vehicle). I don't have a clue how they manage to beat the others so handily on efficiency, but it's a critical factor for an electric car. A gasoline car with low fuel economy can just use a bigger tank, but that strategy breaks down with batteries much earlier.
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At least it is being manufactured in the USA man.
A good number of automobiles are. (Either that or in (Ontario) Canada.)
When did Ontario Canada become part of the USA? I believe the Provincial Legislature & Canadian Parliament plus the 300,000 residents around Windsor would take a great deal of exception to that.
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Surprised that in 2014 people still think that wealth has anything to do with hard work rather than innate talent, connections and lack of scruples.
(Son of multimillionaires and private school scholar here, so I'm not bitter - just saying it how it is.)
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Son of smart but dirt poor parents, went to public school & state university, no real connections but plenty of scruples, working my ass off for another 10-15 years and saving all I can. If/when I ever move to a warmer climate, I'd buy a Tesla with very few reservations.
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Yesterday I had $ 999,999 to go, today I only have $999,998 to go; closing in on my first million!
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I think you stretch it with innate talent. Far more important are connections.
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I think you stretch it with innate talent. Far more important are connections.
Yeah, but when you get both working together, that's when the world changes.
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Just look at Bush Jr. and Romney; innate talent is highly overrated.
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I think you stretch it with innate talent. Far more important are connections.
Yeah, but when you get both working together, that's when the world stays the same.
FTFY. I'm afraid you underestimate the conservative force of the well conntected :-(
Re:A toy for the 1%ers (Score:4, Insightful)
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The key thing is that most of them are self made, and aren't born into wealth. Some 70% of them, in fact.
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/ne... [stanford.edu]
Honestly I'm sick of this invented war that some people call class warfare. It just doesn't fucking exist, nobody has declared war on anybody else except for the OWS types, and even then they make up less than 1% of the population themselves.
Re:Yes (Score:5, Insightful)
'Self made' is a myth, all of them had to first develop strong and binding connections with sources of capital, influence and discreet knowledge not their own. It is as much, and more in most cases, the cultivation of these relationships as it is their talents and vision that make for success.
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So basically you can fap to porn all day and the knowledge and influence will just magically appear in some cases? Or more realistically, when opportunity doesn't knock, you have to build doors?
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If it works out for you, it's most likely an accident of birth -- your parents had cash.
Pretty sure I posted data debunking that theory...
Oh yeah, I did: http://slashdot.org/comments.p... [slashdot.org]
Next subject.
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No you presented data with the suggestion that the son of a successful lawyer and the director of a bank and United Way was a "self made man". A man who's parents put him through an exclusive private school and then Harvard. Bill Gates.
This is not what is generally meant by "self-made". Self-made means making it without parental financial help. Bill Gates certainly does not qualify, therefore your argument fails.
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So basically you can fap to porn all day and the knowledge and influence will just magically appear in some cases?
Don't underestimate the number of people in the Paris Hilton category. Incredibly wealthy without lifting a finger to make it.
Or more realistically, when opportunity doesn't knock, you have to build doors?
Of course even of those coming from a background of wealth many work hard. But the point is they are not working harder than many more people who don't get wealthy. It's the silver spoon they were born with that means they get to do work that earns them a lot of money rather than a little.
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Class isn't defined by heredity.
Attaining wealth is not the same as earning it.
Wars are rarely declared by the instigators.
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3 problems.
1) The paper has no definitions for wealth of parents. They code into "no wealth", "some wealthy" and "wealthy" arbitrarily based on what it says in "Who's Who" and web searches.
2) You quote their result for "wealthy", ignoring the "some wealth" category. Thus your 70% doesn't include Bill Gates for example, yet "His father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the board of directors for First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way." Most people would count that as wealthy.
Had you i
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..and lack of scruples.
My ex-partner [he was sales, I was development] thought nothing of embezzling $50K+, and when caught "oh, it was the accountant" [whom he had personally hired].
But the cops couldn't be bothered with a squabble between partners, and he had 50K more than I did for the lawsuit...
Re:A toy for the 1%ers (Score:5, Funny)
It is all about being frugal. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it left.
Re:A toy for the 1%ers (Score:4, Interesting)
Really? I'm making under 100K in Canada and I'm driving one... Why? I don't have to line up at Costco for gas... It just goes. Ya, so it's more expensive up front compared to other cars, but it just works. I don't have to look at the gas gauge and try to figure out my next route to the gas station. I simply bypass the people making a right turn right onto the highway. Oh ya, and the carpool lanes also allow green cars... instead of being stuck in traffic going to work, I have a pass to ride the pool lane by myself to get to where I have to.
BTW my other car is an 2013 Odyssey, half the price, to go camping... It does about 15l/km fully loaded. So I get about 300km/tank... But I get there.
I eval'ed a Kia Rio 5 vs the Ody. On an unloaded trip up north, I got 5.9 on the Kia Rio (dealership let me try it for a few days) and 6.1 on the Ody (213Km trip). (I do contract work). The Telsa just blows everything away. I got pulled over on highway 12 a couple of times, because the OPP wanted to check out the car. Let's just put it this way. From requested tests, the Tesla can blow away anything for a fraction of the cost of the really beefy cars.
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I'm making under 100K in Canada and I'm driving one...
Your priorities are totally messed up. You've put too much of your income into something that is depreciating rapidly.
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Its not even a toy - its a development platform for Musk for his car on Mars (when SpaceX gets him there).
commoditization (Score:2)
The very first cars where for only the rich, until they were made commodities. Travelling on boats (or at all) used to be only for the rich, until it was made more available with steam ships. Travelling on airplanes used to be only for the rich, and now it's very affordable. Computers and smartphones used to be very expensive, and now everyone can have one for "$0" (plus a monthly contract). ABS brakes and air bags used to only protect people in the luxury cars, and now they're standard on most automobiles
Stargate Effect (Score:1)
Lemme posit this... (Score:5, Interesting)
.
My answer: no.
This is an enjoyable commercial.
Question: why cannot the "professional" commercial makers do this sort of thing? Why are current car commercials always screaming at me?
Re:Lemme posit this... (Score:5, Insightful)
Because, when it comes to car commercials, ad agencies are bound by so many rules and regulations regarding depictions of reckless driving and such things that it becomes almost impossible tp create a cool car commercial without running the risk of going to court over it (both the ad agency AND car manufacturer).
These kids are not bound by such ass backwards rules, thanks goodness.
An the car ads that scream at you are from dealerships, not manufacturers. I still remember JOE MYERS FORD (Houston, TX dealership) ad screaming in my ears despite not having seen it in over 10 years.
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So, ten years after the fact, you still remember the name "Joe Myers Ford"? Sounds like those ads succeeded in creating brand awareness.
Re:Lemme posit this... (Score:4, Insightful)
So, ten years after the fact, you still remember the name "Joe Myers Ford"? Sounds like those ads succeeded in creating brand awareness.
Yes, but that's only a good thing if you subscribe to the notion of "all publicity is good publicity." In many cases the ad can do the opposite of what you want. Ex. People who remember Dr Pepper because "not for women."
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Ex. People who remember Dr Pepper because "not for women."
Other than you, who remembers THAT? I don't even think Dr Pepper does.
Re:Lemme posit this... (Score:5, Informative)
What the hell are you talking about.... I just watched a car commercial where a woman jumped on top of a moving train with a car. [youtube.com]
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The words do not exist that would allow me to express how much I loathe that commercial.
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As usual it's not as simple as Slashdot would like to think it is. In the case of a woman driving a car off a train it is clearly the kind of thing you would see in an action movie and not likely to be copied by anyone actually allowed to drive a car.
The problem is with actions that look reasonable but which need to be done with care and attention. Say they want to advertise the traffic data feature of the built in sat-nav by showing the driver being presenting with an alternative route and touching the but
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And yet, this commercial had zero driving at all!
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Question: why cannot the "professional" commercial makers do this sort of thing? Why are current car commercials always screaming at me?
Because, when it comes to car commercials, ad agencies are bound by so many rules and regulations regarding depictions of reckless driving and such things that it becomes almost impossible tp create a cool car commercial without running the risk of going to court over it (both the ad agency AND car manufacturer).
RU serious? Have you not seen the electric car flying over buildings, or the (Hyundai?) sedan flying up a ramp, landing on an elevated commuter train, then jumping into the parking lot?
Re:Lemme posit this... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Yes, the "saturation" aspect of commercial buys is also an issue.
A local radio station, 107.1 The Peak [1071thepeak.com] suffers from this very malady.
For some reason, they think it is good to play the same commercial once an hour, every hour, 24/7, for weeks at a time.
It numbs the mind.
Yes, you raise a valid point. Thanks.
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Agreed: watching this a small number of times is OK, after that it grates. However: if these guys can produce the ads for $1,500 then the car company could afford to have many of them, all different; that would retain interest. If the series of adverts told some sort of story people would look forwards to them and maybe actively watch them.
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Re:Lemme posit this... (Score:5, Insightful)
The big reason: you aren't in the target demographic for TV commercials. I suspect that you would find the advertising in a trade publication that interests you similarly interesting, because you would be in the target demographic.
Time is another consideration. This is a 1 minute commercial, so they have time to "tell a story". I'm pretty sure that most commercials are 30 seconds, and even 15 seconds, in length. That's barely enough time to get a person's attention and blurt out your product name.
Re:Lemme posit this... (Score:5, Informative)
Question: why cannot the "professional" commercial makers do this sort of thing?
They do. For example: The Force: Volkswagen Commercial [youtu.be]
Re:Lemme posit this... (Score:5, Funny)
My personal favourite: Terrorist: Volkswagen Commercial [youtube.com]
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VW’s agency does seem to have a knack for creatively nonstandard commercials:
Da Da Da [youtube.com]
Pink Moon [youtube.com]
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And there are others... not in the car industry though, and probably never really broadcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
(NSFW, sorry)
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Would you still not skip it when you've see it 37 times?
(or say 2nd or 3rd time in the previous 10 minutes while say browsing a news site, and it plays for 30 seconds before the video you're trying to watch...?)
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well...
the good commercials they don't have to put on tv. you'll go look for them anyways.
like the honda rube goldberg commercial or the bmw shorts.
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This one (the Tesla one) was cool. The problem I would have with it is that the car experience of course will be nothing like that space experience :), cool ad none the less.
I like this one from SAAB:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com] (The 2 guys getting out of the car at the end are father & son Moszkowicz, the country's infamous top lawyers).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]
Fake? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not a fake commercial. It's a real commercial. They just made it without having been asked or paid.
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The creators weren't connected to Tesla as part of any form of commerce so it isn't a commercial.
Re:Fake? (Score:5, Insightful)
The creators weren't connected to Tesla as part of any form of commerce so it isn't a commercial.
But it encourages the watcher to engage in commerce with Tesla, which is pretty much the definition of a commercial.
Re:Fake? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not a fake commercial. It's a real commercial. They just made it without having been asked or paid.
"Unofficial commercial" would be a good term.
Saw a Tesla Model S on a trailer tonight (Score:2)
We were coming back from dinner and it was on a trailer being towed by a white truck with Tesla stenciled on the side. It was a grey Model S with a roof rack.
Some lucky dog right in our neighborhood getting their delivery today. I bet they're excited.
Only one thing missing (Score:4, Funny)
Should have ended with "See your New Jersey Tesla dealer today!"
"This is my resume" (Score:3)
Doing something like this for free for a company is one of the best ways to get hired.
A Tesla is a fashion statement. (Score:1)
Of course if you have a big dick you don't need one.
Nice viral video (Score:2)
I wonder if these guys really have no connection to Tesla in any way.
Re:Nice viral video (Score:4, Interesting)
Do you mean now, or when they produced this commercial?
I don't have a problem with this particular ad, but I can see a problem. Commercial speech [wikipedia.org] is subject to more and different laws and restrictions than 'free speech'. I can see a situation arising when an unsolicited ad is produced by an independent group making unsubstantiated claims about some product. The FTC steps in, but can't touch the manufacturer because they didn't produce the ad or pay for it. The volunteers aren't subject to the same restrictions as the manufacturer or its agents, so broader free speech rules apply.
Watch to see if the amateur producers don't suddenly have Teslas parked in their garage.
Re:Nice viral video (Score:5, Informative)
This is a very common kind of thing done in most college film schools, where students are encouraged to make a commercial about some product that they like and promote it as if they were hired by that company. I had a rather progressive high school where I did that as a high school junior for a television communications class.
Really, it isn't that big of a deal. If the company itself picks up the commercial and runs it as if it was their own, that is where the FTC gets real nasty.
The other thing to worry about is that these guys posted the video on YouTube. Technically Tesla could yank the commercial as a violation of their trademark, and I suppose if it was misleading or doing something to ruin their reputation, they certainly could send in a DMCA request to YouTube and cause the commercial to be pulled. On the other hand, if it is this good, it is free advertising for them and generates buzz with a whole lot of people seeing their products in positive light, so it generally is a win-win situation for companies to support
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DMCA is for copright, not trademarks. Any lawyer who abuses DMCA request for the case you described, sets himself up for perjury.
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DMCA is for copright, not trademarks. Any lawyer who abuses DMCA request for the case you described, sets himself up for perjury.
Hopefully a competent lawyer would be able to make that subtle distinction in terms of the exact provision of law that they are using to issue a complaint. You can still send a cease & desist request for trademark violations, which on YouTube would be with the same interface and e-mail submission tools that are used for DMCA requests.
The net effect is the same in either case, as the video is removed pending your counter-complaint to have the video put back up and fighting in a federal court room if the
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What are you talking about? Tesla didn't pay them a cent to make this video. I hear they do like their new Roadsters though.
I just had a moment (Score:3)
I just realized that the shared definition of a 'fake' commercial is that it was produced by someone not hired by the product manufacturer. It no longer means one that involves special effects, and hasn't for some time.
and other colleges like tribeca flashpoint work on (Score:1)
work on real ones as part of class but some HR people pass them over as it's only 2 years but you know more then the 4 year guys
I prefer (Score:1)
Trunk monkeys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8avOiTUcD4Y
average middle, great ending. (Score:2)
It was a little corny and copycat, but it had a great ending.
Actual link to the ad (Score:5, Informative)
here's the actual youtube link [youtube.com].
This just in...big business guys love flattery (Score:1)
It's missing something.... (Score:2)
Car Cannot Fly.
Do not allow children to drive car.
No children were harmed in the making of this commercial.
Caution, do not look directly at the sun.
etc
etc
etc
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Dam Fine Commerical (Score:2)