Ad Classics: TARSEM SINGH, JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WRONG, COSMOPOLITAN LAS VEGAS

          Tarsem might have produced history’s most boring film with the Immortals, but it stands that visually; he is one of the boldest directors out there. Best remembered by his trippy visuals in The Cell, or the gorgeous use of geography in The Fall, Tarsem uses a much more whimsical aesthetic in this commercial than what is generally seen on his films. Perhaps this is what we can expect from his upcoming Snow White adaptation Mirror, Mirror.

            Not surpassingly this campaign raised plenty of eyebrows, when it was first aired during the season finale of Mad Men. Criticisms went as far as critiquing that the ad promoted the mistreatment of animals; baby animals that is. But like any good piece of fiction, and advertising, getting people talking is exactly what it intended. For me the ad works. And it is a great example of Tarsem’s visual extravaganza. I hope you agree; here it is:

Ad Classics: RIDLEY SCOTT, "1984" MACINTOSH

           We started posting these “ad classics” under the philosophy that a commercial is a movie told in thirty seconds (sometimes up to two minutes). And because today many movies, like Transformers or New Year’s, are so overwhelmed by product placement that they have essentially become two-hour ads. We have chosen to revive the ‘ad classics’ positing to collect a few more samples of good storytelling, even if they are for commercial ends.

            Ridley Scott is perhaps one of the greatest filmmakers working today. Right after working on Blade Runner, Scott was commissioned by Apple Computers to create the Super Bowl Spot for the release of the first Macintosh. At the time computers were regarded as objects from an Orwellian dystopia by most people. This was because the personal computer had not yet come into existence; the Macintosh was going to change that.

            Apple has always been known for great advertising. They gave us The Misfits Poem and Justin Long with their campaign “I Am A Mac”.  This is the ad that started it all. The  ad cost nearly 1 million dollars, an amount previously unheard of in advertising. Not only was it a marketing success (the ad was re-broadcasted in every subsequent talk show, generating millions in free advertising) but it also shows why we are all so excited for Ridley Scott return to Sci Fi with Prometheus. Enjoy:

The top image is from a "remastered" version where an iPod was added to the runner. George Lucas is not the only person who goes back to re-tweak masterpieces. 

Ad Classics: SIMON MCQOID LONG LIVE PLAY, PLAYSTATION 3

             The most interesting part about the latest Playstation advertising campaign was that the original ad said absolutely nothing besides "join the gathering".  However, the pay off in the longer version released a few months afterwards had a great insight to the stories found in videogames; it is YOU the player who is the hero of the story. And the characters here celebrate that exactly. We wish the film industry would celebrate its audience in the same manner.

           The ad itself is incredibly effective piece of storytelling. So far we have been posing ads by great filmmakers. This ad was done by a new-comer, but like every story it has to come from somewhere. Enjoy:

Weekly Ad Classics: MICHEL GONDRY SMIRNOFF

            They say a commercial is a movie told in thirty seconds (sometimes up to two minutes). And nowadays it feels some movies are commercials told in ninety minutes (sometimes even longer); yes, we are looking in the general direction of Transformers. So here at The Movie Watch we thought it would be neat to pay homage to some classic commercial by great filmmakers. After all, lots of our favorite filmmakers got their start directing commercials or have later been called to direct one. So don’t think of them as ads, think of them as short movies with a lot of product placement.

            To start of this weekly classic commercial short movie here is Michel Gondry’s Smirnoff ad way back from 1998. Notice the use of bullet time one year before the Matrix hit theaters. The ad was actually quite revolutionary tech-wise back in the 90s. As you can see his visual style permeates from this ad early in his career to his latest work on The Green Hornet. Enjoy:  

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