Canon EOS 7D splendor and simplicity-a cell phone ad with wood

Posted on 05. Apr, 2011

Yes it is a commercial for a new cell phone – the Touch Wood SH-08C – but it is a very cool concept and it was shot on the Canon EOS 7D (reviews) (we verified with the videographer)! Conceived by Morihiro Harano of Drill inc. from Japan, the video simply shows a wooden ball rolling down a series of wooden blocks to play Bach’s Cantata 147 – “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Simple, yet very effective.

The commercial

From the NYTimes story

There were several reports on this (see ‘sources’) but the NYT had an interesting article – here’s a snip:

This commercial was posted by a friend on Facebook. “Stunning,” he wrote by way of introduction. A wooden ball is set atop a long, wooden structure that might be a xylophone or a marimba, constructed in the middle of the woods. As the ball rolls downward, dropping onto each wooden “key,” it plays a note, and suddenly we are hearing Bach’s Cantata 147, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

The peaceful setting by a stream, a shot of a doe, the inspiring music produced so simply by the force of gravity … I’ll take three! Of whatever it is! The commercial also started a minicontroversy among my friends. “The music is added.” a few said. I wasn’t sure myself. Who would take the trouble to build such an instrument, for a commercial that turns out to be for a cellphone?

Read the story to find out if it is real audio or added later!

Touch Wood SH-08C ad camera screen grab

[Sources: this tweet from @edie_howe, engadget, switched.com, NYT]

(cover photo credit: snap from the video)

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