12/15/05: Ring it all in with Andre Champagne! No idea why I like this one so much. It's an extremely aged commercial for Andre Champagne, which was (or still is...dunno if they still make it) a brand sold on the cheap for mass consumption by any and all. The ad is hideous in a good way, featuring a montage of still images mixed with about 24,000 live action shots of two full champagne glasses cheering, all set to Christmas music that appears to have been played on a Fisher Price stereo system with the battery power about to die out. It's the kind of music and overall commercial that would've driven any kid nuts who was stuck at home on a Saturday afternoon with no friends to play with. I hope that makes sense, because it's exactly what the ad reminds me of. It also reminds me that champagne was one of my favorite things about the holidays of my youth. Sweet, sugary champagne was the only alcohol my young tongue could handle, which worked well since it was the only kind of alcohol Mommy would let me drink a bit of without getting all iffy about it. I never put away enough of it to get drunk of course, but I certainly gobbled down enough of it to feel confident enough to pretend I was drunk. As our family traditionally does its big celebration on Christmas Eve and virtually nothing of note on Christmas itself, all of those leftover bottles of cheap champagne came in handy. I'd sneak 'em in my bedroom, somehow manage to pop one open and drink three gulps before getting a stomach ache and returning to the safe haven that was my Nintendo. It was more the idea than the action that counted. Now I can drink legally, and I definitely do, but I've just about completely lost whatever taste I once had for champagne. This commercial almost makes me forget that and alllmost has me halfway out the door to Uncle Shelly's Liquor Lodge. So, despite the awful music and Sears Catalog montage, I guess the ad did its job. Great work, ad! Click here to download this commercial! (.WMV, 5 MB) ....close this window!