Of Watermelons, Porcupines and Poop
It says something about the vivid imagination of the people behind this commercial that they could draw comparisons between all of the above, and more.
Posts
Shrek at 20
An extract from an opinion piece in The Guardian by someone who thinks it was “a terrible movie”.
Shrek has an outhouse with a working toilet.
It is not part of the film’s cynical brand of “irreverence” that an ogre’s latrine is supported by modern plumbing. And it’s certainly not consistent with the hygiene of a swamp-dwelling beast who bathes in mud, brushes his teeth in slime and boasts of a killer weed rat stew. But after our lime-green hero literally wipes his ass with a fairytale ending, it was apparently decided that the film needed that emphatic flushing sound before the Smash Mouth single All Star kicked in and the introductory montage could commence.
Wasteminster
An outstanding new spot for Greenpeace visualises a single day’s accumulation of the UK’s plastic waste being dumped on Downing Street. According to this report:
Using a mix of real-time data, bespoke VFX data simulation and high-end CGI modelling they created the hero imagery and accurate physics of 1.8 million kilograms of individual plastic items falling on Boris Johnson and an exact digital replica of Downing Street using library photographs and satellite imagery, showcasing incredible detail - right down to the interior light fittings.
Refill Your Brain
Last week, images and reports surfaced online, of a strange and baffling print campaign from Thailand for Ovaltine. In the words of one reviewer:
They appear to show some kind of horror-movie scenario, perhaps one in the same vein as the infamously disgusting film Human Centipede. Certainly not the wholesome kind of thing one usually associates with Ovaltine.
If that wasn’t strange enough, one-by-one, the images were pulled down from most websites that they appeared on. While I have no idea what prompted that, here are links where you can still check out those images:
Bear Sidekick
From The Guardian:
For those who have not been following this story, here’s an extract from an earlier report:
The campaign had hyped the moment by promising the 1,000lb creature as a “special guest”. As part of his Meet the Beast Bus Tour, Cox appeared at a podium in front of a vehicle emblazoned with his face next to that of a ferocious-looking bear. In reality, however, the animal appeared fairly uninterested in politics, lumbering around a few feet behind Cox before flopping on to the ground, panting heavily. It did not offer an endorsement, unless not eating the candidate counts as support.
Japan Image Upload Laws
If someone were to post an unauthorised image of a person on a porn site, what are the charges that could be brought against that person? Last week, Tokyo police arrested a porn site operator who had posted images of female athletes on his website and apparently all that they charged him with, was copyright infringement. Extracts from a report that provides a possible explanation:
It is difficult to take legal action since there is no law against nonconsensual filming or photo-taking in Japan, and such acts, including taking images of people in nude or sexual situations, are only punishable under nuisance-prevention ordinances set by prefectural governments.
Missing Person Reporters
From Thailand: a new campaign uses Deepfake technology in what may be one of its most positive applications so far.
A Washing Machine for the Whole Family
From Brazil: what looks like an ad for a too-good-to-be-true product morphs into a campaign with a message.
Revived
This is a superbly crafted, emotion-packed 5-minute short, that is all the more amazing as it is a student film. The icing on the cake is an audacious twist at the end, as it reveals itself to be a spec ad.
Methane in a Jar
Yet another commercial about someone who takes eco-sensitivity to a bizarre extreme. Yet another commercial from the Philippines with a freaky premise.
One Hell of a Ride
From Egypt: a masterfully-visualised PSA that makes its point with brutal efficiency.
It Can Wait
What’s the best thing since sliced bread? How about toasted sliced bread? At least that’s what it would seem from this humorous new ad for British bread maker, Warburtons.
Loving Homes For Plastic
An audacious new campaign from canned water brand, Liquid Death, proposes ‘recycling’ in a whole new way.
The Truth About George Clooney
George Clooney is a big Brad Pitt fan and a terrible roommate- that’s what this wacky ad would like you to believe.
Asking China to “get the f-out”
On Monday, soon after the Philippines officially protested China’s intrusion in its territorial waters, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Teddy Locsin Jr., took to Twitter with a more direct, and unusual message for China:
China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O…GET THE F*** OUT. What are you doing to our friendship? You. Not us. We’re trying. You. You’re like an ugly oaf forcing your attentions on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend; not to father a Chinese province.
Parking Obsession
For the last six years I’ve kept a spreadsheet listing every parking spot I’ve used at the local supermarket in a bid to park in them all. This week I completed my Magnum Opus!
Thus begins a tweet thread that went viral this week, and caught a lot of media attention.
Here’s an extract from the coverage by The New York Times:
Michelangelo spent four years painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Tolstoy devoted six to “War and Peace,” and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan took more than twice that to erect the Taj Mahal.
But did any of them park in every single spot of their local grocery store?
Maybe they would have, given the chance and the existence of a Publix or Tesco. Instead the feat was achieved by Gareth Wild, a 39-year-old production director who assiduously took up space, in one spot after another at the local Sainsbury’s of his London suburb, until he had used 211 parking spots over six years.