Since this is an extra credit assignment, I figured I would have some fun with it. I was browsing You Tube and accidently stumbled across this video. These bring back many memories for me. Man Laws (Men of the Square Table) are a series of beer commercials for Miller Lite, inspired by the supposed unwritten codes by which men live. In the commercials, the panel discusses a given issue until it decides upon a “Man Law”. The “Men of the Square Table” are a parody of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, the “Square Table” So, for my favorite You Tube video I selected a compilation of the Miller Light “Man Law” commercials. When I saw these commercials on You Tube I immediately thought of the name of the class “Strategic Presentation”. The panel is composed of important, macho, and famous men. These commercials were mainly shown during football games. Men were the obvious targets for the commercial.
The Members of the Square Table are as follows: Jerome Bettis (Mr. Bus), Oscar De La Hoya (Mr. De La Hoya), and WWE’s Triple H (Mr. H). Jim Kelley (Mr. Kelley), Jimmy Johnson (Mr. Johnson), Cary Hart (Mr. Hart) and Burt Reynolds (Mr. Reynolds) to name a few. In the commercials, it is their job to judge what is manly and what not manly in common male situations are. Among the topics discussed are the proper etiquette for courting a friend’s ex-girlfriend, and deciding who rightfully owns Miller Lite brought to parties.
I thought the use of the secret, conference like atmosphere inside of that “cage” was great. The location of the “square table meetings” seemed to be in a top secret location. Also, some of the “Laws” themselves were genius. Here are some of my favorites. When toasting with beer, should you clink with the top or the bottom of the bottle? Man Law: The Bottom, because clinking the top would swap saliva and thus qualify as kissing. Can a man ever get a manicure or a pedicure? Man Law: Um…Duh! Any man that does this, even if quilted by their women, has to surrender their man card immediately. So silly but yet so funny.
What make these “Man Laws” genius are not so much the laws, but who makes them. The “round table” consists of the men of all men (or who are by some circles perceived as such). I guess it’s designed to make you feel manly if you drink Miller Light. Just listening to the discussions at the table make me laugh so hard.
As far as the video/ commercials themselves go; the genius is how simple they are. You have a bunch of men sitting around a table, inside a “cage” with a completely dark background. There is no flashy backdrop, no elaborate computer generated characters or backgrounds, just a simple video. Also, there is no major musical score; this seems to me to be a very simple concept. I’m not saying the commercial was “simple” in terms of ease of production, but in terms of, well, let’s say use of props. The compilation that makes the You Tube video is not the greatest, but it’s not the worst either. I think the content in some ways excuses the very simple video editing. While the editor could have used better transitioning, I still found the video to be very enjoyable.
Strategic Presentation 