In Some Cities, a Car Commercial's a Big Deal

For better or worse, I enjoy the filming. Where else can you live that your surroundings change from day to day?

My only fear is that when a real emergency/disaster strikes we’ll all just walk past it believing the scene to be just another Hollywood prop/set.

What’s frightening is the lack of creative, visual originality in auto commercials today.

It is not an eggageration that 90% of all “urban” car commercial scenes are shot in Downtown Los Angeles. How many times can the Second Street Tunnel be used? Or the Fourth Street ramps over Figueroa and Flower? Wait, was the wet down for Broadway with neon in the background or Fourth and Main with Pete’s in the background? Ford even tried to use an all-night-kept-the-neighborhood-up but-it-was-directed-by-David-Mamet shoot to try and sell the Edge. No, no, we’ll do Downtown streets from a helicopter using a filter, that’ll be original…

There’s nothing wrong with entertaining entertainment, but few products (both products in the commercials as well as entertainment productions) shot Downtown actually appeal to Downtowners. Instead, the Industry irritates locals by not grasping the changing landscape and adjusting their behavior to match thus protecting these locations for decades instead of burning them out in a pilot season.

Everything in moderation, especially the routine use of property for commercial filming without the appropriate conditional use permit.

It would be interesting to see someone crunch the notifications for the last year or so to see the most frequently used spots and develop mitigation and reduction plans to ensure continued development of Downtown.

Data indicating more than six uses of a property in a year should be turned over to the Building and Safety Department Code Enforcement branch for action.

Forgot one more tired look, the European ‘power sedan’ parked in front of the Disney Concert Hall – only a freckle-faced, red-headed cute kid with a box of Velveeta is cheesier.

Another tired car commercial location overshot from every angle:

Upper and Lower Grand Avenue