Commercial 1: "Super Humans"

One of the many commercials I enjoyed was the “Super Humans” commercial to gain support for the Paralympics. The entire cast for the commercial is disabled and it is shot using a variety of video types. The song used repeatedly says “yes, I can” and the commercial follows the singer, who in in a wheelchair, as he goes to different settings within the commercial. The video cuts to individual athletes showing them competing and then during day to day life.

The video types used in this commercial include everything from professional video, to home phone videos, to car dash videos. The commercial usually starts with a home video of an athlete, then switches to them competing. When it switches to the professional video of them competing, it usually starts zoomed in on them in a way that at first makes them seem like they are not disabled. Then it zooms out, giving you the whole picture with perfect timing to the lyrics “yes I can”. For example, one may be a home video of someone disabled flying a plane and then it cuts to that same person competing for their sport at an Olympic level, leaving viewers in awe. Some shots of these athletes doing day to day life activities that would be difficult for them due to their disability are also shown, but in a humorous and loving light.

This commercial was effective because it did not cross the line with its light-hearted humor. The topic of disability is a touchy subject and this commercial could have easily crossed the line if it had not been so well done. The combination of humor with a view of the reality these people face and feelings of hope and inspiration is the perfect mix to effectively keep the audience’s attention and deliver the message. At the end of the commercial you cannot help but feel pride and appreciation for the people in this video and those who would be competing in the Paralympics because they have managed to successfully adapt to their disability and push through their darkest times.