New Brunswick Youth Orchestra responds to stereotypical car commercial
A New Brunswick Youth Orchestra video created in response to a car commercial perpetuating a ‘tired old stereotype’ about young musicians, has now racked up thousands of views online.
The commercial for 'Infiniti' shows an orchestra of young people playing instruments poorly, so poorly that the woman in the ad, inside of a vehicle in the centre of it, rolls up the window and closes the sun roof to tune them out.
"I saw the humour in it, you know, I understand Nissan and Infiniti, it was tongue-in-cheek," says NYBO CEO, Ken McLeod. "But nevertheless it still kind of struck a negative chord with me.”
In the video, McLeod says that 'they should have called us' as he opens the door to the Imperial Theatre and the sound of the same song - played masterfully - gets louder.
"It was a fun approach," says conductor Tony Delgado. "And also, because we don’t have anything against Nissan or Infiniti, it’s not about that – it’s more about us telling our story."
That story and its message has resonated with many others – the video has been posted on the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra’s YouTube channel and has already racked up over 50,000 views.
As well, MacLeod says they’ve been contacted by people from all over.
"We’ve heard from youth music programs, we’ve heard from professional orchestras and musicians, we’ve had responses from the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in the Mediterranean, and also a Mexican professional orchestra," says MacLeod.
"It is just all over the map."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.