It seems like if you’ve seen one casino commercial, you’ve seen them all. Recent efforts by M Resort and Green Valley Ranch were state-of-the-art examples of the same old same-old.
However, it was impossible not to be stopped in one’s tracks by a cryptic, 97-second spot that ran during the morning news earlier this week. It’s a free-associative succession of images, regularly punctuated by the distinctive geometric forms of CityCenter. However, that’s mixed with very un-Vegas shots of people yachting, lounging by the seaside or doing business in a distinctly older metropolis (New York? Chicago? San Francisco?). Woven through it all are stylized arm movements, reminiscent of tai chi, which are intended to express those aspects of CityCenter for which words are inadequate.
The commercial is so devoid of the imagery we’ve come to expect from a casino ad, that for once the overworked term “outside the box” actually qualifies. It’s better than anything that’s been done in this market, period — and, no, I’m not forgetting the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore rollouts. (As for The Venetian, it’s still running spots from 1999. You can see them during that interminable wait for your baggage at McCarran International Airport, where vacations go to die.)
Unfortunately, MGM Mirage has not made this ad available in an embeddable form, so I snurched it off Aria‘s Facebook page and uploaded it on mine. I doubt MGM will mind the free “product placement.” Lord knows, this filmlet deserves to be seen. It’s somewhere in the jungle that is CityCenter’s Web site but given the processing power you need to mine that thing effectively, it’s probably not worth the safari.
Breaking news: A man generous with his time and expertise, UNLV economist and all-around class act Keith Schwer, died yesterday. He will be greatly missed. Schwer was the Cassandra who saw the Las Vegas recession coming while others scoffed, sometimes in a very crude and demeaning manner. Set against such jackasses, the dignity and restraint of Schwer shone the more brightly.
Dr. Schwer was a valued colleague and a friend–he will truly be missed here at UNLV, and the university and the city are worse for his absence.
Checking the video on myspace it looks like an ad for “Got Acid?” “Tracers Anyone?”
On the serious side sorry for the loss of Dr Schwer
Mr. Schwartz.
Sorry to hear about your friend Dr. Schwartz. My condolences go out to his family and friends.