I seriously can’t even with this latest commercial from my BFF running company Brooks. They got me in the feels and I was not expecting it! Have you seen their zombie commercial? The ending is seriously unexpected. I know writing that sentence is 100% clickbait, but you have to see it!
Here’s the thing. I work in advertising. I get it. Zombies have been big off and on for decades (arguably longer because they were a concept long before Romero, but you know what I mean), but more recently have become wildly popular thanks to The Walking Dead and silly things like zombie survival guides, zombie games, zombie runs, and some decent movies. This commercial easily could have been just another a plot to cash in on the zombie-mania that pop culture is currently experiencing. Or it could have been a fun tie-in with the running app, Zombies, Run! that motivates you to run in the form of a game about zombies chasing you. Instead, Brooks did something different and really took us on a ride.
I don’t want to get too philosophical, but the narrative takes you on a journey. At first, it’s creepy because there are zombies and a person is trying to get away from them. If you have an overactive imagination like me, you get a little worked-up worrying that this person isn’t going to get away. But then you realize the zombies are distracted by their sweet Brooks Running shoes. Then you are relieved and have a little laugh. Ho ho ho. But if you follow the clip through to the end, there are A BUNCH OF FEELS! They’re hiding! They’re sneaky.
Since I’ve had my baby (he’s a kid now; it wasn’t that recently), everything gets me in the feels. I created a human and suddenly things that are too human make me feel everything—sympathy, empathy, pride, love, anxiety. I’ve been brought to tears from watching children’s gymnastics clips on YouTube. Just regular-ass clips of kids doing their sport. I’m sitting over here all They just work so hard. I hope their parents are proud. I’d be proud. ::sobs:: So it’s not surprising that I get hit in the feels over things that are not meant to arouse intense emotion. Things that should not make you feel sad or human or supremely alive do just that. I can’t help it.
But in my defense, Brooks nailed it! Anyone who has ever felt awesome on a run is going to understand the ending. They’re going to get why the zombies suddenly look a little brighter and more human. We get so many things from this silly ending to a commercial because it is so true. There are so many times when I’ve had a bad day or a bad week or a whole hell of a bad year (I’m looking at you, 2015!) and then turned to running to feel more human. To feel alive. Because you feel your heart pump and your lungs work and you see houses with the lights on and people coming and going and you just have to be happy that you have a chance to experience it. You feel the wind on your face and the ground under your feet and you remember that this is what it means to be human.
So I know it’s silly to let a commercial hit me in the feels, but I don’t care. This one did it and I had to try not to cry and I don’t care if that makes me a big squishy emo.
But also it’s awesome because zombies.