Jamaicans tell VW to run the commerical - Here is how you can help to do that

[Jazz]

There is always residual that comes from anything that "big up" Jamaica in a positive way. The other day I saw a documentary and later found out that all the captions for the patois translation was done by someone on Jamaicans.com from a post I placed on the site. I cannot tell you how many times I get email from people who say they want to visit Jamaica because of the "cool" accent or just watching "Cool runnings". I know in the big picture we may not see it but it does count.

LIKE!

I am for anything that publicizes Jamaica and does not include a crime statistic... and LORd knows we get enough of the regurgitation of execution style killings, police brutality, rapes, underage sex etc. let's not forget that tourism is now our mainstay..

Aside of "drive a VW and get happy" the other message is that Jamaicans are always happy regardless of what troubles they face - who wouldn't want to visit a place like that?

It is so easy to repost all the bad news from Jamaica... how hard would it be to post something that might actually have a positive far reaching impact?

[Xavier]

Yea mon! - Gov’t, Opposition endorse VW Superbowl ad

Yea mon! - Gov’t, Opposition endorse VW Superbowl ad

Source: Jamaica Observer
Writer: CONRAD HAMILTON

TAP into your inner Jamaican and get happy. That's the advice from Tourism Minister Dr Wykeham to the thousands of people across the globe who have been reacting to a controversial commercial developed by automobile manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) for broadcast in the United States during Super Bowl XLVII this Sunday.

The commercial has been available on social media site YouTube, and has been creating a frenzy with multiple reports in sections of the international media.


The Super Bowl is the most watched annual television programme in the US and advertisers spend millions of dollars on commercials targeting the more than 100 million viewers.

In the advertisement, a white male in an office setting, uses an infectious Jamaican accent to encourage his officemates to ignore the bleak forecast and instead lighten up and be happy.

The employee used distinctly Jamaican phrases such as 'yea mon' and 'yes I', causing some of his colleagues to react with shock, while others embraced his suggestion to the point where they also end up speaking with Jamaican accents.

At one point the main character and his colleagues, who had travelled to a destination in a red VW Beetle, were told that they were three minutes late for the meeting.

But the happy-go-lucky men responded by advising their concerned-looking host not to be the "cloud on a sunny day", at which point one colleague utters 'chill' while another shouts 'respect bossman!'

The commercial has earned the wrath of some commentators who are of the view that it is racist and that it is belittling Jamaicans.

However, many others, like McNeill, are giving the production the thumbs up, saying the ad is very creative and truly taps into the tremendous mass appeal that Brand Jamaica and its hospitable people have globally.

The commercial also uses reggae icon Jimmy Cliff's new rendition of the Partridge Family theme song Get Happy.

"I believe the commercial is also a tribute to the popularity of reggae music worldwide and I salute Jimmy Cliff for being a true Jamaican ambassador through his outstanding music. I urge persons all across the globe to do exactly what the commercial portrays, which is to tap into your inner Jamaican and get happy," McNeil said in a statement to the media.

Meanwhile, Opposition Spokesman on Tourism Edmund Bartlett says he and Opposition Leader Andrew Holness view the ad in a positive light.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2JZ11oMZ8

[j-kid]

That Minister need yuh bi publically flogged! Which authentic Jcan him hear sey "MON"?

.....distinctly Jamaican phrases such as 'yea mon'

[Tropicana]

That Minister need yuh bi publically flogged! Which authentic Jcan him hear sey "MON"?

The guy was not playing an authentic Jamaican. He was playing a guy from Minnesota doing a Jamaican accent.

[My Looh]

Even if the commercial does not run, the publicity that it has already receeived has put Jamaica in the spotlight. Enough people in my office have been viewiing it on You Tube. At least they didn't use the term "irie".

[SmoothOperator]

Jimmy Cliff's profile has been really low in recent years. I bet a lot of people who watch the ad in the US won't even know who he is much more to know that he is Jamaican. Jimmy is not Bob Marley or Bolt - most wont make the connection to Jamaica. Hope it is a plus for Jamaica but I just don't see it. Would love to see arrival/booking stats after the ads run. The way I see it VW advertising VW and not Jamaica here so everything else is incidental.

[Wahalla]

Jimmy Cliff's profile has been really low in recent years. I bet a lot of people who watch the ad in the US won't even know who he is much more to know that he is Jamaican. Jimmy is not Bob Marley or Bolt - most wont make the connection to Jamaica. Hope it is a plus for Jamaica but I just don't see it. Would love to see arrival/booking stats after the ads run. The way I see it VW advertising VW and not Jamaica here so everything else is incidental.

Having never heard the song before, I assumed it was a Jimmy Cliff compostion... So the only thing they should have done differently was to use a Jimmy Song.. then he would have been paid more...But the upside is proof a true Jamaican who still says flim can make the banal cool...

Jimmy Cliff played a couple festivals in the UK last summer.. He was on a quiz program on the BBC the year before with Mark Lamare.. Mark Described Jimmy as a god.. And proclaimed that anything he said was the truth.. So when he answered questions wrong, Mark decalred that he was right....It pissed off Princes Charles ex shag pad from the Three Degrees Fuerguson.... But it was funny... Mark kept gettign up and bowing to Jimmy Cliff...

[Wahalla]

Even if the commercial does not run, the publicity that it has already receeived has put Jamaica in the spotlight. Enough people in my office have been viewiing it on You Tube. At least they didn't use the term "irie".

And they say Germans dont have a sense of houmour!!!!! The thing is it would work in Europe, especially in Scandinavia where most people in the buying demographics speak English... (Norway, Sweden, Demark) Just as long as Jimmy gets paid...It could also get a regular flight from Oslo in the low season...Instead of the flights ot Bangkok.... So if I was the tourism minister I would lobby VW to use it in Norway.. There are not that many VW's on the road there... Free marketing... And diversifying the product to the third richest country in the world....

[WitchyOoman]

The guy was not playing an authentic Jamaican. He was playing a guy from Minnesota doing a Jamaican accent.

Precisely! He clearly says in the vid that he's "fram Minnesota, di Land of Many Lakes".
Ah Minnesota him come fram.

[j-kid]

Many older Whites knows him very well, from the Harder They Come fame. It was a very popular cult classic wid dem some years back.

Jimmy Cliff's profile has been really low in recent years. I bet a lot of people who watch the ad in the US won't even know who he is much more to know that he is Jamaican. Jimmy is not Bob Marley or Bolt - most wont make the connection to Jamaica. Hope it is a plus for Jamaica but I just don't see it. Would love to see arrival/booking stats after the ads run. The way I see it VW advertising VW and not Jamaica here so everything else is incidental.

[Tropicana]

Having never heard the song before, I assumed it was a Jimmy Cliff compostion... So the only thing they should have done differently was to use a Jimmy Song.. then he would have been paid more...But the upside is proof a true Jamaican who still says flim can make the banal cool...

That song was the theme song for the old US TV Show The Partridge Family. Check earlier in the thread. I posted it.

[Peasie]

Many older Whites knows him very well, from the Harder They Come fame. It was a very popular cult classic wid dem some years back.

That's right The Harder They Come used to play every night at midnight at The Orson Welles in Harvard Square. It was the hang for students who were up late studying and needed a break.

[Tropicana]

Did they air it? I have been back and forth watching the game but I haven't seen it.

[SmoothOperator]

Did they air it? I have been back and forth watching the game but I haven't seen it.

Yup - saw it with my own eyes. It was the version where you hear Jimmy singing but don't see him. I'm waiting to see what bump in tourist arrivals this will bring.

[Tropicana]

Tourist Board is talking about doing some co-branding with Volkswagen...how about a VW in Jamaican flag colours and with a photo of Bob Marley and Jamaican flag in the back.