An analysis of corporate commercials, as research for HAE Stack fake commercial video production.
Elements of a Corporate Commercial
Vague, almost poetic script.
Lots of cuts between stock footage/images.
Most cuts are jump cuts, but occasionally there's a fade.
Most cuts come in clusters of similar subject/footage/topic from different angles.
Lots of pauses in the voiceover that don't follow normal sentence or punctuation conventions.
They're selling the idea of the company, not a specific product. The commercial is for investors, not the general population.
Occasional hyper-fast cuts of like 3-10 different scenes in a second.
Inspirational backing music track.
Event static shots have some movement, usually slow zoom in/out.
Ends with corporate logo, either overlaid on footage or on own screen.
Example Commercials
Cisco - Tomorrow Starts Here
Narrator
Feminine, young-ish adult
Length
60 seconds
Clips
~80-90 depending on how you count
Year
2012
Transcript
What if the next big thing
isn't a thing at all
it's lots of things
all waking up.
Becoming part of the global phenomenon-
we call the internet of everything.
Trees will talk to networks will talk to scientists about climate change.
Cars will talk to road sensors will talk to stop lights about traffic efficiency.
The ambulance will talk to patient records will talk to doctors about saving lives.
It's going to be amazing
and exciting
and maybe
most remarkably
not / that / far /away.
The next big thing.
We're going to wake the world up.
And watch
with eyes wide
as it gets to work.
Cisco
Tomorrow starts here.
Cisco - The Human Network
Narrator
Feminine, child
Length
90 seconds
Clips
~80
Year
2014
Transcript
Welcome.
Welcome to a brand new day.
a new way of getting things done
Welcome to a place where maps are rewritten and remote villages are included.
a place where body language is business language
where people subscribe to people, not magazines.
and the team you follow, now follows you
Welcome to a place where books rewrite themselves.
where you can drag and drop people wherever they want to go
and a phone doubles as a train ticket, plane ticket, or lift ticket.
Welcome to a place where a wedding is captured, and recaptured, again and again
Where a home video is experienced everywhere at once.
Where a library travels across the world.
Where businesses are born.
Countries are transformed
and we're more powerful together
that we ever could be apart
Welcome to the human network.
Cisco - The Bridge to Possible
Narrator
Masculine, adult
Length
64 seconds
Clips
24
Year
2020
Transcript
Between what is hoped for
and what can be
there's a bridge
Between the asiprations of a ball club, and the greatest sports venue in America
there's a bridge.
Between chaos
and wonder.
Endangered
and protected.
There's a bridge.
Built on technology that can solve
create
heal
inspire
and secure
a bridge.
There from the beginning, to where we stand today
and where we will go from here.
One company
one promise
If you can imagine it, we will build the bridge to get you there.
Cisco
The bridge to possible.
Cisco - Inclusive Future Anthem
Narrator
Feminine, adult, British?
Length
75 seconds
Clips
~68
Year
2023
Transcript
Where will you be in 5 years?
Where will we be in 5 years?
In 25?
In 50?
Lets be here
and here
with her
and him
and they
lets connect them
lets connect everyone
lets deliver technology that gives them access.
to power opportunity
lets set a new standard
for data security and personal privacy
lets change the system
promote equality and fairness in the workplace
lets tear down the barriers to social justice
for a more inclusive world.
Lets clean house
zero carbon, zero waste
Because the health of our family is tied to the future of our home.
Lets gather resources and partners, steer towards our greatest challenges and accelerate.
For the benefit for all.
Cisco has made it it's purpose to empower an inclusive future for all.
Where will we be in 50 years?
Lets go see
Cisco
The bridge to possible.
Raytheon - We Are RTX
Narrator
Masculine, adult
Length
60 seconds
Clips
47
Year
2024
Transcript
We are defined by the questions we ask
and the challenges we take on.
When will sustainable be the standard?
Will data be the difference?
Can materials be lighter?
Can they handle 5000 degrees?
How can travel be transformed?
How will we make the world safer?
Decisions faster? [text still says "how will we make", but they don't say it]
Are seamless communications the key?
Can what's up there
Help us down here?
Is human ingenuity limitless?
Is our true potential endless?
At rtx
We take on the big challenges.
We ask the big questions
and we find answers
We are RTX.
Lockheed Martin - Build What's Next
Narrator
Masculine, adult, very deep
Length
30 seconds
Clips
~56
Year
2026
Transcript
Behind every great leap
are the people who make it possible.
For more than a century,
Lockheed Martin has built [,] what comes next
From first sketch
to first flight
to deep space.
Our proof isn't a prototype.
It's what works in the field
Science advanced through action.
Ideas made real.
The past is proven.
The future is built.