Intel Inside Commercial #1

Mini-capsule

Did You Notice . . .

   ... "Two Weeks Later" is in the correct Groening font?
   ... Abe and Krusty attend Homer's lecture?
   ... almost all of my Episode References are to Halloween shows?

Jsherman67@aol.com:
   ... Barney was also in the audience?
   ... many people in the audience don't look like the characters that
       never speak and are often in crowd scenes on The Simpsons?

MikeTV14@aol.com:
   ... the voice-over is Kent Brockman, I believe?

Episode References

- [SC27] Homer's intelligence is upgraded
- [7F02] Homer gives a lecture
- [8F02], [AABF01] Homer's head is sliced open
- [3F04] "Colossal Donut", "Super Donut" . . . same thing!
- [3F04] Homer wants sprinkles
- [5F02] French nuclear missile has "Intel Inside" logo. {hl} 
- [AABF01], [8F02] Homer's head is sliced open

Reviews

Brad Bizzolt:  Worst Intel Commercial ever. Could that "Two Weeks Later"
   have come in any more late?  (F)

Comments and other observations

>> Sarcasm Corner

Paul Tomko:  Those FOX b*stards will probably chop all the humor out of
   it in syndication.

>> Chemical analysis

Mark Poyser:  After Homer gets his Pentium, he is shown lecturing in
   front of a screen.  On the screen are 3 representations of the same
   molecule.  While it certainly looks like nothing that could exist,
   perhaps it is similar to something.  It appears to be (corrections
   appreciated):

                          H2
                           ||
                          C     C
                         /   \   /
                       /       \/
                     C     HCH
                      |         |
    C=C2        O       O
       \          /    \      /   \
         \      /       \   /       \
            C           C          H
                                      |
                                     CH2

   There were additional small notations below-right of some of the
   letters (e.g. H) which could not be resolved.

   Problems are:

   Oxygen with three bonds.
   Carbons with 1,2,3,4,5 [!] bonds.
   Hydrogen with 2 bonds.

   None of this could happen unless the atoms were ionized.  Whatever...
   is it like anything out there?

   P.S.  This is just for fun...  not to be taken too seriously.

>> Bonus Commentary

Benjamin Robinson:  Even if you don't like "The X-Files," you had reason
   to stick around for the first commercial break. That's when Intel
   rolled out its new Pentium II ad, featuring none other than Homer
   Simpson. If you've read the previews on a.t.s., then the ad wasn't
   much of a surprise to you: Homer goes under the knife, technicians in
   clean room suits slap a PII in his noggin, and -- presto! -- Homer's
   smart enough to give lectures at a university.

   The commercial was fully animated, which was unexpected for me. (I
   figured animated Homer would just be spliced into real-life footage
   of the technicians, a la the "Regis and Kathy Lee" segment of the
   Halloween special.) They did a pretty nice job, too, remembering to
   render the "Two weeks later" in the correct Groening-esque font. In
   addition, the announcer was Kent Brockman, although he was heard but
   not seen.

   Despite the high production standards, I have a vague ill-feeling
   about the commercial. Homer touts Intel processors, but behind-the-
   scenes footage of the "Simpsons" studio shows Macintosh products
   exclusively. True, they could have switched, but given Apple's hold
   on the "creative" market and the trauma associated with migrating
   from one platform to another, I'd be surprised if they did. Are the
   producers of "The Simpsons" now endorsing a product they don't use?
   Matt Groening allowed Bart and company to be used for Butterfinger
   ads because he ate them all the time. Is he now a big fan of Wintel
   computers? (Or for that matter, 1-800-COLLECT?) Does Homer's presence
   in this commercial signal a shift in the producers' attitude towards
   the character and the show?

>> Select marketing

Anna Neko-Chan:  Did ya know that Simpsons Intel
   comercial has another silly coincidence to it?  The comercial got
   shown during this X-Files episode where a kid's head was sliced open
   to do some work on his brain.

Quotes and Scene Summaries

Outside the Intel building

  Voice-over: For years, Intel technicians have been making PCs smarter.
              Now, they face their greatest challenge ever.

We've now panned in through the building to see Homer lying on an
operating table, surrounded by simple cartoonish-looking versions of
those famous dancing Intel mascots.  One of them dots a line across
Homer's forehead with a marker and lowers a small buzz-saw-like tool
towards him, but Homer interrupts.

  Homer: Hey, no one messes with my brain . . . [lifts up a donut] until
         I get sprinkles!  [another 'technician' brings out what looks
         like a pricing gun and zaps a handful of sprinkles onto Homer's
         donut]  Heh-heh, suckers.
  Voice: Now, anyone can have all the brain power they want. Just look
         for a PC with an Intel processor inside.

Outdoor shot of the Springfield University, with a subtitle saying "two
weeks later."  Homer is at a podium in front of a large auditorium.

  Homer: By eliminating covalence inhibitors, we create triple-dense
         carbohydrates and, thus, the so-called "super-donut!"

The screen behind Homer changes from an atomic-level diagram to a big,
colorful donut.  The crowd "Oohs."

  Homer: Many of you *mock* my interest in the pastry sciences!

The camera revolves around Homer, while moving inwards towards his head
to reveal a small Intel logo printed on the back of it.  All but the
logo fades to black.

  Voice: What do *you* have inside?  [standard three note Intel sound
         bite follows, only the last note is replaced with Homer's
         "D'oh!"]

[End of commercial.  Time: 0:30]

Contributors

{hl}  Haynes Lee