Robotic Evolution

Posted by ShawnBruce, January 7, 2009 7:54 AM | permalink

Scott Beale over at Laughing Squid recently posted this amazing commercial from Germany. Scott writes:

Evolution of Technology is a fantastic ad created by Scholz&Friends Group for the German electronics store Saturn that shows an evolutionary process from dinosaur robots to modern androids.

Evolution of Technology

(Shawn Connally and Bruce Stewart are guest bloggers)

Favorite this! ( 14 )

Older Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town podcast

Newer Architecture critic worries that ubiquitious surveillance isn't aesthetically pleasing

Discussion

Take a look at this

#1 posted by TheGibson , January 7, 2009 8:00 AM

The phrase "modern androids" made me laugh.

Take a look at this

#2 posted by aperson23 , January 7, 2009 8:02 AM

Too cool

Take a look at this

#3 posted by 13strong , January 7, 2009 8:10 AM

Cool. Though as usual ad men can't resist having a sexy woman in there somewhere.

Unless they're saying that women are the pinnacle of evolution, which would be a refreshing change!

Take a look at this

#4 posted by Ugly Canuck , January 7, 2009 8:11 AM

Ach, the German suits it well.

Take a look at this

#5 posted by Mojave , January 7, 2009 8:28 AM

13 strong , you say that like it's a bad thing. Sex sells. Advertising 101.

Take a look at this

#6 posted by kiltreiser , January 7, 2009 8:32 AM

Am I the only one who's now desperate for a robotic dinosaur movie?

Take a look at this

#7 posted by Boba Fett Diop , January 7, 2009 8:34 AM

This commercial totally ignores evidence challenging the theory of robotic evolution. Robotic systems are too complex to have evolved on their own without the guiding hand of a designer. Teach the controversy!

Take a look at this

#8 posted by failix , January 7, 2009 8:47 AM

I never watch TV, but this would have been worth it. Nice find. (I hate that store though, way too expensive.)

Lol @#7 XD

Take a look at this

#9 posted by skore , January 7, 2009 8:54 AM

Just to translate this for all the non-Germans out there:

"The Selection was tough, but now its here: The strongest technology of all time - relentlessly inexpensive.

Saturn: we HATE expensive"

I'm a little touchy on their taglines these days. They started of with "Geiz ist geil" - "stingy is awesome/hot" - "geil" having a well established sexual connotation on German, being an exclusively sexual word to begin with meaning "being aroused" (so not the other way around where donkeys suddenly mean peoples behinds).

The new tagline however makes me feel like being part of your daily two-minutes-hate. I'm all for replacing religion with technology, but can't we just skip the über-emotional?

Technologies are tools. I see no need to fall in love with them or any other kind of engagement. I also find the emphasis on cheap devices a tad anachronistic these days.

Take a look at this

#10 posted by Anonymous , January 7, 2009 8:59 AM

Mmmmmmmm ... steampron.

Take a look at this

#11 posted by Anonymous , January 7, 2009 9:07 AM

zoids!

Take a look at this

#12 posted by DelicateFlower , January 7, 2009 9:15 AM

Mojave - Sexy *men* also sell. ;)

Take a look at this

#13 posted by Anonymous , January 7, 2009 9:32 AM

RILF!

dan

Take a look at this

#14 posted by nanite2000 , January 7, 2009 9:33 AM

Zoids!

:-)

Take a look at this

#15 posted by IWood , January 7, 2009 9:40 AM

Yay Zoids! I haven't thought about those in years. Bitty 'botic dinos FTW!

Take a look at this

#16 posted by nanuq , January 7, 2009 9:41 AM

"Am I the only one who's now desperate for a robotic dinosaur movie?"

All the Mechagodzilla movies don't count?

Mechagodzilla

Take a look at this

#17 posted by jeffguevin , January 7, 2009 9:48 AM

Hey, robot sabretooths didn't coexist with robot T. Rexes! Couldn't they have done some research?

Take a look at this

#18 posted by the Other michael

, January 7, 2009 10:13 AM

#14 -- do some research of your own! There are some of your so-called "fossils" showing the prints of an Asimo alongside the SteamRex. Evolution is a fraud.

Take a look at this

#19 posted by Anonymous , January 7, 2009 10:36 AM

"We hate expensive" in German
is a neat expression and comes across somewhat awkward. The strange thing is that "expensive" is treated as the object in this sentence. It's a nice wordplay and stands out which makes it memorable.

Take a look at this

#20 posted by Bonnie

, January 7, 2009 10:44 AM

This would have made the best Front 242 video ever!

Take a look at this

#21 posted by Anonymous , January 7, 2009 10:59 AM

This commercial has a really eyecatching idea and beginning but is totally spoiled by the too obvious usage of a half naked/half android woman, and the dull claim kills it completely.
In my (german) eyes it's just a disturbing advert: Works for seconds, annoys for days. Awkward.

Take a look at this

#22 posted by Ugly Canuck , January 7, 2009 11:35 AM

Yes.
Mechagodzilla!

Take a look at this

#23 posted by ill lich , January 7, 2009 11:37 AM

Bahhh. . . we all know that on the 8th day God created robots; there was no evolution involved.

Take a look at this

#24 posted by W. James Au

, January 7, 2009 11:43 AM

The most impressive thing about this spot: an advertising agency got Saturn to spend probably close to a million goddamn Euros to make an epic commercial that has NOT A THING WHATSOEVER to do with their products.

Take a look at this

#25 posted by W. James Au

, January 7, 2009 11:49 AM

Take a look at this

#26 posted by Takuan , January 7, 2009 11:57 AM

was the Steam-Rex coal or oil fired?

Take a look at this

#27 posted by Daemon , January 7, 2009 12:09 PM

Sexy Robots: the final stage of robot evolution.

Take a look at this

#28 posted by blackbrrrd , January 7, 2009 1:35 PM

Kevin Kelly's blog, the Technium, has a little different take on this. Evolution of silico-metallic forms must comply with the forces of nature (just as carbon-based forms must). This will lead to interesting diversity in bots. He says it better than I...

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/

Take a look at this

#29 posted by Anonymous , January 7, 2009 1:38 PM

PZ Myers pointed out yesterday that this is a misleading representation of evolution.

Take a look at this

#30 posted by holtt , January 7, 2009 1:45 PM

kiltreiser, I'd tap that meme.

Take a look at this

#31 posted by Fred Rated , January 7, 2009 2:16 PM

Yeah, I saw that ad a couple of months ago at a Saturn in Munich. I was transfixed up until the android cheesecake. Final stage of machine evolution? A fembot hawking vacuums, blenders, and Bratz Ponyz for Nintendo DS.

Nice CG. Stupid fucking concept.

Take a look at this

#32 posted by Nesbitt , January 7, 2009 3:34 PM

#31 Fred Rated asked "...android cheesecake. Final stage of machine evolution?" Yes sir, we believe it is.

Take a look at this

#33 posted by Laroquod , January 7, 2009 11:08 PM

What *is* it with all of the tentacle/squid/cephalod references on Boing Boing?

Take a look at this

#34 posted by Takuan , January 7, 2009 11:28 PM

I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about.

Take a look at this

#35 posted by kiddr01 , January 8, 2009 2:16 AM