Promo for Local Improv Group
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009Here’s a promo I put together for Unexpected Company, a local Improv Comedy group, here in Warwick, RI.
Archive for the 'MAdvertising' Category
Have you ever been unsure how to feel about something?
Thursday, April 9th, 2009Burger King apparently has an ad out now (I don’t watch TV, remember?) involving the “Burger King” character (the guy in the ermine-trimmed robe and the fiberglass head) paying homage to SpongeBob SquarePants, and Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby’s Got Back”.
Viz:
….and that’s just the :30. There’s an extend two-and-a-half-minute extra vaganza… see:
Now, many people, much wiser than I have been known to say something to the effect that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. It’s things like this that make me wonder… then again… the average American has the short term memory of an ounce-a-day pot smoker… so… maybe once the ads vanish, no one will care.
There are shots which imply the king “getting busy” with one of the female dancers from behind.
“SpongeBob, I wanna get wit-cha / ‘cuz you’re makin’ me rich-a”? … oddly reminiscent of FlyGuy’s Pimp of The Year poem. Then, of course, there’s the possibility that “get wit-cha” means something more… intimate….?
There is a substantial amount of focus on “booties”. At the end of the :30, SMaL even says “booty is booty.” What the hell is THAT supposed to mean.
There are some shots in the videos which are clever, or well-staged, or stupid… funny. The premise is positively ridiculous. It has funny… but … I dunno… there’s … OK… George Carlin used to say that everything is funny, it’s all in how you construct the joke…. and generally, I believe him… but there’s an aspect to the BK ads that’s like… a convicted serial child-rapist telling jokes about child-rape to an audience of his victims and their loved ones. Not that the BK ads are in bad taste to that extreme… but it seems to me to be that … flavor… of bad taste, but a little more subtle.
I’m not saying the ads should be pulled or banned or that BK or the agency should be run out of town on a rail. Then again, I’m not sure SpongeBob’s target audience should spend a lot of time watching it either. This clip is kinda like Tom Cruise’s dance at the end of Tropic Thunder, which, from what I understand, was improvised… it kinda makes you wonder… where the hell did that come from?!
Oh… here’s a couple articles from ad people about this:
…and in case you missed some of the lyrics:
You other sponges don’t want none unless you rock square buns