StratPost spoke to Assy Josephy the Director of Exhibitions for Rafael about how this video came about. "In Israel we have Jewish people from India, so we know about Bollywood and the song and dance numbers. Israelis are generally aware of Indian culture. This video is to help build familiarity between India and Israel and Rafael," he says.
But this is not the first time Rafael has exhibited something of the sort. Josephy says Rafael has displayed such videos in many countries with various themes customized to the culture of the locations. "In Brazil we did a video of football. Football is very big there. In Paris the video had a theme that included Napoleon and the Renaissance. In Poland our video had themes of Chopin and Copernicus. In England it was about Shakespeare," says Josephy.
I don't know about you, but I've got to get my hands on a copy of that Paris video. I'm definitely checking out the Rafael booth at Le Bourget this year.
Also, The DEW Line thanks Danger Room for the plug.
on March 8, 2009 10:40 PM | Reply
That is unbelievably bad. I couldn't make it half way through.
on March 9, 2009 12:53 PM | Reply
Same here. Couldn't make it the full way. Anyone who makes it through that video should get some form of achievement award.
They need to subcontract out the sales video making to a U.S. defense contractor.
on March 9, 2009 3:34 PM | Reply
I really hope that's the oddest thing I see today.
on March 10, 2009 1:24 PM | Reply
Rafael probably felt it needed something quirky and eye-catching to compete with all the other Israeli arms firms that are currently vying for the burgeoning Indian market.
http://forecasthighs.com/2009/03/10/rafael-slums-it-on-bollywood-arms-sales-video/
on March 10, 2009 6:58 PM | Reply
Seeing is believing...Still, judging by the dance at the end of Slumdog, even these guys could teach Danny Boyle something about Bollywood dance sequences...
on March 11, 2009 12:31 AM | Reply
I recognise the Python-5 they have in the video... but there also seems to be an AMRAAM missile (Does Rafael make licensed copies of these?) in the back.
on March 11, 2009 4:13 AM | Reply
I believe the Derby is in the back.
on March 11, 2009 4:54 AM | Reply
A similar 'locally-themed' video is playing at Australian International Air Show at Avalon this week - a lot of the local wildlife superimposed with the Rafael range, although I'm not sure how the Hawaiian beach soundtrack sells Australia!
on March 13, 2009 6:24 AM | Reply
When I first saw this video it reminded me of everything I love about "tongue in cheek" Dinga Dinga Dee.Meanwhile Raphael is becoming a household name.
on March 14, 2009 6:43 PM | Reply
I managed to get through it!
I laughed/cried for the first half, but by the end I had decided that the thing will come of as really crass and perhaps a bit insulting.
By the end, it has the sound/feeling of listening to an American try to sustain a British accent. It might work out decently for the first couple minutes or so, but after awhile it's degraded so badly that it's not even funny, just annoying.
By the end of the video, it's overwrought, under-acted, and sounds more like Israeli arabesque than Bollywood.
on March 16, 2009 6:00 PM | Reply
This is the greatest video. It's different, funny, entertaining, has a catchy refrain. I have listened to it about twenty times. You nay sayers, whats so bad about it? It's not demeaning anyone
on April 1, 2009 10:37 PM | Reply
Hilarious :-D So bad it's good - the dubbing, haha! :-D
They're dancing and romancing and there just *happens* to be the odd missile lying about :-D
This reminds me of those B movies on Sci-fi channel where you can see the strings moving the giant spider :-D
on June 6, 2009 11:03 PM | Reply
No doubt this promo movie is downright awful,
but one cant help but wonder at the potency of the venom expressed by some of the posters here, and i daresay there is a wee little drappie in there from youself too
on June 15, 2009 11:14 PM | Reply
Somehow quite phallic, isn't it?
on July 11, 2009 9:12 PM | Reply
The video is nice to watch and I think it would appeal to Indians though to a westerner it might sound a little different. The israeli artists semed to have overlayed their performances quite nicely on top of the Indian background and Indian styled music.
Well so much for the artists and the marketing people. yes indeed music carries a lot more weight in the Indian culture as compared to so many others.
However I discuss this from a different point of view. we in Pakistan are absolutely amazed at how come israel instead, which has been returned to the Judean nation after 1900 or so years.....why do Israel has to create more enemies.........The obvious aim of Israel seems to try to neutralize the Pa Pakistan Nuclear deterrent towards India by selling AWACs and AMDs....we are amazed to see a monotheist nation of israel trying to form an alliance with a polytheiest nation of India (with no biblical roots) against monotheist Pakistan which interestingly is currently involved in 2 conflicts...Kashmir and north west Pakistan (Area of Pathans)....both Pathans and Kashmiris are not Indian aryans but in all likelihood Israellite Hebrews from the lost kingdom of Israel (700 BC).....israel is forming an alliance against Pakistan with Indian polytheist Aryans against Pakistan (protector of the Kashmiris and pathans).......Is it not like the Southern Kingdom of judea of ancient times allying itself with some pagan polytheistic nation of Middle east in ancient times against its own cousins...the Northern Kingdom................Just a similie to show you what it amounts to..................Please ponder.
on July 11, 2009 9:12 PM | Reply
The video is nice to watch and I think it would appeal to Indians though to a westerner it might sound a little different. The israeli artists semed to have overlayed their performances quite nicely on top of the Indian background and Indian styled music.
Well so much for the artists and the marketing people. yes indeed music carries a lot more weight in the Indian culture as compared to so many others.
However I discuss this from a different point of view. we in Pakistan are absolutely amazed at how come israel instead, which has been returned to the Judean nation after 1900 or so years.....why do Israel has to create more enemies.........The obvious aim of Israel seems to try to neutralize the Pa Pakistan Nuclear deterrent towards India by selling AWACs and AMDs....we are amazed to see a monotheist nation of israel trying to form an alliance with a polytheiest nation of India (with no biblical roots) against monotheist Pakistan which interestingly is currently involved in 2 conflicts...Kashmir and north west Pakistan (Area of Pathans)....both Pathans and Kashmiris are not Indian aryans but in all likelihood Israellite Hebrews from the lost kingdom of Israel (700 BC).....israel is forming an alliance against Pakistan with Indian polytheist Aryans against Pakistan (protector of the Kashmiris and pathans).......Is it not like the Southern Kingdom of judea of ancient times allying itself with some pagan polytheistic nation of Middle east in ancient times against its own cousins...the Northern Kingdom................Just a similie to show you what it amounts to..................Please ponder.