Pocky commercial analyzed
by Chris Dobrian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=JP&hl=ja&v=Rouf0oCwtrk

This is a 15-second commercial that I found interesting for the following reasons. It packs quite a lot into that limited time frame, and without actually saying anything much it sets a mood, tells a story, creates a product image, and drives home the product message. It uses pre-composed music as its primary sound element, but more importantly, the structure of its editing is in itself an interesting "musical" form, in the way it manages those 15 seconds to make a memorable and effective statement.

There are five edits in 15 seconds, for an average time per shot of 2.5 seconds (not terribly fast by modern short-attention-span standards, but fast enough to keep high energy and fast pace). The first 4 seconds are taken up with a forward-moving tracking shot toward the main protagonists, which gives us time to take in the scene (teenagers share an intimate moment in the quasi-privacy of a hidden spot on a beach) and to hear the first two (parallel) phrases of the music. The music is distorted electric guitar playing a balanced four-bar blues-rock phrase (outlining both a bass line and a treble part), with a simple, regular on-the-beat snare drum. This represents youthful energy and a bit of transgressive rebellion (within socially acceptable limits) that corresponds to the surreptitious and exciting activity of the two otherwise straitlaced kids (in their clean school uniforms). The solid beginning of the music and the continuous zoom-in feeling of the tracking shot give an introductory (crescendo) character to the opening. The first cut, to the stationary close-up of the couple, heightens the intimacy as the music repeats the first two phrases and the couple's lips converge (both the music and the convergence of their faces give a sense of directional motion toward a goal). Just before their lips meet, and just before the guitar melody reaches conclusion of the four-bar phrase -- that is, just before consummation of both our visual and musical expectations -- we suddenly have the music cut off by a short unmusical male vocal sound (which we soon learn is the admonishing interjection of an adult); this coincides with a cut to a wider-angle shot showing all three characters and the beach, with the motion of the two adolescents away from each other (sound effects of waves/wind, and their backs hitting the boats). Then there is a quick cut to a close-up of the benevolent-but-decidedly-unsexy adult man saying, effectively, "Ah, youth." (Waves sounds continue, and seagulls call.) Cut to angle with girl in the foreground and adult in the background as she looks agonized and mouths singing the product theme ("You and I and Pocky"). The singing actually comes from a chorus of youths in unison with the original guitar theme and drum and general shouting in the background. Final cut to the girl proudly and defiantly chomping and chewing her Pocky as the guitar and drum music continues. As is often the case in commercials, the music is unceremoniously cut off mid-phrase, giving us the impression that we've just seen/heard a small excerpt of some larger scene.

Abstractly, the form could be described as: A (musical intro/exposition setting the tone and the scene of youthful energy, excitement, and romance), A' (reinforcement of that scene with a close-up and repetition of the music heading toward a consummation, but...), B (sudden rupture, no music, interruption of romance and intimacy by adult presence, and then just as suddenly...), C which also could be called A" because the original A music is the basis of C (conclusion as the product theme song is linked to the original musical theme), the product and its packaging are foregrounded, and the female protagonist goes on to live another day with her Pocky in hand.

So how would one translate this into purely sonic thinking, or into purely musical structure? The initial tracking shot (the A motif), with a particular rhythmic sound, might correspond to a repeating rhythmic motif in a crescendo, and/or with the effect of the sound coming closer to the listener (diminishing reverb). Then the A' could be the same sound, but suddenly much reinforced (even closer-seeming, or otherwise emphasized). B could be some completely (shockingly) different sound that jolts us out of the first mood, followed by some trailing background sound (that was perhaps always there, but was previously unnoticed) analogous to the waves and seagulls, then the C (A") section could be a bigger (perhaps multiple-voiced) version of the original, a sort of finale, leading to either a sudden unexpected cutoff (as in the sound of the ad) or a final single sound (analogous to the final logo). In short: a rhythmic sound crescendoing, the same rhythmic sound suddenly more intimate or bigger, shocking rupture with something different, a trailing soft sound, return of the original sound in bigger finale form, and a sudden ending sound or cutoff.