Concertina On The Telly

[Clive Thorne]

Who else has seen/heard the "Phones 4 U" advert currently running on the telly (in the UK)?

 

A few nights ago I was doing something in another room when I thought 'Bloody hell - that's a concertina!" Ran through to the other room and eventually saw a concertina 'Player' wandering past in the far background of the ad.

 

The concertina seems to be pretty incidental to the advert. The main thrust of which seems to be that if you get a phone from this comany then you will attract vast numbers of the opposite sex! Perhaps it is a social comment that the man in with the phone seems to get the girls while the concertina player wanders past in the distant background without any company of either sex? Perhaps they are targetting the concertina community. ie 'why not sell your concertina, buy lots of phones with the proceeds, and you too can have freinds'!

 

Musically, to me, something about the playing said 'JK', but its definitely not him in the advert. Indeed the person in the ad just seems to be holding it, but its hard to tell because he really is in the distance.

 

 

Any thoughts on the music, or on the longer term implications for the concertina community?

 

 

Clive

[Brian Peters]

Musically, to me, something about the playing said 'JK', but its definitely not him in the advert. Indeed the person in the ad just seems to be holding it, but its hard to tell because he really is in the distance.

Sounds like John K. to me as well. Why they put it in, who can tell? Probably an attempt to create a surrealist feel by depicting someone making music on a bizarre instrument that no sane person in the real world could possibly want to play.

[Woody]

Musically, to me, something about the playing said 'JK', but its definitely not him in the advert. Indeed the person in the ad just seems to be holding it, but its hard to tell because he really is in the distance.

Sounds like John K. to me as well. Why they put it in, who can tell? Probably an attempt to create a surrealist feel by depicting someone making music on a bizarre instrument that no sane person in the real world could possibly want to play.

I assumed that the Concertina was there because it was by the seaside.

 

I think from memory that the Concertina player is a young girl - from close-up in another related advert. Sounded like JK to me as well. I emailed the company that made the advert for Phones4U to ask, but haven't heard anything back.

[PeterT]

Perhaps it is a social comment that the man in with the phone seems to get the girls while the concertina player wanders past in the distant background without any company of either sex?

So, Clive, do we conclude that a certain type of person is drawn towards playing the concertina (Billy no-mates, as we used to say, at work), or is it the sound of the instrument which drives people away?

 

Now, maybe if the player was using a nice Piano Accordion............

 

Regards,

Peter.

[Clive Thorne]

Perhaps it is a social comment that the man in with the phone seems to get the girls while the concertina player wanders past in the distant background without any company of either sex?

So, Clive, do we conclude that a certain type of person is drawn towards playing the concertina (Billy no-mates, as we used to say, at work), or is it the sound of the instrument which drives people away?

 

Now, maybe if the player was using a nice Piano Accordion............

 

Regards,

Peter.

 

Which puts me in mind of the old joke:

 

Q: What do you call a concertina player with friends ?

A: A liar!

 

Although it was probably originally about Banjo players or Bodran players, or drummers or .....

 

Clive.

[JimLucas]

Now, maybe if the player was using a nice Piano Accordion............

Oxymoron?

[Peter Brook]

Musically, to me, something about the playing said 'JK'

 

Clive

 

From John's Website http://www.johnkirkpatrick.co.uk/news.asp

29 Sep 2006: Concertina in TV ads shock!

 

There are a few adverts on the telly at the moment featuring a young girl playing a concertina. The ads are for Phones4µ, and the fabulous soundtrack - almost seconds of it - is played by yours truly. So far I've seen two with snatches of "Auld Lang Syne" and "The Somerset Wassail ". More to come.............