yes, it's her brother

"downtown khaki street"
dir., roman coppola
2002

although i'm doing graphic design right now (or at least trying with all of my post-grad might), i had initial aspirations of working in broadcast advertising. commercials are the most cinematic of all advertising mediums and i think are the perfect modern form of advertising (a mix of the old and the new). i have a few favorites and this roman coppola-directed gap commercial stands out as one of them. it's full of youth, exuberance, and a touch of the surreal. we see young hollywood (zooey deschanel, scarlett johansson, jay rodgriguez, and ashton kutcher) bicycling on a vacant los angeles street and they're giggling with an infectious glee as if they're in on some joke that we're not and would only be so grateful if we were. pay close attention to the bizarre set piece at the end. the giant white television on the side of the street is as striking as the broad appeal of the commercial's young stars (minus kutcher). i have no idea what it means and i'm still trying to digest its meaning (some meta comment on the emptiness of young fame and television advertising?), but it keeps me coming back and that's why i love it.