In this politically correct era–or error, which might be a more apt description–some Super Bowl work didn’t make the cut. Snickers’ “Mechanics,” in which two men meet in the middle of a Snickers bar and end up kissing, got pulled after objections from GLADD and others who felt that the ad was homophobic.
Meanwhile the GM commercial in which a robot becomes despondent after being fired from a factory assembly line will be revised. In the original spot, the robot commits suicide by jumping off a bridge–only for viewers to find out that it was all a bad dream. But a suicide prevention organization criticized the ad, prompting GM to announce it would make changes to the commercial before it airs again.
Personally I didn’t take offense to either commercial–at least not in the same way that those reacting in protest did. I thought “Mechanics” was in the upper echelon of what was by most accounts a rather lackluster crop of Super Bowl ads this year.
But I was stunned to see the GM spot. Given the massive layoffs at the company and its well chronicled financial problems, the notion of showing a worker–albeit a robot–getting pink-slipped would seem among the last storylines that GM should embrace.
Mike Wolfsohn, one of several creative directors SHOOT canvassed for feedback on the Super Bowl commercials, concurred.
Wolfsohn, who is VP/creative director at Ignited Minds, Marina del Rey, Calif., observed, “It just blew my mind that anything having to do with employment at GM, particularly in a negative connotation, could get through so many approval processes and make it on air….That was the biggest debacle I saw through the whole game.”
So from a marketing perspective, that spot was off base. And so to an extent was the consumer-generated content experiment.
Wolfsohn related, “It’s kind of like one of my philosophies in running a creative department–in a lot of different shops, they put three, four or five teams on an assignment. That guarantees that one team will be happy and the others will be disappointed at the outcome.
“Similarly while the intention of consumer-generated content was to get tens of thousands of consumers interacting with the brand leading up to the Super Bowl, all those people who contributed to ideas for Doritos or Chevrolet or the NFL were probably disappointed with what was ultimately chosen. And now those people are probably less likely to be consumers of the brand than if they never participated in a commercial contest.”
Still there was inspiration to be found on Super Sunday.
“What’s funny,” observed Wolfsohn, “is some of the best ‘Super Bowl’ advertising I saw was actually on another channel, Animal Planet, which does The Puppy Bowl, three hours of puppies playing on a small football field, with a kitty halftime show. Between quarters, a Bissell vacuum comes in and cleans up, taking care of the furry mess. It integrates the vacuum product category beautifully with the game. It’s a really smart, solid marketing idea.”
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More