Success is on

At some point in my advertising career, I simply gave up. 

I traded in my ambition for the dream of financial security. The only portfolio I was interested in was the one I had squirreled away at Charles Schwab. I had neither the stomach nor the inclination to smile and explain to clients that bland, stupid, contrived advertising (the kind they wanted) was the riskiest.

That has not changed. But the ad landscape has.

The bite and smile spot has shape shifted into the pedantic and exceedingly clear email newsletter. The ear-worming jingle has been replaced by the omnipresent and exceedingly ignorable banner ad. And, as my friend George Tannenbaum often points out, when brands do decide to go on TV, there's too much fucking dancing!

A prime example of my vocational apathy took place about a dozen years ago, when I accepted a job as an interim Creative Director at DirecTV in El Segundo. For about half a year I spit out hundreds of crappy little flyer ads and digital knick knacks with gems like, "Spring in to Savings" and "Great tv is in full bloom."

Am I embarrassed? No more than the bursar's office at University at Washington and University of Colorado should be for sticking me with outrageous tuition bills.

Shit shoveling notwithstanding, you can imagine my delight when I came across the latest effort from DirecTV.  And my alma mater, Chiat/Day Los Angeles. 

If you haven't seen the new campaign featuring the Logan Roy facsimile as their Overly Direct (good branding) spokesperson, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxFjawFMdJ8

For starters, you've got to admire the casting. I'll watch anything starring Brian Cox, who was born just 94 miles away from my mother's birthplace.

He brings a certain gravitas to the screen that few actors can. In the same breath he also brings some seriously sly comedic chops. If you haven't seen him in Super Troopers, you should.

In this vignette driven spot, Brian shits on people who are still stuck with bad cable service, which could be the world's most redundant phrase. I'll never understand why clients shy away from showing the consumer pain points. That's the low hanging, but incredibly harvestable fruit. Moreover that's where the tension, and hence, the funny lies.

"Does it have to be so negative?" said the reluctant client.

"Yes. Yes, it does," replied the professional ad agency creative. 

I seem to have drifted off into a version of my past self. My apologies. 

In short, the new work from Chiat/Day is deliciously dark. It's good to see them returning to funny. I can only imagine the laughter on the set as they filmed the spot. I don't have to imagine, I know from experience. I also know that while the punchline in the final scene ("Fascinating") is pitch perfect, the crew would have been remiss if they had not recorded some alternate juicier takes. 

It's a shame we'll never see:

Brian Cox: Now, get outta here, the game's on.

MOM: But...we live here.

Brian Cox: Oh, Fuck Off!