"take the cannoli"

I haven't touched on advertising in quite awhile. 

And for that I apologize. It's difficult for a MOSL (Man of Semi Leisure) to focus these days. What with so much going on: The Fall of American Democracy, my extended bout with Covid, my rigorous exercise routine, my monk-like diet of salmon, salmon and more salmon and my new perpetatic lifestyle that takes me to Sierra Madre (home of Ms. Muse), Palm Springs (site of the MDDCH) and to Culver City (where Lucy can sleep all day and not whine about "another car trip.")

But today we get back to advertising and a very simple and arresting campaign executed on outdoor boards. My favorite medium, where I've enjoyed a certain amount of success. Not enough to merit a panel seat on any award shows or a 7 night stay in Aruba for the laborious judging, schmoozing and swag bag grabbing, however.

This campaign comes from Disney+, the modern day cousin to ABC. And they have returned to a reductionist approach that tickles my vocational fancy -- words. 

Written in the screenwriter vernacular font of Courier.

Maybe you've seen them around town...

There are others but I'm currently sorting out a mess with my lawyers and CPA so I didn't take the trouble of finding them all. Nor is there a need to.

They're all iconic scripted lines from movies we all love. And continue to love. And therein lies the beauty. Aesthetically, they're all very simple and stand out like an unsore thumb among the cacaphony of outdoor boards that tend to shout and scream and beg for your attention. As I told my friend and still working Creative Director Jeff Gelberg, when everyone is being loud, it's best to whisper.

Message wise, the campaign is even better. It says that Disney+ plus has a library. A vast library. One that could challenge the warehouse scene at the end of the first (and best) Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

Granted I'm new to this streaming phenomena and still don't care for the interface and the once intuitive way of channel surfing, but if I were looking to get on another streaming service, I'd certainly be looking at the one with the first name in moviemaking. And the reels and reels of great movies available for only an additional $4.99.

Of course the marketing brainiacs at Disney+ couldn't leave well enough alone. 

On a recent drive down Venice Blvd. I saw another board that read, "I am your Father." We all know that's from Star Wars. But some schmuck, who'd probably been to a focus group or 293 focus groups, convinced his or her boss, who went higher up the chain to convince another boss, to desecrate the simplicity of the outdoor board and run a pink light saber through the I.

I'm not even going to show you. Because I'm that disgusted. 

Also, I didn't take a picture, because Lucy had to make a doody and I had to rush home.