maybe because my screen is so small, but the ball thing with the (lovely, yes) music is not so lovely to my eyes. Maybe I'm wrong, but many of the balls look like CGI (computer generated imagery)and fake. I'm so tired of CGI. This commercial could have really been a contender but they geeked it up.

Jose Gonzalez -- what a find! The only bummer is that he's playing in Boston a week from today, and it's sold out.

The music doesn't go with the bouncy balls, though. I would have used balloons for that song...something floaty and soft. Rubber balls would go better with Great Big Sea.

from their site

In an age when CGI is commonplace, this makes the commercial all the more extraordinary. Every single frame was shot over two days - with the main sequence involving a 23-man camera crew and only one chance to get it right.

An entire block was closed off and special compressed-air cannons shot the balls into the air, while earth moving equipment poured thousands down the street. Not that you'd know it from the finished product, but these balls can do some damage, so all the cars were props and crew members went so far as to having protective shields and crash helmets.

But when you get it right, you get it right. The goal at the beginning was to deliver a "really simple, visual celebration of colour". We think you'll agree the results speak for themselves.

I remember when David Letterman did this many years ago. I thought it was one of the most delightful and brilliant things I'd seen back then... the glorious display of Letterman power (re-routing half the traffic in San Fran for the day) for such a noble cause.

You're not kidding that this is a beautiful and soothing advertisement. I suppose the only down side is that it makes me want to buy a José González album more than it makes me want to buy a television.

This is clearly a real and impressive shoot of actual balls bouncing on the actual streets of san francisco jazzed up with actual digital effect software. The various 'out of focus' balls in close-ups seem to be the same degree of 'out of focus' no matter their distance from the lens. The wide shot swarm of balls travelling downhill that never seem to rise or fall. The frog leaping from the freaking drainage pipe.

If someone's got a good idea (and in this case it was letterman, years ago) rest assured that an ad man will co-opt it and spend loads of dough trying to get you to spend loads of dough. Enough already with the ads being posted here.

I actually know someone who worked on this shoot. They're all real balls.

I've a cold, black heart about advertising (hey, I'm in marketing - comes with the territory).

It melted like a little girl seranaded to by that "Smallville" guy after watching the Sony Bravia ad. It's the most creative coupling of sound and image that I've seen in ages. I'm mezmerized by the bouncing bouncing balls and the haunting tune by José González. I viewed it twice here, then saw the bigger version on the Bravia site. Then the extended version. Twice. I'm sure that it will haunt my dreams (can't wait to get to bed).

If more ads had half the creativity of this, I'd cheer lustfully every time an ad came on during the movies then walk about before the film started, sated and content.

Ads aren't bad - just bad ads.

I remember this from last summer; great to see the finished product! These (not mine) were making the email rounds last year, at least in my circle:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saramorishige/28841983/in/set-658997/

Even then, people were questioning the reality of the bouncy balls...!

You can also do an advanced search on flickr to find more photos -- here's a set I just found that shows more of the production:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/magillicuddy/32502440/in/set-723191/

Or do the fish and marine mammals get to choke on them?

Otherwise, beautiful.

Please don't take his name in vain.

Sorry, had to weigh in.

http://bravia-advert.com

Has a behind the scenes of the clip.

This is why Salon is great. I agree with James, I'm going to get a Jose Gonzalez cd, but not a Sony.

Where can I go to download the full lenghth video as posted at the Salon video site? ...not the shortened t.v. ad version...

thx, G