Just Eat- Decent
In this commercial, Just Eat Spain makes a rather unusual request of its customers, yet one that is very understandable.
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Kia Sorento- One of Us
The idea, it seems, was to promote the connectivity features of the car. The result is one of the most bizarre car commercials in recent memory.
ČSOB Bank- Marathon Dogs
A brilliant concept and a dazzling campaign video.
From the campaign description:
It’s easier to train for a marathon with a sparring partner. But what if you don’t have one? ČSOB Bank, an official partner of Bratislava Marathon, has teamed up with the largest dog shelter in the country and introduced The Marathon Dogs. Unique training solution for runners who don’t have a sparring partner.
Rescuing the Rescuer
St Bernards have the reputation of being great mountain rescuers. They were originally bred to rescue people in the Swiss Alps. Over the last weekend, there was a bit of a role reversal when a 4 year old St Bernard had to be rescued while descending Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain.
As interesting as this was, it was the in-depth coverage in some of the media that particularly caught my attention. Consider this extract from an amazingly detailed report in the The Telegraph:
Daisy the St Bernard had tackled England’s highest peak when she collapsed during the descent, and showed signs of suffering pain in her rear legs.
Taking advice from local vets, the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team responded to a Cumbria Police call-out to retrieve Daisy before nightfall and bad weather descended on Scafell Pike.
The 16-strong team found their usual method of rescuing people was well-suited to the towering 121lb dog, and strapped the placid St Bernard on to a stretcher during the five-hour call-out.
Wasdale rescuers said the dog's cooperation was "essential" in the descent, and because Daisy was "so well behaved", the extraction went smoothly. The team said that there is no harm to the dog but it may be "slightly embarrassed" at having undermined the idea of St Bernards being masterful mountaineers.
When specialists arrived to bring it down from the mountain it was given painkillers and hoisted on to a "dog-friendly stretcher", quickly settling in for the journey after being coaxed with treats.
Daisy lay with its chin on the headrest of the stretcher for the trip down, with five or six people at a time needed to move the canine to safety. The rescue from the increasingly foggy peak was finally completed at 10pm, with the dog settling in for a night of rest and recuperation.
A spokesman for the Wasdale team said: "The adorable Daisy, who unfortunately had a hard start in life until she was rescued by her current owners a few months ago, has since been reported to have had a good night's sleep, snoring a little louder than normal, but back to her usual high spirits this morning."
Cool Hair
This is a classy looking, 9 minute thriller that features a young couple who, in the director’s words, are intended to be “the modern day embodiment of the classic USA violent streak”. It holds the promise for a lot more but, going by IMDb, the director (who also wrote and edited it) hasn’t built on it, or made anything else in the 3 years since it was made.
Heineken – Back to the Bars
The latest commercial from Heineken makes a strong argument that masks and social distancing needn’t spoil the fun of a night out.
Rent-A-Hitman
There is something to be said about whoever had the idea to put up this website.
I especially like the numerous tongue-in-cheek little touches such as the compliance statement, the references to “the Family”, the adherence to COVID-19 protocols, the status update of their Wuhan office, and this footnote:
Due to contractual restrictions, Rent-A-Hitman is no longer affiliated with the CIA, SIS, Diners Club, Jeffrey Epstien or the Illuminati.
But that’s not the real story here. The website was recently in the news:
Wendy Wein, 51, was charged with solicitation to commit murder and illegal use of a computer to facilitate a crime after recently contacting a false service claiming to offer hitmen to “solve problems,” according to the Michigan State Police of the Monroe post.
On July 17, Wein reportedly contacted the website, www.rentahitman.com, which is not legitimate. After targeting her ex-husband as the root of her problems in a service request, the owner of the website contacted police because he was concerned that Wein may be attempting to kill the man.
“She completed a ‘service request form’ on the website and requested a consultation to help her with an ‘issue,’” said Detective Sgt. Michael Peterson. “Wein specified her ex-husband as the target of her problems.”
“An undercover state trooper posing as a hitman met with Wein in a parking lot in South Rockwood,” Peterson said in reports. “She offered to pay him $5,000 to murder her ex-husband, who lives in another state, and provided him with an up-front payment for travel expenses.”
She was arrested shortly after the incident, according to reports.
Since he started the website in 2005, the owner of www.rentahitman.com told police he has been contacted numerous times by people requesting murders, school shootings and even a baby abduction, police said.
“He claims the website has been responsible for preventing over 130 murders because he refers all requests for hitmen over to law enforcement,” Peterson said.
UK is considering a spy register
According to Bloomberg:
The U.K. could require foreign states to name their spies operating in the country on a government register, under a crackdown being considered by ministers.
Some of the responses on Twitter:
In other news, shoplifters are to let security guards know of their arrival, and give them all their contact information
- Hello, I arrived in UK for espionage, in my bag you will find a military-grade Novichok nerve agent to assassinate my targets.
- Welcome sir, please fill this form and stand in the non-Schengen queue.
I had to check to see if this was The Onion. What's next? Are they going to require burglars to book an appointment?
LifeStyles- Publicly Traded
There’s a new “stock-market inspired” campaign in Australia. Called ‘Publicly Traded’, instead of stocks, it tracks searches on sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It’s been put together by the sexual wellness brand, LifeStyles, and is being used to dynamically price its condoms online. In keeping with that, the campaign website has the look and feel of an online stock trading platform, complete with a ticker tape, an index, and data visualisations that resemble stock market charts. You can even set price alerts.
So what sparked the idea for this campaign?
According to this report:
The initiative is aimed at males 18-34 who have shown interest in DIY investing and are also likely to purchase condoms. It’s built around the creative insight that there are links between sex and the stock market: Like stocks, STIs are “publicly traded,” and people can opt to either play it safe or risk it all.
Country Time- Littlest Bailout
Kraft Heinz lemonade brand Country Time has launched a campaign to “bail out” American kids who have had to close their lemonade stands due to the current pandemic. The company will be giving away 1000 prepaid gift cards worth $100 each.
From the campaign website:
We know this will be a rough summer for lemonade stands. And if the big guys are getting bailed out, why shouldn't we help the littlest entrepreneurs get the same treatment?
That's why Country Time has created The Littlest Bailout. An economic relief program to help the smallest of small businesses: lemonade stands.
Stimulus checks to help kids preserve the values of lemonade stands, honest work, and entrepreneurship, while putting a little juice back into the economy.
Applications can be made on the campaign website by submitting a short essay on how the “stimulus” will be used along with a photo of the lemonade stand.
Here’s a link to the campaign video.
A Man Called Ove (2015)
This is a movie that is out to push your emotional buttons hard. It’s a crowd-pleaser that is funny, tragic, and heartwarming. If you look closely, though, it has its heart in the right place.
It has the makings of a familiar story: a grumpy, old man whose life is turned upside down by new neighbours. You think you know where this will go: that we will get to see that he has a heart of gold. Sure, there is a lot that you will get right about this movie. Yet there’s equally a lot that will likely catch you by surprise, and which makes it absolutely worth checking out.
In fact, for that reason, it’s best not to read any reviews. In my opinion, most of them give away plot points that are best discovered by the viewer. For that same reason, I advise not watching the US trailer. The UK trailer, on the other hand, is just perfect.
Promote Iceland- Let It Out!
This new campaign from Promote Iceland invites you to let out your lockdown frustrations into the Icelandic wilderness, remotely. On the campaign website, you can record your screaming, shouting, or yelling, and it’ll be released in the open, at a location of your choice.
This is how they explain it:
You’ve been through a lot this year and it looks like you need the perfect place to let your frustrations out. Somewhere big, vast and untouched. It looks like you need Iceland. Record your scream and we’ll release it in Iceland’s beautiful, wide-open spaces. And when you’re ready, come let it out for real. You’ll feel better, we promise.
There is also advice on “how to let it out”:
1. Consider what your ‘scream’ will be. Some people will use volume, some will use words, some may even use breath.
2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a slight bend in your knees. Relax your shoulders. You may find it useful to put your hands on your hips or use your arms to help push out some of the pent-up emotion. Follow your instincts.
3. Imagine a baby when it cries and screams. The noise comes from the baby’s gut. This is where your scream should come from. If it helps, put your hands on your belly and take a few deep breaths before you begin.
There is a disclaimer, though:
This is a starting point. If you need mental health support it is imperative that you seek out professional help.
Pornhub- Big Package
Pornhub is offering free ads on its website. It’s billed as an initiative to help small businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic. It will be limited to 100 advertisers who will be selected by Pornhub. Any business with less than 100 employees, from anywhere across the world, is eligible to apply. For small businesses, the attraction is, as Pornhub puts it, “what better place to connect with new customers than a website that receives over 120 million very happy visitors a day?”
One needs to bear in mind, though, that the ad will be created by Pornhub and is likely to have the kind of wordplay that Pornhub puts out in its own ads. In their words, “…if you’re selected, we’ll create a customized ad for your business… inspired by ours.”
Here’s a link to the promotional video which is as saucy as any of their ads.
PinkCherry- Say More Yes
According to the CEO of PinkCherry, “We could all use a little more yes in our lives right now.” In line with that, their latest commercial offers a list of things to say ‘yes’ to, along with an especially amusing list of things to say ‘no’ to. Nonetheless, there is one item in the ‘yes’ list that baffled me the most (and I’m not referring to the handcuffs). I’d like to believe its inclusion was inadvertent.
ffolkes (1980)
In case you’re wondering, that’s the name of the lead character in this movie, and we are told that he prefers to write it in lower case. He’s played by Roger Moore, in-between his Bond outings, but looking nothing like James Bond. He sports a frizzy goatee and has a questionable taste in clothes. What’s more, he is moody, eccentric, loves cats, despises women, and has a liking for scotch- neat, and anytime after breakfast. He also happens to be a former naval commando who is called upon to lead an operation against a group of hijackers, who are threatening to blow up an oil rig.
The movie is a nicely paced, run-of-the-mill thriller that ends up being very entertaining, thanks to Roger Moore and his bantering. This is one of his finest performances. James Mason, as a crusty admiral, provides an excellent foil for Moore’s character. The movie also stars Anthony Perkins.
Here is a link to a scene from the movie.
In researching about the movie, I came to know that critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel listed this as one of the worst movies that they had seen that year. From their comments, it is clear that they got some of their facts wrong about the movie. In addition, it seems to me that they were prejudiced against the movie.
I also came to know that the movie was released under quite a few different titles. Apart from the title above, in the English speaking world itself, it was also released as ‘North Sea Hijack’ and ‘Assault Force’. My understanding is that there was no consensus among the people behind the marketing campaign on how to pitch the movie.
The Wilby Conspiracy (1975)
If this movie had been set in any other time and place, it would be indisputably regarded as a fun adventure road movie. As it happens, the movie is set in apartheid South Africa, and takes an unmistakably anti-apartheid stance. Moreover, the setting is what drives the plot. Depending on how you feel about that, can complicate your viewing experience. Scenes that would otherwise play out for laughs, may strike you as being in poor taste. Verbal exchanges that would be considered witty, might lose some of their impact. However, if you can separate the message from the entertainment value of the movie, there is a lot to enjoy, and there is a lot to think about. Be warned: there are quite a few racial slurs thrown around that some viewers will find inappropriate/ offensive.
The movie stars Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine as a mismatched duo on the run from the police. They can’t stand each other, yet they need each other. There’s nothing exceptional about their performances but they play off each other quite well. The real scene-stealer, though, is Nicol Williamson as the brutal, intelligent police officer on their chase. Also in the supporting cast is Saeed Jaffrey as a “politically committed dentist”. Rutger Hauer has a bit role that is his first appearance in a major English language movie.
Here’s a link to the trailer: I’d advise caution in relying upon how it pitches the movie.
The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975)
The movie’s tagline sums up the premise pretty well:
Suppose you knew who you had been in your previous life. Where you had lived...whom you had loved and how you had died. What then?
In this instance, the protagonist, a professor who becomes aware of aspects of his immediately previous life, decides to find out what happened.
The movie is based on a best-selling novel of the same name. But unlike the novel which found a balance between thought provoking concepts and the elements of mystery and intrigue, the movie tilts towards the latter. Nonetheless, it retains plot points with unmissable psychosexual connotations that some may find creepy or unsettling.
It’s a well shot movie with a haunting score. But it is slow paced, particularly in the second half. The real draw, though, is the plot. That is, if you find it intriguing enough.
Here’s a link to the trailer.
FirstVet- Smelly Ads
The online vet service takes a distinctly offline approach to attract dog owners.
Local Hero (1983)
Charming, sweet, magical, whimsy - it’s all that and more. It is an ode to the tranquility of idyllic existence. It is one of the most feel-good movies I have seen.
The story follows a Houston-based oil executive who lands up in a Scottish seaside village to negotiate a land deal. What follows are a few twists and turns, some predictable, some not, some subtle, some not so much. What stays with you are the memorable, quirky characters, the breathtaking scenery, and Mark Knopfler’s mesmerizing score. For those who dig deeper, and pause to think, there is also a lot to mull over.
Here’s a link to a clip from the movie.
RIP Ennio Morricone
Each of us has our favourites among his film scores. At the top of my list are Cinema Paradiso and Once Upon A Time In America.
Some links worth checking out:
A 6 minute video on the maestro, put together by Channel 4 and which, despite its short length, packs in a lot.
A 1995 documentary on him from the BBC.
A 2012 presentation by Sir Christopher Frayling on the partnership between Morricone and Sergio Leone.
France bans bicycle ad for creating 'climate of fear' about cars
From The Guardian:
A TV commercial for a Dutch-made bicycle has been banned by France’s advertising watchdog for creating a “climate of fear” about cars.
Despite being aired on Dutch and German television, the Autorité de régulation professionnelle de la publicité (ARPP) said the ad for the VanMoof bike unfairly discredited the automobile industry.
The piece quotes a spokesperson for ARPP:
We cannot afford to put entire sectors in a bad light. That is an important precondition for fair competition.
Here’s a link to the commercial.
Getty Images- Goodbye to the Handshake
More than anything else, it was the responsibility message at the end of this ad that made me sit up and wonder.
Living the ‘new normal’
This PSA video from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, targeted at youngsters, takes a fun approach to put across its message on life, after the lockdown ends.