Never Say No to Panda
Never Say No to Panda (Egyptian Arabic: باندا مايتقاللهاش لأ [ˈbændæ mæjetʔæl.læˈhæːʃ læʔ], "Panda is not told no") is a 2010 series of television commercials produced in Egypt by Advantage Marketing for Arab Dairy, manufacturers of Panda Cheese. The commercials, which feature a giant panda who terrorizes people for not wanting to try the cheese, became a viral Internet hit.[1][2] The ads were created by the Elephant Cairo agency and written by Ali Ali and Maged Nassar.
The Panda confronts a father and son at a supermarket | |
Agency | Advantage Marketing |
---|---|
Client | Arab Dairy |
Language | Egyptian Arabic |
Running time | 0:33 |
Product |
|
Release date(s) | 2010 |
Music by | "True Love Ways" — Buddy Holly & The Picks |
Production company | Elephant Cairo |
Country | Egypt |
Premise
In each commercial, a person is offered Panda cheese, and declines. This causes a giant panda to suddenly appear in front of them while the Buddy Holly & The Picks song "True Love Ways" plays in the background. The panda stares at the person for a few seconds before going into a silent but violent outburst, destroying objects around them, such as wrecking an office computer or pouring marinara sauce over an unprepared pizza.[3]
One example is a pair of commercials featuring a father and son at the grocery store. The son suggests they buy Panda cheese, but the father says their shopping cart is full. The panda appears and stares at the father before tipping over the shopping cart and stomping on the spilled merchandise. In the second commercial, the father and son return to the store, and the father is intimidated by the panda enough to buy two packages of Panda cheese before everyone walks away peacefully.[1]
Awards
In 2010, the commercials won two grands prix at the Dubai Lynx International Advertising Festival in May,[4] a Silver Film Lion at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in June,[5] and a Gold for Film at the Epica Awards.[6]
References
- Gianatasio, David (2010-12-03). "Do not make the Panda Cheese mascot mad". AdWeek. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- "Panda Cheese Ads Become Internet Hit". ABC News. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- Abramson, Dan (2010-07-01). "Panda Cheese: NEVER Refuse It (Video)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- Akerman, Iain (2010-05-25). "Panda - Never Say No to Panda". Campaign Middle East. Archived from the original on 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- "Regional first as five film Lions won". Campaign Middle East. 2010-06-27. Archived from the original on 2015-01-03. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-01-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)