We dig the theatre, especially reworkings of Shakespeare and his frothy contributions to the perpetually-tragic human condition, so these posters for the Denver Center Theater Company hit us in a smushy spot.
Meant to promote a 10-play series targeted to more youthful play-goers, the posters each take a play (Shakespeare or otherwise), then interpret it in contemporary symbology and use a few words to encompass the heart of the drama.
The posters are two-sided. One side is for the imagery and the name of the play; the other side is for the text. At left, the eyeball and the drop of blood represent Othello. The other side reads, "Who can you trust when you can't trust yourself?"
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Australia's ANZ Small Business tapped M&C Saatchi to develop an ad both funny and sympathetic to its target demo: small business owners.
That doesn't sound like tons of fun, so we didn't expect it to be, especially when we saw the length of the clip: 1:40? And in sepia? Why not force our eyes open with steel rods, too?
The spot itself starts out innocuously enough: a suited man is walking down the street, somebody calls his name: "Jack!" He starts to run. As the spot progresses, the variety of people -- butchers, mechanics, a Chinese restaurant owner -- that catch sight of him and give chase increases, adding to the dramatic tension and making way for a few semi-amusing stunt scenes. You lazily wonder what the punchline is.
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How completely insane. Here is a series of videos that purport to teach you how various indie emo hipster-looking people achieve their MySpace profile pic angles.
Sounds innocuous enough. Even seems to promise a spirited joke or two: how does the Crooked Bathed-in-Light guy get his gooseneck lamp to cast just right?
Click on one to view the how-to. What you discover is that each person, or group, is actually a disfigured or terrifying zombie/witch/monster thing. Then you're walked pragmatically through the process of how they covered blemishes and used various cheats on their cameras to make themselves as MySpace-worthy (and, uh, human-looking) as possible.
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"Hey big nose. I think we're in a Quilmes spot."
Young & Rubicam make good in the comically self-aware "Spot," where two guys at a club look around and discover, by virtue of the gimmicks they recognize from beer ads, that they're living in an ad for Quilmes, a brand of Argentinian beer.
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OK. What is it with today? Are all you marketers trying to make me drown in emotional depression? Hey, a gut wrenching cause ad is OK once in a while but not two in one day! Please. I've got my own issues to deal with. I don't need you bringing me down even further.
But again, it's what we do here. Bring you the goods and this is another good one. From UNICEF, the United States Agency for International Development and MTV's End Exploitation and Trafficking comes this video calling attention to the plight of women caught up in human trafficking and the horrific life they lead.
Over and over we see a woman connect with a man. At first, it seems very consensual. Then the layers are peeled back and we find out how she really came to be in the situation with the man. Quite horrific.
In a "PSA," actress Megan Fox tells us the world of high school can be tough and cruel but kids should not to succumb to peer pressure. Her recommended solution? Fuck 'em. Stand up and be yourself. Kill and eat your peers and you won't have any pressure left to deal with.
Sounds simple enough.
Only in the advertising business can the lowly function of internship be passed off as semi-glorious. Well, either that or these Crispin Porter + Bogusky interns are the best out there. After all, how many interns go to the trouble of created a four minute video to rap about how great (bad) it is to work at an agency? Can't count to five, yet? Right.
We like the effort. Our favorite line in the song? "Hey girl jump on my intertia and I'll give you a ride." Yup. Even in an intern video there's sexual overtones. Well, this is advertising, right?
So someone sent us a message which read, "Not sure if you're the sensitive sappy type but here's a link to the extended version of a new TV campaign we just finished for Robbins Brothers Engagement Ring Stores."
OK so reading Adrants might not lead one to believe the people behind it (in this case, me) have anything but vindictive bones in their bodies but they would be wrong. Are we jaded? Yes. Are we temperamental? Yes. Are we unfairly bitchy from time to time? Yes. Are we like a playground will of wise ass little shits with nothing better to do that sling mud at one another and call each other names? Yes.
But, believe it or not, we are not insensitive and we are close to the biggest sap out there. After all, we cried during Sandra Bullock's film, The Proposal. Yes, we really did.
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As if preparing for some sort of orgiastic, possibly food fetish-related, house party, the people in this commercial gleefully get dirty as fast as they can in order to make it to the party. Once at the party, it seems we're witness to what appears to be doggy-style exhibitionist action with aforementioned people looking on and cheering as a couple get closer to, well, it's not what you think.
Hey. Whatever turns you on.
The ladies will understand this one. The men, not so much. Well, the stupid ones, that is. So here we have a guy promising to spend more time with his girlfriend, telling her how he doesn't want to lose her and offering up a gift just to make everything alright.
Of course, it's the wrong gift and the poor guy loses all the points he was building up while buttering her up.
Watch and learn, men. Watch and lean.
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