Vickiepedia

I randomly came across these 30-second ads by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta on YouTube while I was looking to expand my Schubert collection. Let me just say this: I. Absolutely. Love. Those ads! Love! Description of videos provided below each one if you can’t/don’t want to view them or don’t understand Cantonese.

Video 1 (Beethoven)

Beethoven(-lookalike) straggles down the street whistling (Beethoven’s) Symphony No. 5, one trouser leg shorter than the other. Camera zooms to his legs with noises of flies around, he scratches one leg with the other foot. Camera zooms up, his hair is grey and messy. He continues down another street and a passerby does a double take. A policeman approaches him around the corner and asks to check his ID card. Beethoven reaches for his ID, dropping his tissue, keys, more keys, coins and everything in the process, and hands the police the ID.

Narrator (while Beethoven is shoving all the crap he’s dropped back into his pockets): Beethoven was known to be a very messy person. So why do you think classical music is pretentious now?

Video 2 (Mozart)

Mozart(-lookalike) flamboyantly hops into a barbershop. He greets the barber by rubbing his face, laughs out loud as he reads a comic book and switches his wig with the toupee of the man next to him who’s nodded off.

Narrator (while Mozart is laughing and playing with toupee in mirror): Mozart was known to have a playful personality. So why do you think classical music is only serious now?

Video 3 (Schubert)

Schubert(-lookalike) is in a small and shared bedroom with two other men in their undershirts. All three men have no shoes on and are eyeing a pair of shoes in the room. They play rock-paper-scissors and one man wins. Schubert and the other loser look frustrated as the winner happily claims the shoes.

Narrator (while Schubert and the other man watch the person with the shoes walk out): Schubert was known to be completely broke. So why do you think classical music is something reserved for the rich now?

And I Say

And that’s classical music, seriously! I’m sick of people telling me that I have a refined, elegant, pretentious, strange or what-have-you taste in music. What I like is very much like what you like. If you (don’t) like it, you (don’t) like it. If you (don’t) understand the appeal, you (don’t) understand the appeal. It’s really just that.

Whoever came up with these ads should give themselves a pat on the back. Or quote this blog and redeem their voucher for a free hug/drink/more.

So every now and then I hear this on the TV:

This [programme / break], brought to you by [company name], [tagline / awesome service / things they sell].

e.g. This programme, brought to you by Vickiepedia, delicious yoghurt you won’t forget.

(And by “every now and then” I of course mean every single advertisement break.)
(And of course this is false advertisement.)

But what I’m trying to say is… I thought the subject was “this programme”?

Shouldn’t it be either This programme, brought to you by [company name], [something awesome about [programme]]; or This programme is / was brought to you by [company name], [something awesome about [company name]]?

Someone please enlighten me? English fails me / My English fails me / They fail at English.

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UPDATE: This entry has lost a lot of people so here’s a non-moronic version of it:

The (Australian) TV likes to say the following during advertisement breaks:

This programme, brought to you by Google (or whoever the sponsor is), the best search engine in the world (or whatever the company is supposed to sell).

Is that grammatically correct? Why did they say it the way they did? Shouldn’t it be one of these instead?

1. This programme, brought to you by Google, will be back in 5 seconds.
2. This programme was brought to you by Google, the best search engine in the world.

Do I make more sense now? Or is it still just me?