This is a commercial for online custom engagement ring retailer Gottalockthatdown.com. It is a fucking miracle for several reasons, and let me tell you why:
• It's about nerds, but neither of them look like stereotypical '80s-style Revenge of the Nerds-style nerds.
• In fact, both nerds are thing, fit, and reasonably attractive. And only one has glasses!
• Although the male nerd is silent, neither nerd is socially inept to the point of ludicrousness.
• While the nerd girl is attractive, she's not some ludicrous supermodel and thus some clearly unattainable, preposterous ideal, meaning that this scenarios is not some traditional "nerd/head cheerleader" fantasy but is actually realistic and plausible.
• The nerd girl espouses an opinion on Green Lantern that not only isn't incorrect, but is well-known to the nerd community and well-argued.
• All this was done for a commercial for engagement rings.
In short, this commercial is actually a positive, realistic look at nerd boys and girls, in an advertisement for a totally non-nerdy item. I mean, it would have been interesting enough for a comic store to advertise itself without resorting to nerd tropes, but a store that sells items primarily to the masses? That's unheard of. This commercial is wonderful, and positive, and a miracle and I want to give everyone involved in it a hug and back massage. (Via Geeks Are Sexy)
• It's about nerds, but neither of them look like stereotypical '80s-style Revenge of the Nerds-style nerds.
• In fact, both nerds are thing, fit, and reasonably attractive. And only one has glasses!
• Although the male nerd is silent, neither nerd is socially inept to the point of ludicrousness.
• While the nerd girl is attractive, she's not some ludicrous supermodel and thus some clearly unattainable, preposterous ideal, meaning that this scenarios is not some traditional "nerd/head cheerleader" fantasy but is actually realistic and plausible.
• The nerd girl espouses an opinion on Green Lantern that not only isn't incorrect, but is well-known to the nerd community and well-argued.
• All this was done for a commercial for engagement rings.
In short, this commercial is actually a positive, realistic look at nerd boys and girls, in an advertisement for a totally non-nerdy item. I mean, it would have been interesting enough for a comic store to advertise itself without resorting to nerd tropes, but a store that sells items primarily to the masses? That's unheard of. This commercial is wonderful, and positive, and a miracle and I want to give everyone involved in it a hug and back massage. (Via Geeks Are Sexy)
More links from around the web!
-
Abin Sur is naked. Hector got brain tumor. Parallax went to the sun. Sinestro turn yellow at the end of the movie. The end.
-
Damn straight! Just two more days I could I have been an emerald! 'Invincibility and purity' my ass...
-
Gotta lock that down. I loved this commercial. Yes, it was a cheesy engagement commercial. But it featured nerds/nerdery as something BESIDES the punchline. Good job, society.
-
I liked it... it was a good ad, and if I hadn't already married that girl, I would marry that girl (ok, ok, I didn't marry THAT girl, but my wife is remarkably similar, though less interested in comics) still.. cool
-
I'm friends with the dude nerd... and those are his real glasses!
-
Not a single 'Arrested Development' reference. Kinda disappointed. Oh, well, allow me: Marry me!
-
Glasses Dude, kindly explain to Ms. Chatterbox the reason Hal was selected in the first place had nothing to do with ambition but a literal inability to feel fear. Sort of a defining character trait.
-
Maybe I'm reading back story where there isn't any but I got the impression that she was picking up her weekly comics, the kid had been crushing on her for a long time (hence the lack of speaking) and that was why the owner had the site on the computer. Or not.
-
And that great sex will rock your galactica for exactly one minute.
-
That girl was hating on Hal Jordan....I gotta lock that shit down.
-
watching the video it jumped out at me she reminded me of ( Jewel Staite )... Kaylee Frye from firefly ... you guys may remember her as the one who NEVER GOT LAID in the series and screamed out "I WANT TO LIVE" in the movie . great find guys :)
-
Yeah, I blame the creators of the commercial for trying JUST hard enough to write a nerd-love scenario.
-
I'd just like to point out that they shot that at my favorite comic shop, House Of Secrets in Burbank, CA.
-
I agree with Heritage diamonds, my wife is wearing a ring that was from my family. It's the only jewelry she wears, it means more than something I would buy new.
-
Because smart is the new sexy Rob.
-
In that guy's defense, did she really give him a chance? The moment she stopped talking was when she was walking away.
-
I will forge a ring for every female in this thread. And they will feel great emotion. And I will feel great emotion. And then we'll all go have sex.
-
What you did is so sweet and I agree with you, a heritage stone is the way to go if you want a diamond. Another option when it comes to diamond purchases would be to buy those tacky art-deco rings on ebay (I'm actually a fan of art-deco but there are so many huge stones that fall into the tacky category) for outrageously low prices and have those stones recut and placed in a setting of your choosing if you or your significant other requires diamonds.
-
I'm so sorry about that. I'd be walking on air if my partner had a ring forged for me. What you did was so thoughtful and special. I hope you have either met or meet someone who appreciates what you do. Don't let this dishearten you.
-
Well I might even still have the ring (since she didn't want it), so you could have it..assuming that I would be able to find it again. But I can assure you that, a least from his appearance, it is not really much to look at.
-
Agreed that nerd girls are constantly pressured to prove themselves...granted I'm not a girl so I can't speak from your perspective. But, that pressure shouldn't make you have to prove you nerd cred. If someone requires you to prove yourself to them before they'll give you the time of day, is that person really worth the effort? And enough relationship nonsense from me...how about that local sport team??
-
I just thought it was funny. If they really wanted it to be a nerd stereotype, he would have proposed with a plastic GL ring. Doing that would have turned the commercial to a bit on Big Bang Theory, thus immediately going into my hate list (I'm pretty sure I saw a clip where Jim Parsons (whatever his character's name is) was illuminating the hallway with a GL lantern. Grrr....
-
Same here. Can't help ranting.
-
Well, I didn't see it the way you guys did, I guess. I read it as something like "when you find someone special, someone that understands you, go for it!". And I honestly think the guy didn't say anything because, let's face it, she gave him no time to reply! A commercial for engagement rings is about "romance", and not "long-term, steady realationships". "Romance" usually goes with "hey, I just bumped into someone really special! I can see myself spending the rest of my life with him/her", "meant to be" and all that crap. On the other hand, a pragamatic "hey, look here: we've been together for what? 6, 7 years? I'm ready to marry you now" is a HUGE turn off. Doesn't make any woman rush to the next store to buy a diamond ring (bearing in mind that engagement rings are usually targeted at women). That's simply it. They could've used a jock and a cheerleader, or 2 successful executives, or 2 people who meet at a cooking class, or whatever. They chose to go with 2 people who meet at a comic store. Is that so bad? I say it isn't - we're finally getting some love! ^^
-
Hehe. I might be being slightly unfair and overreacting. Apologies. I dare say in a real life scenario the conversation isn't going to be so one-sided and completely rehearsed. Still save some of the material for a second date :)
-
By the way, I said all that in large part because when people make statements like "She's not some ludicrous supermodel and thus some clearly unattainable, preposterous ideal..." it bothers me slightly because people have a tendency to treat those girls like they aren't "real" or just some kind of sex object for your viewing pleasure, when that isn't the case, and exceptionally pretty girls can like the things we like too.
-
Fuck, this is a seriously great commericial! I absolutely love it!!! Genius! Kudos to everyone involved!!!!
-
I thought the commercial was kinda cute (especially the guy, although I do wish he had actually said something). But like many stated above, I do not like diamonds very much at all. Or any really fancy jewelry. Although antique jewelry is kinda cool, probably because it's more unique.
-
What makes me happy about this commercial is, that it was shot at my local comic book store, House of Secrets in Burbank! http://www.artoffiction.com/HouseOfSecrets/
-
She looks a little like Flick Shagwell. No not the one from Austin Powers, the other one the British one. The sometimes a brunette,sometimes blonde,sometimes a ginger one. The one who crammed or had crammed things into other things.
-
Throw out the "It's okay to live with your parents" bit (ugh), and I'm right with you.
-
I dunno, Rob. Feels kinda pandery to me...this isn't a conversation, it's a spiel carefully designed to hit all of the stereotypical nerd guy's weak spots. Nerd dudes here: wouldn't you rather engage, har har, than stare in awe?
-
I'm the same way. Discussing and over-analyzing are some of my favorite aspects of fandom. :B
-
Clearly, she needs a Lantern custom ring. Now, which one...? Crap what was she actually saying? I was too distracted by the fact she was talking eloquently on the topic at all...
-
Nothing wrong with that either. Besides, gotta help keep up that 70K-a-day average! {g} Granted, silence is really nice, too, sometimes. But if she's "her", I would rather be listening to her than to anyone else, especially if she's talking about something I'm at least moderately interested in with her.
-
I've been on this kick recently about the joy of being a nerd. This commercial encapsulates some of those feelings quite well, and seriously... who WOULDN'T put a ring on that girl's finger? Makes me all twitterpated.
-
I have to admit, I am one of those over-talkers who would find it very hard to answer a question like "who's your favourite lantern" succinctly. I can't help it!
-
She didn't like it?! Madness! I dislike jewelery but I think even I would be over the moon if someone forged a ring for me!
-
That commercial was kind of lame I thought. I'm sorry, lol. By the way, let me just take this opportunity to point out that, as a definite nerd, I'd say I'm good looking, and I am in fact married to a fashion/swimwear model, one who was recently hired to do latest Beachbody Brazilian Butt-Lift commercial no less and who fits the "ludicrous supermodel" mold. Yet she was still perfectly attainable. Bonus: She is a nerd as well, even calls herself one, who likes Harry Potter books, comic book movies, and whose love of the Game of Thrones books nearly rivals that of my own. So maybe I'm one of the exceptions rather than the rule, but I'm just saying it IS possible, you know! And let me just tell you, one of her closest extremely gorgeous model friends is married to a fantastic, also good looking guy that is complete Star Wars nerd who even went to the last Celebration. Meanwhile most of the other model girls end up dating dead beats or guys who turn out to be assholes that just want to fuck models, but would probably kill to find a decent-looking "nerd" who treated them well. Do NOT be fooled into thinking you cannot get those kind of girls, or that they can't be nerdy as well! This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by Drakonnen, in association with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the letter L.
-
as much as I agree with you, that's probably because nerd girls are constantly being pressured to "prove" they know their shit. If you don't, you're going to get talked down to and steered towards the Betty and Veronica one shots every time you walk into a comic book store.
-
I admit I was really hoping this would happen.
-
I'm a nerd....yet found this girl extremely off putting. I still hate how film, tv and commercials show nerds as obsessive over-talkers. I ran into a girl in a shopping centre wearing a green lantern ring a few months back, asked "Who your favourite lantern is?" She said "John Stewart" gave a little smile and walked away....no rant....no obsessive behaviour. That is my idea of a dream nerd girl, knows her shit but doesn't feel the need to tell you everything about it.
-
We recycled a diamond from a necklace my great-grandfather gave to my great-grandmother (which she gave willingly), then my husband had it reset with two triangle-cut, lab-made sapphires on either site. The sapphires add to the beautiful cut of the diamond, while adding color and a custom flair to the ring. I would never ask for a fresh diamond, for the same reasons Tome lists. Plus, if you go with a family-originated stone, you have "heritage" on your side as well. But as for "why it has to be diamonds", well this ad came about a long time ago espousing that a "diamond is forever"....
-
I actually think it's a cute commercial. Let's face it just about any commercial for jewerly is cheesy. But this one is cheesy and charming.
-
I agree. This girl is clearly presented as a "holy crap girls who are cute can also like what lame nerds like?" character. She's obviously not something the nerd guy sees everyday. Which is why he's "gotta lock it down". She seems presented as an exception, not the norm. And I dunno what commercial rob was watching, but the guy seems like your typical socially awkward, skinny, feeble glasses wearing stereotype all around. The message seems to be "hey socially awkward, possibly autistic skinny nerd who can barely speak in the presence of women, this girl just talked to you! Clearly it will never get better, so flip out and ask to marry her!!!!"
-
Ehhh. I dunno. 2 things about it bothered me: 1. She oddly uses the Kyle> Hal thing to trangress into a speech about not needing a man with ambition, and then even starts saying "oh, it's ok not to move out of your parent's place as an adult!" No ambition, living with parents= 2 big geek stereotypes. 2. This seems to be first time this girl has ever talked to this guy, and he's already thinking engagement rings? HA! This is kinda another nerd stereotype- that they'll fall deeply in love with any girl who gives them the time of day. I dunno. Maybe I'm reading too much into it though.
-
I was always disappointed that my birthstone is a diamond because if I ever decided to wear a birthstone ring, people are just going to assume it is an engagement or wedding ring. I also thing it's the most boring looking of the precious stones.
-
I couldn't really get a good look at the ring, nor could I really find it on their website. I assumed it was going to be a ring that actually looked like the Green Lantern ring, but it doesn't look like it is, which is disappointing (unless it is, then I'm just blind and can't see it/find it).
-
The one time I bought a ring for one of my gfs (not an engagement ring) it was a very plain and simple one, but one I forged myself (with the help of a friend who has a company that creates and sells "medieval" stuff). She told me I was nuts for doing something like that, instead of getting her a real, shiny one...
-
Hoooray we are a Targetgroup. I hope that ring retailer got some sweet Klingon rings to back that commercial up.
-
As a woman I must say that I hate diamonds. I don't like the look of them and the diamond trade is an evil, evil thing so I also have a moral opposition to the stone. Give me pearls any day. That being said if I ever get engaged, my partner better not be getting me a diamond, that might mean immediate refusal because it shows they don't know me at all.
-
Also I'm fairly certain their address is a reference Arrested Development. So this is a winner all around.
-
While i admit that it is a good ad, I ahve to say that I just can't understand the appeal of diamond rings. I am not against buying jewely for my girlfriend/possible wife, even expensive ones, but why does it have to be diamonds?
-
DIBS!
TotalComments: 54
