Success Inspired Parodies
Highly popular films and successful commercials are fair game for parodies, spoofs and send-ups to the delight of many viewers.
The Oxford English Dictionary describes the afore mentioned descriptors as follows:
Parody: An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
Spoof: A parody, typically of a film or genre of film.
Send-up: A parody or exaggerated imitation of someone or something.
Parodies in Advertising Communication are usually a result of the high public awareness successfully generated by a particular commercial or advertising theme that is being sent-up.
1. Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Magic Body Control
Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt/Neckar, Stuttgart, Germany
The complex functionality of the ‘Magic Body Control’ (MBX) suspension is cleverly demonstrated in a way that’s easy to grasp and also amusingly memorable.
The commercial with its Diana Ross soundtrack of ‘Upside Down, Inside Out’ motivated 2 million views, 220 thousand Facebook shares and 6000 tweets in less than 4 days.
2. Jaguar, Cat-Like Reflexes
Advertising Agency: Spark44, Los Angeles, California
To the great amusement of many viewers Jaguar U.S.A. decided to become a fun sparring-partner to their successful brand rival with this mischievously provocative parody.
3. Volvo Trucks, The Epic Split
Advertising Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors, Sweden
The ‘Epic Split’ commercial for the launch of Volvo Truck’s new dynamic steering system took the Internet by storm.
Directed by Andreas Nilsson, the film stars Belgian martial-arts expert and actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, performing a ‘live test’ demonstration to the background sound of the resonant ‘Only Time Will Tell’ by Enja.
The commercial motivated 86 million views on YouTube and received worldwide acclaim. Many communication industry awards followed that included a Black Pencil from D&AD, Best of Show at The One Show, a Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Cyber and Film and a second Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Creative Effectiveness.
Many ‘Epic Split’ parodies followed but the most rewarding for me is this ‘tongue-in-cheek’ dramatisation.
4. Delov Digital, The Epic Christmas Split
Hungarian XFS Imaging Studio Delov Digital, produced a fun parody of ‘The Epic Split’ for a self promoting Christmas message.
The commercial stars martial-arts film star Chuck Norris amusingly going one better than Jean-Claude Van Damme. 20 million views on YouTube followed immediately after its first flighting.
Ian Fleming’s novels about a Royal Naval Commander who was recruited to work for MI6, Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, as fictitious agent number 007, sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
This impressive success prompted the launch of a James Bond film series that has become the longest running in movie history and part of popular culture.
Six actors to date have portrayed agent 007 On His Majesty’s Secret Service, the latest being Daniel Craig.
HRH The Queen and Daniel Craig stared in the opening of the London Olympics in a BBC produced parody of the James Bond movie ‘Skyfall’.
5. BBC London Olympics, Skyfall
6. Heineken, The Chase
Advertising Agency: Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam
Superbly directed by Tom Kuntz, this highly watchable Heineken commercial is an amusing parody to mark the launch of the new Bond movie “Spectre”. Daniel Craig stars as 007 once again.