“We want to like RIM. We want a turnaround for a company that, perhaps more than any other technology firm, was responsible for the development of the modern smartphone. It’s also really hard to be mad at Canadians for very long,” Damon Poeter reports for PC Magazine. “But RIM isn’t helping matters when it decides to create a cringe-worthy, tech jargon-littered remake of a popular song, just like that famous pair of button-down bankers did with U2’s ‘One’ several years ago.”
“As with the BofA version of ‘One,’ RIM’s tweak of ‘Keep on Loving You’ [REO Speedwagon] is made more awful due to the fact that technically, it doesn’t actually suck,” Poeter writes. “On the contrary, the singing is quite capable, the musicians can all play their instruments competently, and the song sounds pretty much like the song is supposed to sound—if you blank out the lyrics, that is.”
Poeter writes, “If these were really execrable, bad-night-at-the-Karaoke-bar types of performances, they’d almost be more forgivable. Instead, the talent of performers makes it that much more jarring that they’d squander it by transforming songs about universal human circumstances into vehicles for the most banal sort of corporate messaging.”
Read more, and see the BofA video, in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
Omg
Smacks of desperation. It is so cringeworthy, I actually felt pity for them….
It’s not to be taken seriously. Often companies purposely put out crap to get your attention.
I bet it goes viral… at least in the geek community.
Totally agree. Check out the comments on YouTube. A lot of people GET what the video was trying to do… and it would seem, it will be a success. The video was produced quite well, and is quite professionally done. It’s a good tongue in cheek laugh… and they chose a pretty decent tune, too.
Wow… I’m making an audio version and putting it on my iPod, just to have something “on demand” that will really make me laugh.
If I didn’t understand English, I’d say it sounds quite good. But the lyrics are SO exquisitely awful.
Reminds me of some of the Apple cheezy videos of yore.
I just spit out my coffee and I’m not even drinking any.
FAIL
I had coffee… yesterday.
Yet, somehow, I still managed to spit mine up too.
I had coffee, but the video made me go pooppee instead.
I like coffee.
There’s just no words for this. If that guy was my dad or brother, I’d pop myself.
It reminds me of the MS videos touting the MS ecosystem. Gawd, these people are clueless.
Not content with being the new Microsoft, RIM wants to be the new Bieber.
I think a better song for RIM to abuse would have been “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
ROTFLMAO
A Canadian song about an American ship sinking???? I don’t think so, especially since the Americans haven’t invade anyone in a while and there is an American election coming up sometime in the next few years.
now THAT’S funny!!
How about “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”
That seems very appropriate for those clueless Canadians. You wouldn’t even have to change the lyrics!
Did they do a version with French subtitles?
jesus christ.
Totally tasteless.
It’s a hit.
If that were placed in the playlist of your average grocery store, no one would notice.
i know we all like to bash RIM here, but i had an honest good laugh over the video.
I wonder how many saps at the RIM corporate meeting watching this video were cheering and thinking “This will totally do it! We will be back now after this video!”
No Rush?
I know. I was expecting “Fly By Night” or at least “Freewill” (to jump ship to iOS).
I found it amusing because in the back of my mind I hear the sound of crickets coming from the developers camp. Who would waste their time developing for this DCW when they can make real money from iOS?
C’mon, everbody join in…
Our APIs are complete and the SDK is cool….
Suckberry hit on something here.
Before this made it to YouTube, it had to go through numerous reviews at various stages of production; from the initial brainstorming, through treatment, through script, through preproduction, principal photography, postproduction… If RIM is like any other large company of today, they had their marketing, advertising and legal teams carefully review most of the stages of this process. Then, when the whole thing was finished, someone had to do a final go-ahead for the release.
I cannot possibly imagine that so many management-level people have chose not to yell that the emperor has no clothes!
I imagine Apple has a similar process.
So what’s Apple’s excuse for the obnoxious Genius ads? They didn’t just “end their scheduled run” they were yanked from their website and Youtube channels, while some older ads remain.
The only canadian song I can agree to is “Let’s go to the mall” by Robin Sparkles.
😀
Please bury the corpse on MDN.
I want to see the video where the RIM execs jumped the shark right after this was done.
WTF was that all aboot?!?! Eh?
I think “Highway to Hell” would have worked better here.
Apple had to make do with the Foo Fighters.
This year I’ve cut together no less than four of these kind of corporate music videos that ape a pop tune. (Just a hired hand. Not my creative idea.) The video producer rerecorded new lyrics to “Rockstar” by Nickelback, for suits to lip-sync with. Cringe-worthy doesn’t even begin to describe..
PS: Cut totally on FCP X. ( ! )
That is an absolute mess.
30 seconds was all I could take. RIM is hopeless.
Good bey RIM, it was nice never having bought your crappy products!
From a Canadian……..
I thought the video actually was pretty accurate in portraying — when it showed the audience reactions shots — the number of people actually waiting for and wanting Blackberry 10.
Top this first:
At least the DOS 5 upgrade video was informative and entertaining…unlike the RIM video.
I still prefer the “Developer, Developers, Developers” rap!
Well, that was dumb!
Did anyone else think the guitar player looked a little like Steve Jobs?
OMG.
RIP.
What a joke! I bet M$ rips it off.
I’ve always worked for myself. If there is anyone here that is in upper management at a large company, please explain what the thought process is for putting out something like this. Does anybody actually think that something this embarrassing will lift morale?
How about skipping the “corporate messaging” and produce a product people want to buy?
This made me smile.
I think Damon Poeter needs to get a sense of humor. I doubt anyone makes these things with a sense of seriousness. They’re done for kicks.
Wow! Looks like they are all laughing while they go down together. Good positive attitude 🙂
Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon
Sorry, I thought that was the version that didn’t have photographs.
I was looking at that thinking how could you find musicians that look so totally nerdy and un-ool as that, why didn’t they dub it over cool modern looking guys who might improve their image. And then it is revealed its because they truly are nerdy uncool techies, talk about shoot yourself in the foot… both feet arm and head indeed not that it seems they have a brain to damage thinking this was a good idea. Simply hilarious and says everything you need to know about RIM and what any sane management would not at any cost want you to know.
Okay, time to invade the Canadians.
Oh, wait . . . Apple already did that.
The lyrics were bizarre, ludicrous and idiotic. That said, I think those RIM employees did a great job performing; if only it was the real song.