Excellence in Advertising: Soesman Language Training

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      Before God invented Netflix and PVRs, you had to sit through a battery of commercials every time you turned on the idiot box. Most of them made you wonder why the hell Philo Taylor Farnsworth didn’t also invent something to block out commercials. Like Netflix or PVRs. 

      But occasionally, a television ad struck gold to where you’d sit through a seven-hour Cannon marathon to see it again. And now, thanks to the magic of YouTube (which we can thank God for inventing) you can relive the magic at the touch of a mouse. Here’s today’s nomination for Excellence in Advertising.

      NSFW alert! There's some language in this commercial that might be deemed inappropriate. Mind you, that's sort of the point: the cheerful Dutch family is bopping along to the tune of an English-language song, blissfully unaware of the raunchy nature of its lyrics. The on-screen tag line at the end translates as "Want to learn English?"

      The ad, which dates from 2001, is for Soesman Language Training. Or at least that's the official story. If you Google that, good luck finding any results that aren't just articles about this commercial. Whatever its back story, the spot, which is titled "A Day Trip" has become something of a viral classic. 

      One of the ad creatives responsible, Maurice van Gijzelen, has a Vimeo page featuring some of his other work. It's definitely worth a look, as it includes this racy commercial for O'Donnell's Irish Pub:

      And this seemingly racially charged (but not really) one for Tikkels candy:

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