Night Of the AdEaters viral Video

[Paramvir]

Luba Tolkachyov, VP, Advertising, FindrInteractive.com writes in with thsi piece:

NIGHT OF THE ADEATERS VIRAL VIDEO

Wanted to share our recent work with you which promotes Night of the AdEaters NYC. As I am sure you know, AdEaters is an international phenomenon, this all night screening of the world's best commercials takes place in over 150 cities annually, from Beijing to Madagascar, but this is the first time its making it way to the U.S.

The viral addresses America's lag in creative advertising and is framed as a thriller movie trailer with multiple icons bloodied, choked or flame broiled (you’ll get the pun). It’s meant to be a commentary on the American advertising’s monotonous nature to continue delivering the same, repetitious catchphrases by the same brand icons. Haven’t Americans evolved to understand a little more complex messaging?

The viral is advertising Night of the Adeaters, a cinematic screening of the world’s most influential and dynamic commercials, and an opportunity for ad men and women to learn and be inspired by the diverse approach employed across cultures from over 60 countries. The event occurs on Advertising Week’s final evening of September 25, 2009 at Terminal 5. Tickets are available at http://www.adeatersnyc.com.

[youtube]Q5N0ge9pYdY[/youtube]

Further Insight

For decades, television advertising has given us fictional icons that make us smile, laugh, and feel warm and fuzzy inside (thanks Snuggles). Advertisers pour millions of dollars to buy time in front of audiences to impress the same imagery and sound bites over and over into our minds so that we will forever associate a pudgy, white, chef-hat-wearing dough boy with those oven-baked buttery warm biscuits. It’s been a perfect formula for nostalgic branding for so long.

But haven’t we evolved? Can we not comprehend an icon or advertisement that is a little more dynamic, speaks more than one catch phrase and has an actual personality? Findr Interactive poses this question in its new TV Spot for Night of the Adeaters, a screening of the world’s most influential commercials from around the world directed by Jean Marie Boursicot and presented as the final event of Advertising Week, September 25, 2009.


The spot is set up unlike a typical television commercial for which it is advertising and instead framed in the form of a movie trailer. A series of exaggerated death scenes are shown in a slow, overdramatic manner accompanied by a creepy, music box melody soundtrack and even creepier voiceover. A flaming pink bunny drowned in a bathtub, a man hung by telephone cord, a gecko run over by a tire. The grotesquely odd sequence of character deaths would be a perfect fit for the nth installment of the thriller Saw – but upon closer look – these associations for each character is realized. And throughout, a voiceover triumphantly speaks in prose-like fashion, spouting such phrases as “The shapers of society”, “Poetry of Capitalism” – referring to the ultimate potential advertising icons are created for.

The final icon to be killed off by the unknown murderer is the buildup - red wig on the floor, yellow trousers, red and white striped socks and a man with his hands tied separately to the ceiling with clown makeup smeared across his face . The unveiling of the man behind the voiceover is obviously payoff at this point. With the phrase, “So I’m going to have it my way” and a man walking in signature white tights and black Mary Jane shoes provides the target audience (ad lovers) the identity of the 'killer'.

The sequence of deaths culminates with greater meaning – the killer is regarded as one of most controversial and polarizing icons in Advertising. If there were to be a serial killer ad icon, wouldn’t it be the creepiest and most socially awkward? But the statement he makes regarding the icons he has chosen is worth pause: “familiarity breeds apathy” (the famous Bill Bernbach’s original line was ‘In communication, familiarity breeds apathy’, and perhaps has been repeated by Alex Bogusky – Burger King’s Creative Director at CP+B who also has Bill’s old client, Volkswagen).


The point of the trailer is clear: if we aren’t talking about how fantastically great an ad was; we’re probably talking about which ad we’d like to never see again. Would we, as consumers, pay more attention to advertising if we came out with something new and perhaps a little smarter? Or will advertisers continue to pour more money into the same little message until we become drones buying cell phones because we know we can be heard from virtually anywhere?

To Findr Interactive’s point, maybe we skip an advertising awards ceremony this year, forgo patting ourselves on the back, inflating our egos that pump out more of the same and instead attend an event meant to inspire creatives with ads from cultures around the world that have broken the barrier of sameness.


Agency: Findr Interactive
Copywriter: Alex Denholm
Creative Director: Alex Denholm

Art Director: Artur Melentin
Account Director: Luba Tolkachyov
Production Company: Persona Films
Director: Abigail Honor
Producer: Chris Cooper
Director of Photography: Yan Vizinberg
Post-Production and Editorial Company: Twitch

[Paromita]

ugh! FLASH!

went to see the site. just saw a flash loading graphic that takes like forever! ugh! will see it some other day!