New Brunswick Youth Orchestra president Ken MacLeod appears in a video the organization made in direct response to a commercial released by car maker Infiniti.If they needed musicians who knew how to play, "they should have called us."
"Even though [the Infiniti commercial] is tongue-in-cheek, there's still a tired old stereotype of youth and bad music. And so our message here is that our kids have amazing talent.", MacLeod steps out of an SUV and walks up to the entrance of the Imperial Theatre in Saint John, while the same song used in the Infiniti commercial plays in the background."Can you imagine? A big company like that couldn't find a youth orchestra to play the music.
The video itself has been a hit online, racking up more than 14,000 views on YouTube as of Friday and generating dozens of positive comments.
NB nb youthorchestra what a fabulous job you've done. That ad is very unfortunate and you have risen above it to show your strengths and talent.
NB I turn off the sound every time that ad plays… I find it insulting not just to my ears but especially to the thousands of young musician who work hard on being the best they can be!
NB I thought it was a cute ad (that played to old stereotypes), but I can understand why it might have seemed disrespectful or dismissive of young musicians. That said, is the audio track from the Portsmouth Sinfonia?
NB Bravo!
NB well they didn't so relax... slow news day eh?