Photo-A-Day #2729

This morning while Eva waited to go to school she watched some Lindsey Stirling videos on the new TV. While she sat there holding her Lil’ Riding Hood lovey she also cuddled with Oliver. She was so sweet. I put on some of Lindsey’s videos and then left the room. She took my cell phone and aimed it at the TV to record the video so that I didn’t miss it. Here’s her video.

I took Eva to school while Allison and our friend Michele went out to shop for the month’s cooling. Saturday they are going to prepare all the meals for the month. This is something that she’s been planning for a while and between Michele and Allison we’re feeding two families for a month on one 3rd of our usual budget. I’m excited to see how this works out. Especially after working on the budget for the month.

I picked Eva up from school and took her to the movies to see Finding Nemo in 3D. I was sent two tickets to the movies from Kia because they were premiering a new commercial at the movies this month. Eva and I got to the theater too late for the early movie so we ended up going to the one a little later but I did get to see the commercial. The Hamsters are starting to grow on me a bit and I’d really like to try out a Kia Soul sometime just to see how it rides. Here’s the Press Release on that ad campaign. You’ve probably already seen the commercial at some point.

KIA’S ICONIC HAMSTERS TRAVEL THROUGH TIME TO INTRODUCE ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC TO 18TH CENTURY OPERA FANS IN NEW SOUL AD CAMPAIGN

Fourth Installment of Award-Winning Marketing Strategy Finds Kia’s Popular Hamsters Dancing to the Beat of “In My Mind” (Axwell remix)

“Bringing Down the House” will debut on more than 18,000 movie screens on Fri., Aug. 31; television airings begin with MTV’s Video Music Awards on September 6
Multi-platform campaign includes in-cinema, TV, out-of-home, digital and social media elements

IRVINE, Calif., August 30, 2012 – Kia Motors’ music-loving hamsters, the stars of some of the most watched viral videos in the world over the last three years, return this weekend in a new campaign for the wildly popular Soul urban passenger vehicle that brings the 21st century’s electronic dance music craze to a stuffy 18th century opera house. Set to “In My Mind” (Axwell remix), the hamsters takeover an ornate theater with a never-before-seen display of modern music, high-energy dance moves, a laser light show and an epic stage dive that has the wig-wearing patrons on their feet and roaring with approval. “Bringing Down the House” will begin appearing on more than 18,000 movie screens nationwide in National CineMedia’s FirstLook pre-show program on August 31, followed by the television debut during the MTV Video Music Awards on September 6 as well as presence on all Kia social and digital platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Kia.com.

From the beginning, the hip hamsters have had their paws on the pulse of pop culture and emerging music trends and the new ad continues to present the funky Soul as “A New Way to Roll.” With a wide variety of soundtracks ranging from the classic hip-hop track “The Choice Is Yours” by Black Sheep to LMFAO’s smash hit “Party Rock Anthem,” previous Soul campaigns have significantly raised consumer awareness and perception and helped Kia become the fastest-growing car company in the U.S. over the last five years.[1] With more than 20 million views, 2011’s “Share Some Soul” is the third most-watched automotive ad in YouTube history, and last year the hamsters were recognized as the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame’s first-ever “Rookie of the Year” after being named the “Automotive Ad of the Year” for two straight years by Nielsen Automotive.

“From hamster wheels on city streets to a post-apocalyptic video game world, the hamsters have earned international acclaim and notoriety for the Soul and elevated the Kia brand by appealing to the young and the young-at-heart, and with ‘Bringing Down the House’ they are back with their infectious energy, enthusiasm and music,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president, marketing & communications, Kia Motors America. “The Soul is designed for a new, youthful audience that wants to stand out from the crowd and that carries through to our marketing efforts, which emphasize creativity, optimism and fun.”

Created by David&Goliath, Kia’s advertising agency of record, the new 60-second spot fuses old and new worlds by placing a spotlight on the emergence of electronic dance music, which has quickly found its way into the mainstream with some of today’s biggest musical acts incorporating classical sounds and instrumentation into their arrangements.

“Bringing Down the House” starts with all the grandeur and scale of an epic Hollywood period film as ballet dancers, an opera singer and a slightly odd-looking conductor take the stage in 1799. As soaring music and vocals fill the air, the audience is stunned when the conductor is revealed to be a music-loving hamster in disguise. With the cast and audience looking on in shock, a futuristic Kia Soul rises through the stage floor and a hamster DJ spins this summer’s electronic concert anthem, “In My Mind” remixed by Axwell – a member of the DJ trio, Swedish House Mafia. It doesn’t take long before the sight of dancing hamsters decked out in colorful “Hamstar” clothing causes even the crustiest of the upper-crust crowd to lose their inhibitions. With the entire opera house on their feet and moving to the music, the hamsters make a memorable exit as their Soul travels through hyperspace with a hamster winking and waving its paw in the interstellar wind.

“Since the launch of the Soul in 2009, music has been a driving force in moving the Kia brand into the mainstream and connecting with consumers in a more relevant and conversational way,” said David Angelo, founder and chief creative officer, David&Goliath. “Our theme line, ‘A new way to roll,’ enables us to always bring a fresh musical perspective to each Soul execution while staying current with the latest pop culture trends. In ‘Bringing Down the House,’ we take the conventional approach of remix and turn it on its head by blending the worlds of electronic dance music and opera in a way that is both musically and visually unexpected.”

Finding Nemo in 3D was fun but it made the scary parts all the more scary. She was upset by the shark and the angler fish parts. Also since we were only two of 4 people in the theater the super loud sound had nothing to absorb it. So it was even louder on her. But in the end she loved the movie and we had a nice time together. It was good to have a little special time together.