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Is This the Best Television Ad of 2021?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | December 10, 2021 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | December 10, 2021 |


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We live in a streaming world now, where we’re largely shielded from television commercials. There are no ads on Netflix or HBO Max, Apple TV+, or Paramount, and I have the ad-free version of Hulu, so it’s rare that I see a commercial these days. Even for those shows we might still watch on the same night they are released, there are DVRs so that we can fast-forward through commercials.

But last night, I was watching Ghosts, and during a commercial break, I forgot to immediately hit the fast-forward button and got sucked into this ad for what I wouldn’t learn until the end was for AT&T. It hit me in a strange way. It’s both heartwarming and funny, and Valerie June’s “You and I” sank into my heart bones. I watched it three times, and then made my wife watch it. Make fun all you like because I loved an AT&T commercial, but here were are.

The TV edit was only a minute, but there’s a longer version online. It’s directed by Jason Reitman and his father, Ivan, and it’s a reminder — putting aside that Ghostbusters sequel — Jason Reitman can be very good (Up in the Air, Thank You For Smoking, Young Adult, Juno). I think this three-minute ad he directed with his father may be one of the best things he’s ever done (oh, and you may also recognize Natalie Gold from Succession). Watch: