Don’t miss Gruen 9pm Wednesday on ABC1
July 6 2010, 12:06 pm | | 19 Comments
On THE GRUEN TRANSFER this Wednesday 9pm on ABC1, Wil Anderson is joined by Todd Sampson, Russel Howcroft, Dan Gregory and Dee Madigan.
On How Do You Sell? Deodorant advertising including this online hit and Cannes Film Lions Grand Prix award-winning Old Spice spot
On the Pitch – Euro RSCG and Lunch Partners go head to head and try to convince the public that an oil spill is a good thing….
19 Comments
Don’t you think it’s amusing that a programme that’s supposed to celebrate the discourse and creativity that advertising can create decides to constantly get agencies to ‘sell’ evil, unpleasant shit.
In this case, the BP oil disaster.
It just makes us look like utter cunts. Again.
Oh. Hang on.
2:11, that’s the whole point. Denton prays on the fact that advertising is full of cunts. He knows advertising people would destroy their grandmother for a buck and a few awards. He uses that to get free content and a successful show. All the power to him.
It’s not amusing, it’s a desperately sad reflection on an industry that, judging by this show, appears to have lost even the slightest notion of professional integrity. What kind of agency lowers itself to such a disgraceful level by appearing on national television to make “light entertainment” of an appalling disaster? Euro and Lunch hang your heads in shame, and anyone who watches it.
The ‘Pitch’ seems to have become just a forum for small agencies gagging for a bit of publicity.
@2:44
I don’t think Denton ‘prays’ on anything – ‘preys’, definitely – but not ‘prays’, that requires faith in something. As for you: YOU require a dictionary and some better role models.
Get over it, Appalled. It’s so clearly black humoured entertainment, that contrary to your rant, is actually taking a bloody big swipe at the perpetrators of stuff like the BP oil spill. (Ever watched, and laughed, at Southpark?).
Of course, if you can find time to jump off your idealistic pedestal why don’t you go after agencies that still work for big tobacco, or the monopolistic pharma companies, or the booze brands, or fast food chains that are making us fat and sick, or sub-prime credit lenders, or clothing manufacturers that still run sweat shops, or confectionery companies that destroy forests, or the cleaning products filled with all kinds of of nasty chemicals… hey, hang on … then the industry wouldn’t exist at all.
Well said 4:17.
Although… you’ve never worked in advertising.
Not to discount what you’ve said just… very insightful.
Nice reality check 4:17.
Any Gruen-haters inclined to blog still feel puffed up with moral indignation?
Denton makes ‘light entertainment’ (and ultimately ratings) out of misery, stereotypes and pop culture clichés. The advertising industry makes commerce out of the very same things. The difference, however, is that we creators of advertising don’t take the high moral ground about what it is WE’RE doing.
Gruen sets itself up as a kind of ‘quirky commentator’ on advertising when really it’s pushing a brand just like the rest of us. Its brand is Zapruder’s Other Films. And now, he’s quite content to use our work as content (at no expense to himself) to further HIS own brand and agenda.
In nature, the cuckoo will often commandeer the nest of another species of bird and lay its eggs there; forcing the other bird to go to the effort of raising ITS young alongside its own. However, the baby cuckoo usually grows more quickly than its non-cuckoo nest-mates and pushes THEM out to die.
We choose to fly right over this particular cuckoo’s nest.
C’mon all of youse guys. Advertising is a useless intrusion in to peoples’ lives which really serves no useful purpose other than to pay mortgages, buy candy and booze and lease penis extending cars for sad fucks who were too lazy, stupid or lucky not to have to get proper jobs.It is doubtful that much, if any, of it actually works.
Put away your puffed upself importance, your modest penises and your opinions; they are a waste of space and time.If you must persist in working in this industry accept that it is a pointless game, that you are below the stable hands who shovel the shit from under the horse on your Ferrari and that the only people who give a shit about what you think are sad fucks like you.
1:39 hits the nail on the modest head
does he have a proper job?
i want to work for weird al yankovic
I’m quite happy shuffling shit, I hope to find a gold nugget in there one day.
To 1:39 and anyone who’s been told to feel like shit because they work in advertising.
This may sound arrogant, but hate the message not the messenger.
Advertising is responsible for putting satellites into space. Laugh, but read on.
Advertising is responsible for funding all the free-to-air TV you watch (except TV that is subsidised by the taxpayer). If it wasn’t for advertising, we’d only be watching government TV (Love, from Russia 1966).
Same goes for independent news. It is responsible for your newspaper being only $1.20 (without the ads, that paper would probably cost well over $80 or, more likely, not even exist).
Advertising pays the independent journalists salaries, who bring you the news every night. Without advertising, we would not live in a democratic society with freedom of information.
Advertising funds the information age. Googles main revenue source? Advertising. Free email, Youtube, search and everything else you take for granted has been funded by advertising. Free porn? Bingo.
Advertising raises billions in funds for stuff like cancer research, or kids in Africa.
Advertising helps reduce child abuse and drink driving.
Advertising wins and loses elections.
And on the smallest scale, advertising makes the brands that you look up to and consume every day how they are.
Ever bought Nikes? No? Then why Converse? Ask yourself why you wear the shoes you do and you’ll find, somewhere deep inside there’s a part of you that relates to the brand built by the advertising and marketing departments. Probably in your early teens.
Maybe there was a DJ who wore those shoes once. You saw them in a film clip and lacking any personality of your own wanted to be like that guy. Now you think you are like that guy because of… advertising.
Or maybe you got picked on because you had Reeboks instead of Nikes. Wait. How did that happen? Bingo.
And if you think advertising doesn’t work on you, have a look around your house and you’ll see it’s full of advertising. Check out your bathroom cabinet for starters.
What we think, every day, makes a little more of a difference to this planet and society than most people would care to realise.
The only people who can honestly say they don’t give a shit about what we think live in Antartica.
11.52 : You miss the point entirely, it is ONLY advertising and its not important. get over it. Don’t feel like shit if you work in advertising – there are plenty of other pointless jobs as well. Take the money from the people who are fool enough to pay it, eat, drink, snort while you can. You ARE the smart ones.
5:15,
Next time you’re watching your favourite show and an ad comes on, think about this. Would your favourite show be there if it wasn’t for that ad?
It’s not a silly little interruption. It’s the entire reason that TV station exists.
Don’t tell me you’re that ignorant?
6:13 pm, 5:15 says my favourite show is on the ABC. Don’t tell me you are that ignorant that you watch the slop that passes for entertainment on the commercial channels?
AsYOU say the only reason they exist is to show commercials.
Are you 11:52 who seems to confuse advertising with God?
I can’t believe how cowardlyBP has been with this situation. They needed to be more forthcoming with the public about what happened and how difficult it was going to be to repair the pipe. Im very glad that the leak has been stopped.
Hi everyone ! I think the oil spill is the worth disaster of beggining centuryI hope the firm responsible will pay for the damages Should we have sympathy for a corporation that caused this disasters in the interest of earning money? Will it be the last oil spill ?