The Mysterious World of Matthew McConaughey’s Lincoln Commercials
Every so often, a book, a movie, or another piece of media comes along and changes the game. In the 40s we had ‘Citizen Kane,’ which paved the way for storytelling in cinema. In the 70s and 80s, world-building was changed forever with the ‘Star Wars’ trilogies. In the 90s and 2000s, JK Rowling made reading cool again for kids with a dorky little wizard named Harry Potter.
And today, we have the Matthew McConaughey-Lincoln commercials, which as far as I’m concerned, are some of the most ground-breaking pieces of media of our lifetime.
These T.V. spots are polarizing, to put it mildly, and the latest of which has over 16 million views on Youtube, as well as 12,000 upvotes. However, this video also sports 7,500 dislikes. So, a favorable ratio on likes to dislikes, but not a great one by any means.
In the comment section of this video lies this gem: “For those of you who do not own a Lincoln, get one, and you’ll understand.”
Are you telling me that the secret to comprehending these commercials is to own a Lincoln? Through these cars, are people able to see the world differently? Understand things clearer? Are these cars a key to seeing another dimension?
Now, I’m in no position to be heading down to the dealership to buy one of these cars, so instead, we are going to investigate these commercials the old-fashioned way: through sheer observation and wild assumptions. I’d say the most important one to touch on first is the latest (and possibly greatest) of the McConaughey-Lincoln Collabs.
The ‘Citizen Kane’ of commercials? I’ll let you be the judge.
Okay. So a lot to digest there. Let’s start at the beginning and work our forward and see if we can’t narrow down what exactly is going on here.
The Story
The spot opens with McConaughey entrancing his guests/hosts/whoever with a story. The dialogue is as follows: “I go ‘mom,’ and hear it in the background and she’s watching it too, saying, and this is where I call my mom.” *crowd oohs and ahhs*
There is a lot to unpack within these few words, but let’s give it our best shot.
First, there seem to be some contradictions within this story. McConaughey claims that his mother is ‘watching’ whatever he is looking at and that he calls out to her. However, he then says he calls his mom, presumably with a phone. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I’m in the same location of a person, I don’t feel the need to call them on the phone when we can converse in person right then and there. So which is it, McConaughey? Are you and your mother together, or are you in different locations? Something doesn’t add up.
The next question I have is, what exactly is “it” that he hears in the background and is looking at? Now, this could be a multitude of things — fireworks on the Fourth, a Mariachi band, perhaps even a squirrel. But, I think the safest bet is that McConaughey and his mother are the latest witnesses to the El Vampiro de Moca. That’s right, the Chupacabra.
It makes sense when you think about it. The Chupacabra has been spotted in Texas many times, and McConaughey himself spends a lot of time in Texas. What else would captivate the audience to such a degree? It’s the only logical answer.
The Shot
Moving on from McConaughey and his mother’s earth-shattering confirmation that the infamous Goat Sucker does in fact exist, McConaughey appears to be leaving the party but then suddenly becomes enthralled by a pool table, leaves his friends, and walks over to it. His reaction to this pool table proves one thing: This is not McConaughey’s home. Unless he forgot he owned a pool table, there is no reason for him to react like this while coming across this common home entertainment game.
But this is where things get crazy. McConaughey picks up his cue and eyes up a shot as his friends creep into the room and observe. Then he angles his stick at about 60 degrees, shoots, and watches with satisfaction as his he pockets his ball. One woman in the room states, rather boldly, “I’ve never seen that before.”
Setting aside the fact that this woman has clearly never watched any trick shot pool tournaments on ESPN, is this really a shot that she has never seen before? From the angle we see, it doesn’t appear to be anything too special. Maybe she doesn’t watch or play a lot of pool in general, so there are tons of shots she has never seen before. If this is the case, keep your comments to yourself, Karen.
The Exit
After hearing this praise, McConaughey appears to reflect on his actions. His face conveys deep, intimate thought. Perhaps even a tinge of… regret? Nevertheless, we cut to McConaughey walking out to his car, still with that expression on his face.
Then, we get a sequence of him in the new Lincoln Nautilus, the vehicle being driven, as well as glimpses of his now legendary pool shot (which looks like he just put a sh*t-ton of spin on the cue ball and got lucky. Still, an impressive shot nonetheless).
It’s important to add that the driving sequence appears quite dangerous. I’m assuming McConaughey is still the driver of this vehicle that is now careening left and right outside the lines of the road. It stands to reason that McConaughey may have had a bit too much to drink before taking off, or he is just an extremely reckless driver. We’ll give Mr. McConaughey the benefit of the doubt and go with the latter.
Now we’ve gotten to the coup de gras of this sequence of events. We once again hear the, “I’ve never seen that before” quote, to which McConaughey, in his head and with a wry look, replies, “I have.”
There are two ways we can take this response. First, McConaughey is merely stating that he has seen the shot before because he has performed the shot on other various occasions. Perhaps that is his calling card. He goes to parties and gatherings, finds a pool table, makes his shot, and then gets the hell out of dodge — the ultimate party favor.
Or it’s some metaphor for how you can control the new Lincoln like you can with a cue ball in that it can do amazing things while still looking elegant and classy. Or something. I don’t know. I’m just spitballing here.
In any event, here’s to you, Matthew McConaughey. Truly the most interesting man in the world.
