Monday, August 04, 2008

The humorous side of global warming

I figure I'll follow my brief "global warming" theme, even though this post is more about a few short humorous videos.

The Gruen Transfer was an Australian TV show focused on advertising and the advertising industry. It lasted--and maybe was designed to last--only 10 weeks--from May 28 till July 30 this year.

One of the features in each week's episode was a friendly competition between major ad agencies to create commercials designed to "sell the unsellable."

So one week, the agencies created ads designed to sell people on the benefits of global warming. Another: why Australia should invade New Zealand.

The ads about global warming, I thought, did a great job. And why Australia ought to invade New Zealand: hilarious. I think. [It is actually terrifying to imagine someone taking the invasion ads seriously. But when perceived as spoofs . . .]

I wish I could have figured out how to capture the specific videos themselves.

I couldn't.

And, sadly, while the two campaigns I've mentioned appear all in good, clean fun, many of the other ad campaigns featured on the same page are, as the show's producers themselves warn, rather coarse--grotesque in language and/or imagery.

I think, however, you should be able to enjoy the two campaigns I've referenced. Simply ignore the others. [NOTE: The page to which I link, below, contains no offensive language or images. All links are text only. I merely want to avoid having one of my readers complain about my bad taste in television programming if you go to links other than those I specifically reference.]

So. If you're willing to stick to the links I mention, please check out the "fossil fuel company climate change messages" and the "ad[s intended to] convince [Australians] that [they] need to invade New Zealand" . . . at The Gruen Transfer Past Pitch Results page.

I expect you'll view them several times each. They are really creative and--in my opinion--very funny.
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