(If you want the short and sweet Buzzfeed version I wrote, you'll wanna see this.)
“The lack of chemistry between couples can be overcome as long as everyone happens to love House of Cards.”
YES, Neftlix, YES. So much truth.
Chirp. Chirp. Screenshot from the commercial.
I may or may not know from personal experience that Netflixing does in fact speed up bonding with couples. After you get into the initial, “What’s new with you” interview, what do you talk about next? Well, you casually mention that you and the hubs binged on Netflix this weekend and it was the best, most unproductive thing to happen to you in a while.
“Oh really, what did you watch?” they ask, which is almost always followed by a, “We love Netflix too!” You tell them you can’t stop watching House of Cards. Totally addictive. Totally awful lives these characters are leading but you just. can’t. turn. away. You also thank God you don’t personally know anyone like them. Their eyes grow wider. “You like House of Cards too?” one of them pipes up. Now you’re all smiling. You know what comes next. Dessert will be served in front of the TV.
In the instance that your guests aren’t hooked on Netflix, it’s your job to help them see the light. So you go on about how House of Cards is full of brilliant writing and acting and it’s actually a Netflix original. Kevin Spacey is the lead character. So credible. You know what comes next. Dessert in front of the TV.
By the end of the evening, you feel like better friends. And this, my friends, is why I say Netflix will help your life. But since this is an advertising blog, I’m mostly here to assert that this is why you need GOOD copywriters to write the commercials we watch. Because, if we’re going to be bombarded with them, can’t they please be interesting to our personal lives?
Watch the whole thing. Really, you’ll love it. I don’t know the copywriter. (But I wish I did, because I’d love to tell him or her that he or she is awesome.) I also don’t know who thought up the idea for the commercial. But I DO know that good copywriters know how to take a general idea and put a unique spin on it that only copywriters can do. The art direction is also great, it adds to the humor, however, the words came first. So there.
“Can one man’s life be forever altered by plunging into the depths of a personal Netflix recommendation?”
“Yes it can.”
I love how it was worded like a philosophical question, with dramatic word choices like “forever”, “altered”, “plunging” and “depths”. I can very much speak to the plunging. Once you’re hooked, you sink real deep, real fast. I got my husband hooked on The Office after it ended and we got through all nine seasons of The Office in a pretty marginal amount of time that doesn’t need to be mentioned. And you know what? It bonded us “forever” (there’s that word) in a new way. The Office was a world my Bobby knew nothing about and it pained me for him to not know such humor. To have no one that was my husband to share it with. Now we can randomly spit out Office quotes at each other. I am no longer faced with a blank stare when I burst out, “You want a kooky-cookie!? Try my kooky-cookie!” Bob likes it when I do the “I’m Prison Mike!” impression. And lately, he’s been saying, “Conference Room. 5 minutes!” at the most random of times. I swear, until this Netflix binging, we were less-than-complete.
So there. Wieden + Kennedy, you’ve done it again. You’ve spoken right to me. You had/have my attention (which is why I’m writing this really long thing). And it solidifies my Netflix fandom.
Ironically, I’m finishing up a three-week Netflix fast (an obstaining) with Bobby. Because, once again as I said, I also know that Netflix is entertainment and a catalyst for connection. However it is not everything, because that would be sad. Variety is the spice of life. Read a book. Listen to a podcast. Go to a museum. Go on a date. Volunteer. And, yes, occasionally go ahead and binge on Netflix. It's just one more thing to talk about.