Connecting Norway: Statnett

Here is a funny filled ad from Norway. It features ordinary unsuspecting Norwegians walking through life suddenly hit by the wave. Not the crowd sourced forced fun variety we get at the local stadium, but the old hip-hop corny cum cool once more style wave. Once again we see advertising from the world dip into the seemingly endless well of African American born boogie turned into worldwide accepted brand of cool. The best part about it is, it works. My obsession with white folks doing the robot aside, this spot delivers. It cleanly conveys the message of some sort of connection being between the people that is later revealed as a metaphor for the electric company. But the spot more than holds your interest to that end. Oddly enough if had been casted with all Black talent it would have fallen flat, be grossly cliche and in some ways problematic. So maybe my fascination with super imposed cultures has more basis than just anachronistic dance moves. Perhaps its more about me as an African American being delighted by the world wide acceptance of my culture. But I have to wonder what makes the same spot interesting to other people who don't share my immediate connection to Hip Hop music and culture? Is the music just that involving & fun? I think it is. Are the dance moves just that enticing? I'm almost certain of that. But there is something more here. I could go on for days pondering this. Tune in next week as I try to answer why the world is no longer flat.

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