PEREZ PRADO: GENIUS

This (above) is the very best version of the very best recorded Mambo that I know of: Perez Prado doing "Que Rico El Mambo." I don't know the name of the terrific female dancer, but the guy is Resortes, the comedian Cabral did so many fine posters for. Que Rico catapulted Prado into international fame in the early 50s, but it only lasted for a few years then Rock and Roll came in and swept everything else away.



While he was in the States Perez somehow got sidetracked into American Easy Listening/Bachelor Pad-type music (above). It was a step down in my opinion, but he did help to kick that genre into a Golden Age of its own before he decided to get back to his roots South of the border. Cuba by then was a communist dictatorship so he bailed into Mexico, which must have been a real shot in the arm for that country.



Here's (above) the Dolly Sisters, who were Hungarian Americans I think. Anyway, they do a great job on Perez's Mambo. Wielding castanets in the background is ace vocalist Benny More.

BTW, I like Prado's use of Las Vegas-type show girls. It fits this kind of music.

Also BTW: Thanks to Steve for turning me on to "Que Rico El Mambo."

FIVE TV COMMERCIALS

Wow! I LOVE this Nespresso commercial! This version seems a bit abrupt though. Maybe it's cut down.

I'm a big believer in using Magic Realism in commercials, like they did here. Short subjects should be the realm of impressions and fantasy, not of thought-out, logical premises.


Here's 'Another terrific commercial in a similar vein. It could use a little trimming.



Boy, there's a number of good, high-end, Italian theatrical commercials out there now. What do you think of this one?



On a different note, here's (above) my favorite TV pizza commercial. It's for Little Caesar's "Combo Mambo" pizza. It's funny, the pacing and staging are wonderful, and the melody is catchy in the extreme.

Okay, it starts slow, the film is washed out, and you have to see it several times in order to remember what company it's promoting. Maybe that's why it airs so much...with only one viewing you'd never associate it with Little Caesar's. Even so.......

Last, and very definitely least, is this ad (above) for Brand.com which floods companies like Amazon with phony endorsements to counteract bad reviews. I can't believe that TV stations accept ads like this. It portrays ordinary people who write negative reviews as pigs and "internet trolls."

I couldn't get the ad to play here, but you can watch it on the Brand.com site: http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7fCg/brand-com-reputation