The first time I saw one of these videos, I thought it was gimmicky, but thought perhaps it would catch on.  Fast-forward about four years, and “lifestyle videos” are becoming more prevalent.

A reader sent me the following video yesterday, and I absolutely loved it.  I actually watched it three times!

Sure, it’s a $48,500,000 house in Bel-Air, and any video produced for this caliber home had better be damned good!  But it might be the very best real estate lifestyle video I’ve ever seen, so I wanted share…

No question – it’s the best lifestyle video I’ve ever seen.

Maybe it just resonates with me personally, I’m not sure, but judging from some of the other videos I’ve posted on here, this one just “fits” the best.

I love how the video starts with the kids faking illness, just like Ferris Bueller did in the cult-classic movie from 1986.  Maybe the buyer-pool for this home is made up of 40’ish people who watched that movie over and over when they were kids, and thus it strikes a chord with them?

But the key to the whole video is using kids, rather than adults.  It speaks to our “inner child” who would want a home with all those bells and whistles.

It also takes away that “DB” factor (I don’t want to spell out that word…) we might otherwise see in rich A-holes who are partying in a $48 Million mansion.

It’s okay if kids take advantage of a pool, a masseuse, a golf instructor, and luxury cars, but it’s showy and gaudy if adults do it.

Remember the other video I posted that showed off a home in Los Angeles?

This one:

That video was for a house just as impressive, but the “theme” was different.

It seemed to portray rich, spoiled women who don’t work and just laze around all day – and then have a pillow-fight, so it was clearly written by a day-dreaming man…

It seemed to follow the lead of the “Real Housewives” series that glorifies a lifestyle that only exists on TV, or for a very, very selected few in real life.

Maybe the video served its purpose, and a rich guy (like the one pictured in the opening) bought the house for his girlfriend, fiancee, wife, mistress, or sugar-doll.

Or maybe it didn’t.

And maybe the “kids” angle in the first video was better.

You can poke holes in the “kids” video if you want to.  I’m a great cynic, so let me see what I can come up with…

First, I worry that the poor boy jumped off this ledge, or that the pool is unsafe since there’s a 40-foot drop:

And the kid hitting golf balls into his neighbours’ backyards is a bit bratty:

And to leave a child with access to all that booze is clearly irresponsible!

Aaaaand……I think the kid driving the car might be illegal.

But that’s me being a cynic, and trying to poke holes in this.

Unless you have no sense of humour and take everything literally (maybe time for the MDL commenters from last week to chime in here?), I think this video is fantastic, and cute as hell!

Try and picture this same video, with adults.  It wouldn’t work.  It would be boring, and gratuitous.

But here’s a way to get the features of the home across, and convey the luxurious lifestyle that lays within, without being ostentatious.

Bravo!