Generation Why: Prom Night Fantasy

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

By the time you read this, I’ll be under the knife, but I wanted to share with you my favorite Super Bowl ad. I don’t have any real profound insights, but I did get a real kick out of it, as I recalled my own prom night, an event that largely faded from memory.

My own Senior Prom was a bit of a slapdash affair; my suit was some ill-fitting navy pinstripe job I wouldn’t be caught dead in, my date was in a grade below me, and while she was very attractive, we had little in common. And my own underdeveloped social skills didn’t do much to help matters either. I thought that the typical “white Town Car” was an awful marker of prole status (and still maintain that) and suggested a car service and an A8L instead. She failed to see the appeal in what I thought was a very elegant and classy choice, so we took a taxi instead. I can’t say I was surprised when she left right after desert – though I still maintain that my mom did pick out a very nice corsage for her. Luckily, prom night was much more fun and eventful – but it would have been even better if someone tossed me the keys to an S6.


Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Bumpy ii Bumpy ii on Feb 04, 2013

    Meh. The prom theme was done better by a Dodge ad from a while back. Guy shows up at the door to pick up his date. He has to take her ride for some reason, so he's set to collect the keys for the minivan from her dad. Dad has a flashback to his youth in a van, which apparently included hippie chicks and free love. Cut to the two on the way to the prom. Girl in the passenger seats says, "I can't believe my dad let you drive the Viper."

  • Ronnie Schreiber Ronnie Schreiber on Feb 04, 2013

    Prom? Why on earth would I have put myself through that ordeal?

  • Otaku Otaku on Feb 05, 2013

    ^ I hear that. Despite enduring some peer pressure at the time, I never cared much about imitating all the lemmings from my high school who attended their prom, so I blew it off. I figured why waste all that money on stuff like tickets, a rented tux, limo, etc. when I had a much more deserving T-Bird in need of a new set of tires. I didn't pay too much attention to the commercials this year and I'm not a fan of Audi, but I must admit that I did chuckle a bit when they cut to the shot of the kid's black eye near the end. My favorite part, however, was when he parked in the principal's spot. I guess the ad must've been fairly effective, since I instantly flashed back to when I did the exact same thing toward the end of my junior year of high school. Actually instead of Principal, the I think the guy's title might have been "Headmaster" or something. Either way, he was a complete fucking prick and I made sure to leave a nice skidmark across his parking space during my burnout toward the exit of the faculty lot. Good times. Also, I'm pretty sure that the actress playing the kid's mom is the lovely Corinne Bohrer. A nice bonus for any viewer who fondly remembers her from all the movies she was in back in the eighties.

  • Geee Geee on Feb 05, 2013

    Sexual assault? Uh, yeh, if she had punched him, or looked annoyed with the whole situation, sure, you could make that claim. But the look on her face after tells a lot, and it sure isnt that she is about to press assault charges. There is nothing in the ad which says anything about what the relationship between the nerd and prom queen is. You're assuming it doesn't exist. But it's quite likely it does, and is quite important to her, and crushing to him due to the reality of who she is with. What the ad implies is that nerdy guy is in her art class, and talks to her occasionally, and is really sweet and nice, but she is stuck in the typical role of prom queen / football star, and doing the thing everyone expects, rather than going with a guy who is too shy to ask her and she is too conformist to break out of the stereotypical high school culture. Sexual assault? Really? That's pretty reactionary and says more about the viewer than the ad.

    • Lolcopterpilot Lolcopterpilot on Feb 05, 2013

      Great analysis, I was thinking the same. If you kiss a strange girl you expect her to slap you, at least. If you kiss a girl you know, her bf will punch you. If she liked it, she'll smile. The basis for her smile being a longer backstory makes sense.

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