Weekly Ad Classics: MICHAEL MANN, MERCEDES-BENZ LUCKY STAR

       Lucky Star was a campaign commissioned by Mercedes-Benz to promote their SL500 in 2002 that seriously tried to break the barrier between film and advertising. It was presented in the form of a trailer for a feature film with actors Benicio del Toro and Ana Cristina in it. Supposedly Director Michael Mann imagined the piece as if it were a complete motion picture; the production staff of his previous films Heat and The Insider all worked on it. The “film” aired in cinemas across the UK, as if it were indeed a trailer for an upcoming movie, using the moviegoers’ suspencion of disbelief to promote the product. As part of the deal with Mercedez-Benz, Michael Mann actually retained the rights to make a real Lucky Star movie in the future. In case you were wondering, Lucky Star is the name of the three-pointed star that makes up the Benz logo. Hey, if they have made movies based on toy lines, why can’t they make one based on a car line?

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Weekly Ad Classics: MICHAEL BAY, CHEVY CAR CRUISER

      Love him or hate him, Michael Bay is an icon of popular culture today (I am not saying this is a good him). He is the father of Bayhem (cinematic explosions occurring at sunset) and the current master of anti-plot; a position once held by directors like Vera Chytilová (her film Daisies is basically the female precursor of Transformers ROTF). Bay began his career in advertising, and with the amount of product placement in his movies one would assume he hasn’t quite left the past behind. In short these two commercials pretty much define his aesthetic taste and the reach of his ego. It seems fitting to show them now with all the talk on Transformers 3 (which I refuse to spend money on). You were probably expecting his Victoria Secret commercial, but it has been a bit over-watched by now. Maybe in a few years when Transformers 4 comes out. 

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Weekly Ad Classics: NEILL BOLMKAMP, HALO 3: LANDFALL

Mr. Blomkamp made his feature debut two summers ago with his fantastically original and pseudo-realistically District 9, which was based on his short film, Alive in Joburg. The film was a brilliant mesh that was very well crafted for sci-fi fans, and political junkies to enjoy. It is no surprise then that the South African director was commissioned to do a live action trailer for the release of Halo 3. The mythical Halo live action movie has been in development hell since the release of the first game. Peter Jackson, who produced District 9, was at some point attached to the project. There really couldn’t be a better pair to tackle down the Halo franchise. However, with Jackson busy working on The Hobbit and Blomkamp directing Elysium any chance of them working on a Halo movie anytime soon is unlikely.  For the meantime enjoy Halo Landfall:



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Weekly Ad Classics: JONATHAN GLAZER, BARCLAYS' IS MONEY EVIL

Is money evil? Samuel L. Jackson is best known for his bad ass attitude, his uncanny ability to intonate the mother F-word phrase like no one else, and his Ezekiel 25:17 quote in Pulp Fiction. Jonathan Glazer, who has directed a few good films, is best known for his Guinness Surfer commercial, which is considered the Citizen Kane of advertising and has been continuously voted the best ad of all time by several critics.

            Glazer is a big figure in the ad world and there is a whole roster of commercials to choose from. They are all good. But only his Barclays campaign has Samuel L. Jackson. Amazingly it captures the best of both artists. 

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Weekly Ad Classics: TONY SCOTT'S NOTHING COMES CLOSE, SAAB

The Scott brothers, who are rarely referred to as such, both got their kick-start into the film world through advertising. In 1968 Ridley Scott established his first production company in Britain, RSA, alongside Alan Parker and employed his younger brother Tony. After making several successful commercials in Britain the pair moved to Hollywood in the hopes of producing and directing films. Ridley Scott made his first feature, The Duelist in 1977, and Alien right afterwards, but it took almost ten years before anyone trusted Tony with a large-scale film. Before Top Gun (1986) Tony had only made a loose B-movie adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, called The Hunger. This was the ad that convinced backers he could do more. And you can tell he was really trying to go for Top Gun. Enjoy:

Weekly Ad Classics: DAVID FINCHER LEAVE NOTHING (NIKE) FATE

Nike is one brand that takes it advertising seriously. It seems that every ad they churn up could make it into a short film hall of fame of sorts. They have the resources not only to get brilliant directors, but also every sports star out there. It is almost a guarantee that their ads will be seen over and over by fans of both the sport and the craft. It is also one of the few brands that titles their ads. Previously we showed Iñarritu’s Write the Future that was made for last year’s world cup. Nike’s Leave Nothing campaign is perhaps a better-known campaign in the States where it came out a few years ago. With filmmakers like Michael Mann and David Fincher taking the helm on some of the ads, at least one of these ads would make it into this list. Here is David Fincher’s Leave Nothing Fate featuring LaDainian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu. Enjoy:

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Weekly Ad Classics: JEAN-PIERRE JEUNET CHANNEL #5 THE FILM

Chanel #5 The Film

            Although not as ambitious an endeavor as BWM Films, Chanel a brand recognized for its theatrical marketing campaigns just as much as for its actual products did give it a go at the whole filmic advertising. After a low sales streak in the 80s Channel recruited Ridley Scott to create an ad that would revitalize the movie glamour and sophistication that the brand had been asosiated with in its early days. The resulting commercials have been inventive mini-films that play with the silhouette and reflection of the Chanel #5 bottle, while adding touches of fantasy and seduction; simply, because this is a perfume ad we are talking about. The Chanel #5 Films have been directed by filmmakers like Ridley Scott, Baz Luherman, and Sophia Coppola; this is the most recent installment by the French filmmaker, Jean-Pierre Jeunet most famous for bringing us Amélie and A Very Long Engagement. Despite the size of the production, it is possibly the least extravagant and easiest to watch of them all in the long version. Enjoy:

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Weekly Ad Classics: Guy Ritche: BMW THE HIRE Episode 4 STAR

            If any advertising campaign ever blurred the lines between film and advertising it has to be BMW’s The Hire. Part ads part short films with significant product placement The Hire was a series of eight episodes each one by a different director, each one featuring Clive Owen as “the Driver”. The plot of each film differs, and in some it is hard to tell if there is a plot, but in short this was basically The Transporter with BMWs instead of Audis and Owen instead of Statham. The series became so popular the BMW released a DVD and a second season consisting of three more episodes and four mini-episodes that were meant to tie the story together. Season 2 provided the series with what is perhaps its most well known episode: Beat The Devil, which was directed by Tony Scott and featured James Brown and Danny Trejo. However personally I enjoy the earlier episodes that had a bit more of comedy to them. Star by Guy Ritchie featuring Madonna is a good example of star power in an ad that really wants to be a short movie. Enjoy:

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Weekly Ad Classics: MY LIFE, MY CARD WES ANDERSON

Pardon our delay of posts. We were experiencing some problems on our server. Regular updates will return.

            American Express did a whole series of commercials by famous filmmakers during their My Card campaign. My favorite of all is Wes Anderson’s, since his style really comes through, and you could argue it is his most ambitious fully centered tracking shot, a technique that has become his personal signature. Like his films, it is a bit whimsical, and certainly quirky. But it lacks the father-son relationship issues. Probably for the better, it would be impossible to make a positive spin on that for a credit card commercial. Enjoy; it is a good little short.

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Weekly Ad Classics: DAVID LYNCH, PLAY STATION 2

While most commercials are relatively straightforward about their subject matter here is an example of one that could be about anything until it actually mentions the brand’s name at the very end. David Lynch, who directed, is best known for his surreal feature movies that border on acid trips. You can certainly see some of these qualities in this ad, particularly a mood taken directly from Eraserhead.  It is quite surprising that any brand would want t use such an ad for their campaign’s. It is cool but it is hard to see how it sells the product. Perhaps Sony thought that no matter what the PS2 was going to sell. Anyway enjoy:

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Weekly Ad Classics: SCORSESE BLUE DE CHANEL

For the third installment of our weekly commercials we have one of Martin Scorsese’s most recent ads, Bleu de Chanel. While not as memorable as the ads previously shown, it does demonstrate the versatility of Scorsese as a master filmmaker. Not that we needed an ad to tell us so, his movies speak for more, but Scorsese was one of the first star filmmakers that gave it a go in directing ads. While directors like Michel Gondry and Gonzales Iñarritu began their careers in advertising and then moved onto film, Scorsese worked the other way around. His Armani commercials are classics, while his American Express ad is a masterpiece in simplicity. As far as doing an ad for a fragrance, well, like the names of such fragrances it doesn’t really have to make sense. So the filmmaker is free to do what he pleases within the theme of Bleu (whatever that means). Enjoy:

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Weekly Ad Classics: INARRITU WRITE THE FUTURE (NIKE)

            Last week, we started off this weekly commercial with Michel Gondry’s Smirnoff. This week it is a little more recent one: last year’s Nike commercial, directed by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu for the FIFA World Cup, titled Write The Future. Although longer than a regular commercial it is an impressive example of how much information and story can be built in so little time. Like most of his films (with the exception of Biutiful), Write The Future, follows multiple characters, though storylines, across multiple countries. This is, in my opinion, Inarritu’s best work. Enjoy:

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Ad Classic: LANCE ACORD, THE FORCE, VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

            Sometimes you do not need much to have a profound effect on people, and a great piece of fiction can come from some very unexpected origins. We started this “ad classics” as a manner of celebrating the work of great filmmakers working outside film itself, as well as a matter of proving that a great story, and characters, can be told in 30 seconds. I quote us when I say; “a commercial is a movie told in thirty seconds (sometimes up to two minutes); nowadays it feels some movies are commercials told in ninety minutes (sometimes even longer)”.

            Directed by Lance Acord, whose cinematography credits include Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, and Where the Wild Things Are, Volkswagen’s The Force became an unexpected hit when it had 13 million views before it even aired! That is the power of a good campaign. Afterwards it has become the most watched commercial ever! So my guess is that you have probably already watched it. If not here it is: