Just brilliant! What made this commercial so exciting and funny was not just the concept of herding cats but the little details in the execution. The cat herders sneezing from allergies, rolling fur off a jacket or winding a ball of yarn. The cats walking across the river (obviously a killer special effect since it would never happen in real life). The big Western cinematography (which could not have been cheap). And the great acting by some total unknowns made it so believable.
This is by far the greatest ad of all time. The details are great. They used 7 trained cats and real cowboys on a ranch somewhere in california. I just wish it was longer....this could be a movie.
@@cheapcraftygirlsweepstakes2338 ....actually, i recently read that there were about 60 cats involved in the shoot and at least 6 trainers. Cats can be trained....but....it takes extreeeeem patience!
@@elizabethavolck7784 I know from experience, training one cat to sit and wait for me to throw a treat into his mouth takes extreme patience. 60 is a full-time job!
@@theblackwidower No no no... You have it ALL wrong. You haven't trained the cat to do anything. The cat, on the other hand, has done a good job of training his/her "servant" to supply treats conveniently thrown into their mouth (so he/she doesn't have to do anything) when they give the command by sitting down in front of you. 😂😂😈😈😸😸
I worked in advertising for years as a copywriter, and I believe this is the greatest commercial of all time. (And no, I did not have anything to do with developing it.)
having only seen it once before during that years superbowl and still remembering it to this day I must agree with you, however, I could not have ever told you who it was for, which makes it not so great.
What makes this commercial so great is the attention to detail. 1) It feels like an actual Western movie. It's filmed like a Western. The music is big and sweeping. The actors portraying the cowboys are wonderfully deadpan. The little things like the lint roller and the cowboys sneezing are hysterical. The cats trudging through the water like cattle kill me every time.
First time I saw this commercial was the Houston Rodeo way back in the day. An entire arena full of people laughing so hard they were crying. That was a good day.
As a former employee I remember feeling proud of my company for having a successful commercial ran during the super bowl that was funny, entertaining, and also got our company name out there.
I worked for EDS as well. I heard about the commercial after the fact and finally saw it years later. I hadn't been aware of the phrase, "herding cats", until then. It became more common after that. Being a cat lover as well, I always got a kick out of people mentioning the commercial and being able to say, "That was EDS. I worked for them."
This was a great commercial for my former company. Nobody knew what the hell we did. They still didn't know after the commercial but the phones still rang off the hook. Goes to show you what an effective marketing campaign can do.
"You see the movies, ya, ya hear the stories, it's . . . I'm livin' a dream," the interviewee intones. The deadpan humor seamlessly integrated with the documentary tone! Obviously the greatest commercial ever! Lol!
It is so wonderful to see these early pioneers recognized this way. See, many people don't know this, but the feather boa was originally introduced by cat herders as a type of ease-of-use lasso. The fashion industry, and of course the rest of humankind by implication, owes so much to cat herding...
Years ago when I was in an art and animation studio, and things would come to a grinding halt in the creativity department, we knew it was time for the Cat Herders. We'd watch it over and over again and compare our immediate problem with how the exact same situation was dealt with in this commercial. Solved it every time. The commercial is perfect. There's nothing that can be criticized about it! The animation and effects are top notch, along with everything else. So enjoyed seeing it again today, just for the memories.
Plus customer relations departments at large corporations are treated with "United breaks guitars" to demonstrate just how damaging their poor decisions can be.
Agreed. The only competitors I've seen are a UPS commercial that I'm betting only ran once. It ended with someone looking right at the camera and saying with complete seriousness "Brown knows". UPS's trucks are brown. Another was, I think, on Saturday Night Live and was a clay-mation commercial for underwear or blue jeans and had an Indiana Jones in the city theme.
This a brilliant commercial for a lot of reasons. The amazing performance by actors no one knows about. The musical score used, the scenes, and just overall authentic feel are just spot-on. The small details like the yarn ball, sneezing, the hair roller, etc. are all so purrfect... Get it? But yeah, I watch this commercial over and over again sometimes, because it's just so darn good!
what makes this commercial even better is that anyone who's ever owned a cat knows it's crazy difficult to herd 1 or 2 but 10,000 half wild short-hairs? hahahahaha
I have 12 (not 12k, just a plain dozen) half wild (probably closer to 3/4 wild) short hair cats, and the only herding going on is when they herd me up at feeding time.
I started work at Hewlett Packard in 1973, I was there for 35 years. I could never imagine they would do a Silly Commercial! This old one is delightful! Back then EDS was a customer of mine and a pleasure to work with.
Okay, I never saw a commercial so well thought out, and all of the performances by the crew are immaculate. I would do business with this company just because of their creative dedication to share with us what EDS does.
I remember when this commercial first aired. Sitting in my dorm room, I thought it was funny, but didn't fully appreciate the nuances: it wasn't targeted at me. 17 years later, and just having sat through a week of meetings trying to get systems, networking, programming, and security people to work together, the metaphor really hits home. There are very few commercials that I even remember more than a week or two. This one is just as memorable as the best Saturday Night Live sketches.
Hilarious! I love the part when one of the catboys is rolling up the yarn and when they're talking about their scratches AND the part when one of the sneezes! LOVE IT!
That little white Persian steals it for me; he must be one smart cat, because he shows up in several scenes doing several different tricks. I'll bet the tuna is strong with that one!
I've been writing and producing advertising for thirty plus years and I agree wholeheartedly. They got everything right on this. The casting, the directing, the epic cinematography; The little things like the arm sling and the lint roller. And EDS was even smarter after all the costs of this ad and considering it was a half million to run during a super bowl, to simply tag the very end of the sixty seconds. If their logo was anywhere in the body or they mentioned themselves it wouldn't have been as effective.
@Eben Clukey, maybe the company EDS was able to re-coup their investment in this amazing commercial when they sold it to HP, and maybe the cost of producing the commercial could be used as a healthy tax relief from the gains the EDS company made from selling it to HP... Lots of people probably got a good foothold in this industry, by working for EDS, and that opened many more doors for those people to expand their horizons at other places to work at...
Here I am in mid 2021 rewatching one of my all time favorite commercials from back in the day! I can never remember what company the ad is for, but the commercial is unforgettable!
Epic things have been accomplished by man throughout history: surviving ice ages, savage droughts & plagues, the building of the pyramids, conquering diseases, the first climbing Mount Everest, and...producing this commercial!
@LittleRockyRoad I was given this gem of an ad on a DVD as a going-away gag gift at work, as the giftors knew I, a cat lover, compared my job to herding cats and that I had "herders" in my family from Montana. I, too, laughed so hard I was crying - this has to be the perfect commercial ever.
I needed a good laugh so I had to look this up AGAIN - usually a couple of times a year. Whoever thought of this advertisement has a genius sense of humor. Thanks for the giggle once more!
A wonderfully comic advertisement I first saw in 2010 that can be applied to many difficult management situations. Kudos to the creator/s of the idea and production!
I worked for Siemens Digital Industries Software (successor to EDA) s a technical writer for nearly 6 years at the end of my engineering career before retirement. When the going got tough on a Simcenter Software release we'd always think about this this ad; one of the greatest of all time. It embodied what we did every day.
Are you aware that in a previous life, I used to be one of the best cat herders here in these United States ? I herded cats from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea, all across this great land. I herded cats across the Great Lakes, the Rio Grande, all over the Great State of Texas, over the Mason-Dixon line and Route 66, through the Rocky Mountains, through every trail in the Appalachians, and up and down the Mighty Mississippi. No matter how dangerous the job went, I always made sure my cat runs left no feline behind.
When I watch ‘cat herding’, there’s always something new. 😂 It’s one of the best ads ever. EDS really was a company of cat herders; bringing ‘em home every single time.
Thank you, EDS, for approving and choosing this production. This is certainly my favorite commercial of all time; it is soooo sweet. Many men have been socialized to look down on, or hate, cats. Seeing these tough guys showing so much care, thoughtfulness, and consideration, to their "charges" is very touching....I think this one has the best resolution of all of the copies of it on RU-vid.
I agree with many others commenting here that this is the best commercial I've ever seen. But every time I watch it, I lament the terrible resolution. How I would love to see a pristine 4K transfer!
@@danieldougan269 I think the one sneeze set me off more than anything and that's saying something in a commercial this brilliant. No one's laughing. It's just deadpan from start to finish. XD
Greatest TV commercial of all time. It's remained in my memory for years and years, and anytime someone uses the "herding cats" expression I immediately remember this commercial. That's why I came here, because I had to see it again! XD
This is a master-piece. The best ad in film of all times! It goes way beyond EDS, became the translation of what I do in life as a journalist and writer!
I herd cats (all 5) every day-...with FOOD! I've had this video on my home page for years, and I like to say, "Once I learned to herd cats, ANYTHING is possible!" The scene with the lint roller, OMG, LOL!!!!!! And the way the cowboys look so togh.."Herdin' cattle? Anybody can herd cattle. But herdin' cats? Weeeelll, that's a whole 'nother story!" Best ad ever!
Though this commercial was made over a decade ago, it's still delightful, and I play it for a nice chuckle I always take from it. Best. Superbowl. Commercial. Ever.
This was a classic! It debuted during the 2000 SuperBowl. I still laugh @ it & when I need to make an analogy to make a point, I just send this video, ‘it’s like herding cats’ !
This is one of my favorite commercials!! The other is the Liberty Mutual with the cute guy they finally have to dub in his lines!! They are both great!!!
I agree that this is one of the best ads ever made. There was much discussion after the showing, regarding confusion in viewers who still didn't know what EDS was. One of my clients was a high-level EDS executive at the time and she said that although they loved the ad, they felt their corporate message could have been stronger...I guess that at this point, it's just a matter of opinion. Still one of the best and most creative videos I've seen. :-)
There are very few commercials I even like. This one is adorable and fun - cats *will* be cats, and juxtaposing grizzled cowboys in there without a hint of anything being wrong? That is brilliantly funny.