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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Screening at Walker proves that even British commercials are classier than ours
Wednesday 10 December @ 12:54:16 |
 by Dwight Hobbes
You haven’t truly laughed yourself sick until you’ve seen some of the funnier selections from the British Television Advertising Awards. For that matter, those people from across the ocean are pretty damned good about getting serious, too, with public service announcements that might actually make someone stop and think.
On the whole, it’s clear that thoughtful creativity, rather than just crassly opportunistic brainstorming—largely representing the libido of arrested adolescence—is afoot. This, of course, says a great deal about the intended audience and kind of makes you wonder about the mulch that American minds must be made of that they’re so easily programmed to pop open their wallets and purses with the slightest provocation. In the British ads, there is, for instance, an enjoyable break from gratuitous near-nudity and picture perfect faces. And there are, at least in the clips you’ll get to see at the Walker Art Center, no slick con jobs trying to convince you that chewing the right gum will not only alleviate halitosis but make some impossibly gorgeous hottie or hunk putty in your hands.
Another fascinating departure (incidental though it may be) is the chance to see film superstars from the states doing commercials. Maybe they don’t do them too often here out of fear of overexposure or the risk that they might slip in stature (however the Direct TV spots featuring folk like Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia and Danny De Vito don’t seem to have hurt their careers any). At any rate, Samuel L. Jackson does a handful of literate, wonderfully understated tongue-in-cheek ads for the investment arm of Barclays that provides a human touch for the soulless world of finances.
Actually, when it comes to such not so funny concepts as banking, life insurance and the like, the Brits still manage to put warmth in the picture. Prudential hawks its services less by harping on how badly you want to ensure you don’t wind up broke and homeless than by emphasizing your desire to keep as much of your world intact as possible in the event that you’re blindsided by disaster. I’m sure you’ve seen those countless drug ads that promise to relieve everything from impotence to an overactive bladder, then slip minuscule fine print or a muted, auctioneer-like warning about side effects that could leave you in worse shape than you were in to begin with. British bank HSBC counters this trend with their ad which lays all their cards on the table, inviting you, in fact, to come on in a look at that fine print. Whether they’ve still got an ace or two up their sleeves, you’ve got to give it to them for an original approach that at least gives the consumer some credit for having a brain in his or her head.
For sheer hilarity, you got to check out guitarist-rapper Wyclef’s spot promoting Virgin mobile phone service. Headed into a gig, he steps out of a limo and, without a second thought, signs what he believes to be a fan’s request for autographs. Turns out he has agreed to live in a trailer park, ironing clothes, up to his ears in this woman’s kids and duty-bound to be at her horizontal beck and call. The tag line: “You can get free minutes without signing your life away.” Never mind that I’ve blown the gag.
Just as seeing is believing, you’ll bust a gut on this one. Then, there’s the Nike commercial with a photo-finish race between a plucked chicken and a raw egg to see which really does come first.
There’s a fairly chilling p.s.a. about falling asleep at the wheel that should truly make you think twice before driving while you’re tired, let alone after a few drinks too many. It turns on a dime to hit you square behind the eyes—no preaching, no moralizing, just a world of common sense.
Not to be missed: the promo for a Michael Jackson special. It’s an eerie glimpse at how Michael Jackson has mutilated himself over the years, “evolving” from a black child to whatever the hell he is now, with the hook, “If this is what’s happening on the outside, imagine what’s happening in the inside.”
All said, it’s just under an hour and a half of some of the best television viewing you’re apt to come by for quite a while. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that these commercials are more worthwhile than the actual programs we usually watch on the tube.
The 2003 27th annual British Television Advertising Awards is continues screening at the Walker Art Center Auditorium, 725 Vineland Place, Mpls through Dec, 28. $7 ($5 Walker members) Box office: 612.375.7622
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