Oddly Inspiring

I have recently been thinking about the odd phenomenon of being inspired by commercials. This is an odd concept because as a whole I am put off by commercialism, and thus the idea of an advertisement for something having any true value to me is foreign. But I recently saw a couple ads that I find more inspiring and worthy of attention than advertisements normally are.

First up: The latest Adidas commercial for their "Originals" collection.
The ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT3Jj9OGMA0
Now, this is a piece of art. Granted, it was directed by Spike Jones. Yeah, he's apparently now directing Adidas commercials. This ad is a dream come true: take all the creative crazy people out there and throw them into a big house party. GENIUS! Another reason I like this is the music - commercial music is the new soundtrack music and I'm not ashamed to admit that's where I found a lot of my favorite artists: Iron & Wine for example. I am also in love with this commercial because Spike Jones appears to be the best dancer ever (I exaggerate, but still, he looks cool). Lastly, I think Mark Gonzales should be available at every party EVER just so that he can powerslide amongst the dancers.

Next up: An Apple advert titled "Here's to the Crazy Ones"
The ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvn_Ied9t4M
I read this quote online and thought it was the work of some great thinkers of our time: Einstein, Vonnegut, etc. Turns out, it is an ad for Apple computers. It is narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, whose voice at first surprised me because he doesn't sound like the normal "inspiring quote" voice (you know the one from the movie trailers and such) but the more I watched, the more perfect I thought it was. If this doesn't inspire you to go protest something or make some art, I don't know what will.

Lastly: A Discovery Channel ad titled "Let's All Discover"
The ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQxrolGUdk8
OK, this ad literally gives me chills. I think the overarching reason for that is that I absolutely ADORE the toy piano. Is this because I had one as a young child and the sound of one gives me a sense of childhood innocence and safety? Perhaps. But more importantly I love this ad because it strikes at the core of my humanity: my desire to push the boundaries.

Am I exaggerating the value and/or meaning behind what some may say are simple advertisements? Again, perhaps. But I dare you to watch those three videos (totaling no more than 3 minutes) and not feel inspired. On a side note, I have a Macbook, I wear Adidas shoes and though I don't watch a lot of TV, when I do it is usually the Discovery channel... so I guess it worked.