A Compilation of Adverts by Wes Anderson
We all know Wes Anderson as the director who created some extraordinary movies like the Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums etc. His style of movie making is marked by distinctive visuals and eccentric characters.
Well, today I spent some time looking for adverts made by this movie making genius. He brilliantly extends his art of storytelling to the brand requirements and delivers some entertaining commercials. Let’s have a look.
American Express: Wes Anderson. My Life. My Card.
In this advert, Wes Anderson is himself. He is the middles of shooting a scene and in the middle of it, he starts talking to the camera. He introduces the brand, American Express and continues talking. While his talking doesn’t make a lot of sense, in the end, he associates himself with American Express by saying, “My Card is American Express”.
There isn’t much content in this advert except for Wes Anderson himself and his style of the scenes. But I guess the point of this advert is to create an association of the brand with Wes Anderson.
Prada: Castello Cavalcanti
This one is a short 7 minute short film sponsored by Prada. It is not exactly a commercial. But I decided to include it since a brand is involved heavily in this.
The film is about a small village named Castello Cavalcanti and tells the story of a failed American race car driver who crashes in the village, only to find out that it is his ancestral village. He decides to take the next bus out in 20 minutes, but after interacting with the hosts and receiving the hospitality of the people, he decides to spend more time in it.
The visuals are as expected, very interesting. The camera work is gripping and keeps the viewer hooked. A great watch I would say.
Montblanc | 100 Years of Meisterstuck
This one is more of an advert for Montblanc, the brand. The ad tells the story of the origin of Montblanc, what it does and what it stands for. The 3 minute commercial is full of lovely imagery, typical Wes Andersen colours and camera movements. I think the narration makes the audience listen intently throughout and despite the long 3 minutes, it doesn’t make the viewer feel bored or tired of it.
SoftBank Commercial with Brad Pitt by Wes Andersen
First I was wondering why Softbank the high profile investment firm would do an advert with Wes Anderson and Brad Pitt in it. Then towards the end, I realised it is not at all the investment firm, but the mobile phone company which did the advert. It is a short 30 second commercial where Brad Pitt goes around helping people, with a French song in the background. It is towards the end that it is revealed that he is using a phone and the brand SoftBank comes up in the end.
There is a funny touch in the end where a plush toy says something in Japanese. Based on the Internet comments, it probably means, “Bradd Pitt, Get to work!” or something like that.
Stella Artois Commercial by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Stella Artois is a thing of beauty to many beer lovers. This ad by Wes Anderson depicts that in a very funny way. A guy, presumably in the spy business, brings home a girl. She is sitting in a room with a dashboard in front which has some switches and lights. While the guy goes in to change his clothes, the woman gets curious and starts pressing some of the buttons.
Inadvertently she activates a contraption that pours a glass of Stella Artois and shoves her inside the sofa. The guys walks in and hears her muffled voice as she is trapped inside the soft. But he sees the Stella Artois glass of beer and gets completely distracted and goes towards it.
Come Together: A Christmas Advert by H&M
This is an almost 4 minute long short movie by H&M. Adrian Brody stars in this as the head of the train the H&M Lines, which is running some hours late. So, Christmas celebrations happen on the train. They arrange for everything efficiently and manage to get everyone together for Christmas brunch. There isn’t much of story in there but I think the acting, the camera work keep the audience watching.
Ikea Commercial by Wes Anderson
30 seconds of drama! The ad starts off with a daughter having a conversation with her mother in the living room, revealing that she is pregnant. The dad who is listening from behind the shelves, starts an outburst in reaction. Just as the family crisis starts heating up, they are interrupted by the Ikea Sales rep who asks they what do they think. It is revealed that they are in the Ikea showroom and they are so at home there.
Without a moment’s hesitation the mom replies, “We will take it”, and the dad grins in agreement.
AT&T Commercial by Wes Anderson
A crisp AT&T advert showcasing how well covered its network is. The actor speaks for nearly 30 seconds about the different places he needs to be (which turn out to be the sets of a studio in something like Hollyorkizona, south of Maryland). It ends with the brand claim that AT&T works in more places.
Have you seen any more Wes Anderson Adverts? If you have more to add, please leave a comment in the section below!