Posts Tagged ‘advertising’

The Libel Arts

Posted in General on August 3rd, 2010 by Eugene Finerman – Be the first to comment

The truth can always be improved. We see it all the time in ads for films. For example, let’s say the movie reviewer writes, “Once again that puerile bore Adam Sandler attempts to be funny.”  The ads for the movie will quote this from the review:”funny.” That may be slightly out-of-context but the quote is technically correct.

Now the same creative technique is being applied to political ads. Your newspaper may have written, “In his proposal to outlaw any sexual position he can’t spell, Congressman Wendell Gopper reveals himself an execrable buffoon”. The television ads for Gopper will quote the newspaper praising Gopper as “able” and “buff.”

There are other ways to create such quotes. Gopper’s campaign could put an ad in the singles’ section saying, “I am looking for the type of person who thinks that Wendell Gopper is a brilliant statesman and God’s gift to our district.” Since it is in the newspaper, Gopper’s TV ads have every right to quote “the brilliant statesman” bit. So what if it wasn’t exactly on the editorial page!

Of course, the same creativity can be applied to negative ads. The Gopper staff, remembering to use blank stationery, could submit this letter to the newspaper. “It is long overdue that candidate Drake Preenwell deny that he is a necrophile.” If the letter is published, then it is technically a quote. And the Gopper TV ads will publicize the line as if it were a Pulitzer Prize-winning pronouncement.

But what if the letter is not published? There is a way around that.

Show an unflattering picture of Drake Preenwell. The ad’s voiceover begins and the following words appear on the screen:

Your newspaper says, “a drunken degenerate”…”a ludicrous public spectacle”…”a disgrace to his family”…”dying of syphilis.”

And every quote would be true. Of course, the quotes were from an article on Toulouse-Lautrec but that is a trivial detail.

The Moribund the Merrier

Posted in General on September 20th, 2008 by Eugene Finerman – 2 Comments

In case you are interested and have the money, Meryl Streep and Al Pacino are available for the remake of “Ma and Pa Kettle Go To Town.” You can’t quite envision any demand for that? Apparently, you were not at the studio meeting that made the brilliant decision to remake “The Women.”

You have seen the original–or at least 15 minutes of it. Made in 1939, it is one of those cute if quaint movies you stumble upon at Turner Classic Movies. You enjoy the arch but clever dialogue from the all-female cast–Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine–although you can’t quite recognize the star. (Her name was Norma Shearer.) You might wonder if any one of them is still alive: Joan Fontaine thanks you for your concern. And someday you intend to see the entire film…if only you can remember to tape it.

But this was the movie that Hollywood just had to remake. Updated to reflect our less constrained and more cosmopolitan society–venereal but with ethnic diversity–the film stars Meg Ryan (and her collagen), Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith and Eva Mendes. As for the results–both critical and box office–you can sense the disaster from the desperate tone of the advertising “blurbs” for the film.

Punctual“–The New York Times

Mommy Looks Pretty“–Eva Beatty

If Eva Mendes Doesn’t Have a Green Card, She Certainly Deserves One“–The National Review

Norma Shearer is Great“–Larry King

The Libel Arts

Posted in General on November 4th, 2006 by Eugene Finerman – Be the first to comment

The truth can always be improved. We see it all the time in ads for films. For example, let’s say the movie reviewer writes, “once again that puerile bore Rob Schneider attempts to be funny,” The ads for the movie will quote this from the review:”funny.” That may be slightly out-of-context but the quote is technically correct.

Now the same creative technique is being applied to political ads. Your newspaper may have written, “In his proposal to outlaw any sexual position he can’t spell, State Senator Wendell Gopper reveals himself an execrable buffoon”. The ads for Gopper will quote the newspaper praising Gopper as “able” and “buff.”

There are other ways to create such quotes. Gopper’s campaign could put an ad in the singles’ section saying, “I am looking for the type of person who thinks that Wendell Gopper is a brilliant statesman and God’s gift to our district.” Since it is in the newspaper, Gopper’s TV ads have every right to quote it. So what if it wasn’t exactly on the editorial page!

Of course, the same creativity can be applied to negative ads. The Gopper staff, remembering to use blank stationery, could submit this letter to the newspaper. “It is long overdue that candidate Drake Preenwell deny that he is a necrophile.” If the letter is published, then it is technically a quote. And the Gopper TV ads will publicize the line as if it were a Pulitzer Prize-winning pronouncement.

But what if the letter is not published? There is a way around that.

Show an unflattering picture of Drake Preenwell. The ad’s voiceover begins and the following words appear on the screen:

Your newspaper says, “a drunken degenerate”…”a ludicrous public spectacle”…”a disgrace to his family”…”dying of syphilis.”

And every quote would be true. Of course, the quotes were from an article on Toulouse-Lautrec but that is a trivial detail.