I like everything about this. The middle guy’s sweater, the dancing, THE EFFECTS, the song, the skimpy tinfoil costumes. All great. It’s a song with feel-good lyrics, some nice guitar riffs and a catchy beat accompanied by absurdity and a visual delicacy of special effects. It’s great. I’m gonna say it again: it’s great.
This video was part of The New Director’s Showcase put on by Saatchi & Saatchi last week at Cannes. There were some other pretty awesome live performances in the showcase, and other videos but I didn’t watch them. The thing about live performances is that they are better than recorded stuff, but to get it, you really need to have been there. And you know what? I wasn’t there.
Cannes. Most people think of the Cannes film festival held every year during the second week of May in that beautiful town on the French Riviera where films from all over the world are judged and awarded. Directors, movie stars and rich people gather to party and praise one another. The results are given and independent film watchers in America add new titles to their netflix queues. Then, two weeks later, the advertising industry descends upon Cannes and anyone not in advertising probably doesn’t even know this. I mean haven’t we made ourselves pretty clear about how we feel about TV ads with DVR? Yes we have. The ads shown now are not nearly as serious or deep as any of the films show two weeks earlier, but all of these selections represent a lot of hard work and creative thinking done for two reasons: to win business and truly make a difference for the client, or for creative people to win an award and make a name for themselves. The latter is not as honorable, but all the same it’s cool stuff and it’s really too bad that the only people who know about it are advertising people. I know we all hate ads, but these ideas are more than 30 second clips that break up your favorite tv show, or a full page ad between articles. There are a lot of ideas that make a difference for people, and add color to the world.
Still, it’s always seemed weird that the advertising sort of does a copycat on the film industry with the Cannes Festivals. Like, shouldn’t ad people come up with their own thing? It’s weirdly pretentious because I don’t think anyone perceives people in the advertising industry to be on the same level as actors, actresses, writers, and directors.
Someday I’m going to write about seeing this local band called Dali’s Ghost play a show at this bar called Nietzche’s. That day is not today, and it probably isn’t tomorrow. Although it might be.
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reminds me of michel gondry
Comment by aimee August 14, 2009 @ 8:09 pm