I really respect and appreciate the fact that Toyota seems to have a sense of humor about itself, especially regarding a car called the “Yaris.” I have no idea what a Yaris is or what the word refers to, but I’m glad this work is a complete 180 from the usual, boring car ads that feature repetitive selling points like, “It’s fast!” “It’s good for your family!” or “Great gas mileage!” The Yaris’s selling point? “It’s a car!” Yes, it is! And now I kind of want one!

The spots are silly, clean, and focus on the product without pandering or patronizing. Laughs go a long way when you want someone to buy something.

This is a great example of coherent, thoughtful advertising that encourages an audience beyond a single viewing on TV. It’s refreshing that Toyota trusts their customers/audience to have a sense of humor about the company and themselves, and that they were willing to take a bit of a risk rather than rely on the same old song and dance about “high performance” and “safety.” Who cares about those things anyway?!

At first watch, it’s definitely a really neat, very cool-looking, slick spot. It’s fun, it’s cute, it’s edgier than most ads you’ll see for breakfast cereal (though I do wish the concept were a bit more fleshed out).

Watching the “Behind the Scenes,” however, takes it to another level:

The talent is obviously great, and it’s awesome to see that the dancing bears are actually full-sized professional dancers in giant fluffy bear suits instead of computer-generated characters. The amount of work that went into this 1 minute spot for breakfast cereal is incredible!

Last night was AICE’s 2011 Camp Kuleshov screening and awards event! I recut the film “The Boost,” a 1980′s social drama about drug use, into a TV sitcom in the style of Seinfeld. Let’s hope no one at TBS gets mad about it.

While I didn’t win or place, I’m pretty happy with my trailer and had a great time at the event. Among my favorite entries were “Splash” as a documentary and “Grease” as French New Wave.