It physically pained us to see Ubisoft's print campaign and European boxart for Jam Sessions, but the publisher came through with its commercial for the recently-released guitar sim. The 30-second spot is broken up into three scenes of alleged teenagers playing and enjoying the game, all of them singing along to Sublime's "Santeria," a track that isn't actually included on the Jam Sessions cart. It's a catchy tune, one we're sure you've heard many times on the radio, and we can see why it was picked for the piece. Continue past the jump for the commercial and this week's installment of Promotional Consideration.
Sitting on the bus. Singing out loud. All alone.
Like with the title of Sublime's song and this very post, "Santeria," an Afro-carribean religion, has very little to do with this commercial. On its surface, "Santeria" tells the story of a man plotting revenge on the "Sancho" dating his ex-girlfriend. The Jam Sessions advertisement understandably leaves out those details, skipping right over the more violent lyrics in the first verse:
"If I could find that heina
and that Sancho that she'd found,
well I'd pop a cap in Sancho
and I'd slap her down"
"Tell Sanchito that if he knows what is good for him,
he best go run and hide
Daddys got a new .45
And I wont think twice
to stick that barrel straight down sanchos throat
Believe me when I say that I got something for his punk ass"

What's with the surfboard stowed in the back of the bus, though? Aren't there laws against blocking emergency doors like that? Also, who brings a surfboard to school? These are all issues that must be addressed!
Having drawn in the loner-guys-singing-to-themselves-on-the-bus crowd, the remainder of the ad concentrates on attracting its other two target audiences -- skate park kids and girls who have picnics -- neither of which turn out to be very interesting. Maybe the director should've spliced in clips from Sublime's "Santeria" music video instead? It stars a cute dalmation and Deebo from Friday!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-14-2007 @ 5:55PM
Macroy said...
My thoughts exactly! About Santeria, that is, not about Tom Bridegroom.
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10-14-2007 @ 7:41PM
JC Fletcher said...
People trying to play "Santeria" in Jam Sessions may encounter difficulty. The solo, which is the best part of the song (other than "tell Sanchito that if he knows what is good for him he best go run and hide"), can't be played in JS.
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