I received an email today from a friend who is currently spending some time in Europe. I fully admit that I don't keep up with European hockey as much as I should, but it's a lot harder to keep track of what's happening in the various European countries when there's a vast ocean between us and there's a few language barriers as I'm only fluent in English. The email I received from Jason today actually shows off the unrealized talents of one Alfa Romeo. You see, Alfa Romeo is actually better known as an Italian automobile maker, not a hockey star. And their newest creation, the Giulietta, seems to have a knack for the game of hockey.I want to say something upfront here so that I'm not giving the wrong message: this is a commercial. The stunts performed in the cars were done by professionals, and I recommend NOT trying anything you see in the following video. Good? Ok.
From their YouTube site, "Alfa Romeo UK put the Alfa Giulietta through its paces at Coventry Skydome ice rink. The mission set was to achieve the near impossible - getting a car to play ice hockey. The stunt, featuring the advanced Vehicle Dynamic Control of the Alfa D.N.A. system, driven by stunt driver Paul Swift, was captured using only iPhone technology, taking on Team Blaze star, David Phillips, in a challenge of icy skill and pinpoint control."
Here are the results of that challenge.
While there still is a significant gap between the Giulietta's wind-up and shot and that of, say, Zdeno Chara, the fact that the car got two pretty decent shots away is pretty impressive!
According to some of the comments on the YouTube page, the commercial itself took less than three hours to shoot, and driver Paul Swift had the "shot" mastered within 15 minutes. While there's no doubt that the goaltender wasn't really making an effort to stop the Giulietta's shot, the fact that a driver can actually make a car shoot a puck is what stopped me in my tracks.
Well done, Alfa Romeo, for a unique commercial!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
"Well done, Alfa Romeo, for a unique commercial!"
ReplyDeleteI really wish that more commercials went along these lines. The obscure visual metaphor seems to be the fashion at the moment and I can't be the only one who finds that unbearably tedious. There are only a few car ads I remember; the shark ad for the Peugeot 406, the transformers ad for the Citroen C4 and the Space Invaders ad for the MiTo. And of course, the ones with celebrities in stick in the memory but it's the celebrity more than the content that's memorable. I like the line they're using for the Giulietta("Without heart, we would be mere machines") but aside from that, all I remember is that Uma Thurman's involved.
But anyway, hats off to the stunt driver and the players. I don't know about anyone else but I think I'd be getting off the rink as a matter of urgency if a car rocked up and started playing ice hockey. :)