Rare genuine trad in US TV ad!

[MTGuru]

This commercial for Long John Silver's which has been running for the past week instantly caught my ear:

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7R7P/long-john-s ... eek-st-als

The premise is an Irish trad session at a Fish Fry. The soundtrack is a mashup of Ships Are Sailing and Man of the House, played well, with shots of the players (fiddler, guitarist) around 0:13 to 0:16.

It's refreshing to see an Irish session presented not as a caricature of Irish-American culture for St. Patrick's Day or the like, but simply as a normal part of ordinary people of all stripes enjoying a social event. Kudos to Long John Silver's and their ad agency.

Does anyone here know something more about the making of this spot? Where is the "St. Al's" church in question, and who are the players?

[Nanohedron]

Can't help you with your questions, but yes, I caught the ads too. Refreshing for a change, to say the least.

Given the longstanding practice in American advertising of reducing the genre to trivial caricature, how much do you want to bet that without its more usual accompanying contexts of green top hats and four-leafed clovers, most of the viewing public won't even recognise the music in the ad as Irish?

Yes, I'm afraid I've become something of a cynic.

[sfmans]

Try sitting in a pub playing English music!

You're almost guaranteed to get someone wander over and say 'that's great I love Irish music'. To which the standard response, guaranteed to confuse them yet further, is 'thanks. We'll try to remember to play some for you later'

[sfmans]

Nice to see that the voting on the hosting ispot website is 93% approving; maybe if everybody up-votes the advert there'll be others in a similar vein ...

[NicoMoreno]

I'd be interested to know more about who the musicians on the soundtrack are - they aren't the musicians in the video as that band (local to here) is just a fiddle, guitar and bodhran I think; no flute and definitely not two fiddles.

If anyone can identify who the musicians that are playing are, that'd be great!

[MTGuru]

that band (local to here) is just a fiddle, guitar and bodhran I think; no flute and definitely not two fiddles.

So the St. Al's church in the ad is this one in Detroit?: http://www.stalsdetroit.com/index.html

[NicoMoreno]

I assumed so, however I don't know if that's actually where the fish fry was held...

[colomon]

Nick, who are the musicians in the video? I don't recognize them at all...

[Brus]

Try sitting in a pub playing English music!

You're almost guaranteed to get someone wander over and say 'that's great I love Irish music'.

Somehow I can't imagine anybody mistaking Elgar or the Beatles for Irish.

[sfmans]

Try sitting in a pub playing English music!

You're almost guaranteed to get someone wander over and say 'that's great I love Irish music'.

Somehow I can't imagine anybody mistaking Elgar or the Beatles for Irish.

Oh, so it was #you#!

[accordionstu]

Try sitting in a pub playing English music!

You're almost guaranteed to get someone wander over and say 'that's great I love Irish music'. To which the standard response, guaranteed to confuse them yet further, is 'thanks. We'll try to remember to play some for you later'

Originally from N Ireland I live in England now, and most sessions will have a mix of Irish and English folk tunes, morris tunes etc
My Favourite English tunes for flute are Abbotts Bromley Horndance followed by Jump at the sun.
I suppose some people not familiar with Irish Trad might easily mistake English Folk tunes as Irish, but sure there's only a few miles between us, not that surprising.

[ytliek]

This commercial for Long John Silver's which has been running for the past week instantly caught my ear:

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7R7P/long-john-s ... eek-st-als

There was a LJS and Arthur Treacher's here awhile ago. Neither succeeded. The food was horrible and the service (our locals) inexcusable. Blame the managers, blame the chain, it was awful. Maybe the Irish session can fix the corp image.

Then again, this location is the seashore... and its the real thing here.

BTW, the property that was LJS is now a Bank of America with a Moe's next door.
http://www.moes.com/

[An Draighean]

Last time I went back to Ireland a few years ago, I was really disappointed to see a McDonald's, a Subway, or a KFC in every town. And a nasty chain chipper of some kind with frozen fish. I guess the days of getting proper fresh fish and chips from an old caravan and served in a sheet of newspaper are long gone.