emotionally manipulative... and yet, I'm a bit choked up
How underhanded of Xfinity, a Comcast brand, to pull at our heartstrings (and heartlights) by making the following fan-service video in which E.T. (from 1984's "E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial") comes back to Earth to hang with a grown-up Elliott (played by none other than the man himself: Henry Thomas, looking so much older and wiser) and his family: a wife and two kids. The story recapitulates many of the signal moments from the original 80s film (glowing heart, bike flight, Reese's Pieces), and as I said, it's a fan-service short, so its primary purpose is to play on your fond memories and soften you up before slamming you with the fact that the entire story is a cynical lead-up to a "Use Xfinity!" punchline.
But the ad is well acted, and E.T. is brought to life with decent special effects, and even though I was aware I was being manipulated, I didn't mind. I've enjoyed clever commercials before, and I'm sure to enjoy more in the future. This was a good one... at least for people in a certain age group (talking to you, fellow Gen Xers!).
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All comments are subject to approval before they are published, so they will not appear immediately. Comments should be civil, relevant, and substantive. Anonymous comments are not allowed and will be unceremoniously deleted. For more on my comments policy, please see this entry on my other blog.