Sheikh Mourns End of Oil Heyday in Tale as Old as Time
It's no secret that the US's slow divorce from oil dependence is a transition frowned upon by some. But to joke about it? Publicly? Quel faux-pas.
That's why we dig Toyota Prius' ballsiness. This ad, put together by Saatchi & Saatchi in Poland, throws an ice breaker into the discourse. It doesn't make the Prius any prettier, but it certainly makes the brand more appealing.
Something about the sheikh's despondent expression brings to mind those sad westerns in which ways of life get torn asunder, and natives cruelly displaced, by the new guys in town. Oh sheikh, don't mourn too long for the past. We'd pat your shoulder, but we probably wouldn't recognize you through the tinted windows of the gold-encrusted Hummer.
Comments
Not ballsy. Not a good concept. Not even a real ad. Show an former emir in poverty living out of his rusted shell of a Merc, selling crap bedouin trinkets to tourists in the desert.
It it me, or are all these "international" spec ads allegedly from non-US Saatchi and Saatchi offices?
If non-US Saatchi and Saatchi offices are the de facto agencies slapped onto faux ads, I'd love to be one of them.
Talk about building mythology. I'd even leak a few myself and practice my scandalized face in the mirror.
Yeah, looks very spec-y to me. And not really all that clever. Ever seen the old Springer & Jacoby ad for the Smart car where the oil companies' flags are at half mast as the car drives by? That was smart. That was funny. This...meh.
Ballsy? In Europe? Not really. Real ballsiness would be printing an ad like that in the Middle East.
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