MIFF challenges the myths of international films in new campaign via Clemenger BBDO Melbourne
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne will today launch the 2011 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) with two striking spots for TV and Cinema.
MIFF is a new client for the Agency and the campaign marks a new direction for the Festival. Every year, there are hundreds of films to choose from and whilst cinephiles will try anything, there’s a perception amongst wider audiences that international films can be a bit ‘hit and miss’.
The campaign attempts to solve this by communicating that any of the films are worth giving a go, as MIFF have carefully selected each one.
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne ECD Ant Keogh says this campaign is designed to challenge the myths surrounding international films.
“We’ve brought it back to focusing on the same qualities we look for in popular films – great stories and performances,” he said.
“This gave us a great opportunity to play with the conventions and subvert the stereotypes of various international film genres.”
The campaign launches with a 90-second cinema spot set in Poland and a 45-second TVC set in China. Both were directed by Steve Ayson of The Sweet Shop. The international settings of both spots were created on the outskirts of Melbourne, featuring local actors. And as is the case with all cultural event advertising, the campaign was made possible through the enthusiasm and support of many local suppliers.
The launch spots are supported by outdoor, print and online banners, featuring a new brand identity also created for MIFF by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne.
Credits
Exec. Creative Director: Ant Keogh
CD/Art Director: Damian Royce
Copywriter: Nick Kelly
Executive Producer: Sonia von Bibra
Strategy Planner: Sam Mackisack
Senior Account Director: Brett Williams
Account Executive: Ruth John
Production Company: The Sweet Shop
Director: Steve Ayson
Executive Producer: Wilf Sweetland
Producer: Edward Pontifex
Cinematographer: Bob Humphreys
Production Designer: Lucinda Thompson
Offline editor: Jack Hutchings – The Butchery
Online editor: Eugene Richards – The Refinery
Colourist: Edel Rafferty – MRPPP
Music/Sound design: Cornel Wilczek, Biddy Conner, Byron Scullin – Electric Dreams
Casting:Fiona Dann – Chameleon Casting
Cast:
Chinese Father: Ferdinand Hoang
Chinese Son: Zohar Hoang
Polish man – Jacek: Jacek Koman
Polish Man – Tomek: Tomek Koman
Polish Man – New Tomek: Geoffrey Rush
39 Comments
Andrei Tarkovski eat your heart out. Love this! Well done.
love this. great work. rare i like an ‘ad’. never made a comment on here too.
Wow. Great idea and execution… This is how you craft good cinema
Nick Kelly is going places. Brilliant.
Like it.
Hopefully they’ve fixed the website too.
Wow, tremendous spot Damo and Nick! Looks the goods
This is a really sophisticated looking idea and execution. I really like it. Well played boys.
Bravo.
Nick and Damo you guys rock
I tip my hat to you fine sirs
Fantastic. This is incredible work.
That’s just plain awesome.
Brilliant!
that’s a cracker!
Nick and Damian this is a top idea and Damian my friend, what a nice project to go out on. (Applause)
digital wannabees, watch and learn.
Funny and sophisticated… just great character writing. Gold for sure.
This is great.
Excellent work. Lie back and enjoy a sports rod.
Let me just say first off that I don’t work at Clems Melb.
But jeez I wish I did.
Well done you magnificent bastards.
It’s good, and kudos for getting Geoffrey Rush, but isn’t this the same idea as the NZ Documentary Festival “Wailing Women” spot (and two others)?
Perfect spot, would love to see it in on the big screen. There’s a few higher qual uploads on YT… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6235pICmsky
I LOVE this. It is terrific short film and will get the makers loads of interest from their peers
It wont inspire me to go to the film festival but who cares, it has awards written all over it
Genius!
Go straight to the top of the class gents
Looks to good to be done by an ad agency. That’s why I like it sooo much.
Bloody great short film. Bound to get you guys an award. Well Done
Funny. But the strategy of only the best films get selected has been done a fair bit for this brief. But this is very nicely executed.
OK. So here’s my crticism. Constructive and all. The idea of the characters being self-referential doesn’t make sense. As I understand it, what we are watching is a bad foreign film that didn’t make the grade. Having the actors being self-aware that their film is too crap for a film festival doesn’t make any sense. Show me a crap foreign film and end it with the tagline, then it makes sense. Sorry. Almost. But not quite.
Hey 1:21 sorry. Your version sucks big hairy balls.
1:57 PM
My ‘version,’ big hairy balls aside, was put in the context of the ad as presented. It’s not my idea to begin with. The level of kudos this spot is receiving to me seems wildly disproportionate to the quality of the ad. The John West strategy is not fresh and the execution, to me, is confused. And the use of Geoffrey Rush is borrowed interest and not remotely relevant to the ad as is.
My thoughts.
As I said in an earlier post, this wont make anyone go to the film festival, but it will pull the odd award and is really very watchable. ie the perfect piece of work if you want something for your showreel. I do like it lots
1:21 I think you will find the idea says even using Geoffrey Rush won’t save the said ‘boring’ film. That is (i think) what it is all about. He doesn’t seem like borrowed interest to me. Maybe rethink your argument.
3:44 PM
Maybe. But I still don’t get the self-referential aspect to the dialogue. An off-screen person like the director might be caught saying as much about his or her film but not the actors, unless of course they are between takes.
That’s all I’m saying. Nicely shot. OK strategy. I just think the execution is flawed. I know they’re a good agency but they’re not perfect.
this is clearly shit. the punch line is shit. you’re all just spoofing off because clems did it and rush is in it. have some dignity kids and call it for what it is: a beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, shit spot.
I just saw the other one and gotta say both are great. very cool campaign gents, they are and look amazing
Give yourselves a big pat on the back – great work – Clem’s, client and Sweet Shop.
Just a pleasure to watch, and made me think about attending the Film Festival – for the first time.
For person that, who just watched it with subtitles. First of all, translation should be better Some words are missed, they changed meaning. For example, “Mamy przejebane” doesn’t mean “We’re screwed”, “przejebane” is rather “fucked up”. That’s one thing. Another one. Rush says “dżiemniaki” which is misspelled word “ziemniaki”. The subtitles doen’t show it. That’s why it’s also funny for polish speakers. Maybe my english isn’t astonishing or so, but I hope you’ll understand what I mean.
It’s funny that Poland viewed (through imagination) from Australia looks exactly like Australia looks as seen from Poland. Absolutely no reference to real Polish landscape, while China in the “Chinese” spot is quite Chinese. Anyway, congratulations for the writer(s).
The subtitles are absolutely all right. The only thing lost in translation is a fantastic mispronunciation of the last word (Polish word for potato) giving it a double meaning: sounds like “I’ve peeled the ignoramus”.