My mommy won't let me play videogames!

June 9, 2011 7:15 PM

A typically awesome commercial for Syke Energy by pixel art master Paul Robertson (previously). Bonus Stage: Some unused art for the Scott Pilgrim vs The World game that he worked on.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn (20 comments total)

Kings of Power 4 Billion Percent is great. Thanks for this.
posted by basicchannel at 7:42 PM on June 9, 2011

I'm still waiting for an original game based on his art. I can't get enough of it. Not that the Scott Pilgrim game is bad. It's pretty awesome.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 8:27 PM on June 9, 2011

Skye Energy drink looks like the devil's urine, though, at least if they're advertising that stuff to people who refer to their parents as "mommy".

Wow. I guess I should get back to admonishing all those youngsters on my lawn.
posted by pkingdesign at 9:56 PM on June 9, 2011

I don't care if they're selling seal clubs and whale harpoons. If they're paying Paul Robertson to make animation they're on the side of the angels.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:11 PM on June 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Too bad video compression is pretty terrible for pixel art.
posted by delmoi at 10:21 PM on June 9, 2011

I was all like, what the hell, now we advertise energy drinks to children, then I went to Paul Robertson page and I was like, whatever. Like, whatever it takes.
posted by hat_eater at 12:53 AM on June 10, 2011

Aw, I was really expecting a quick, back in real life punchline shot revealing the princess stealing "monster" at the end.
posted by lucidium at 2:14 AM on June 10, 2011

What was supposed to sell me on this product? The bad writing, the terrible voice acting or just plain the bad idea of the product itself?
posted by DU at 4:33 AM on June 10, 2011

An energy drink for kids is a slightly terrifying prospect, admittedly - but the retro pixel art suggests that the target audience is nostalgic adults, I think.

I find Paul Robertson a bit rich for my blood, often, but his Scott Pilgrim work was amazing - and it's really interesting to see some more of the development process here. Thanks, LiB.
posted by running order squabble fest at 5:33 AM on June 10, 2011

For context: Background info on Syke Energy
posted by bluesapphires at 6:04 AM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

I was waiting for a final shot that revealed the "monster" was the little girl's father, and the kid had just kicked him in the shins because his princess couldn't come out to play with him.
posted by talitha_kumi at 6:55 AM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh. It is a commentary on energy drinks. I feel rather silly. Nice animation, though.
posted by running order squabble fest at 9:11 AM on June 10, 2011

(Or rather, a commentary on capitalism through the medium of energy drinks. I did not get enough sleep last night.)
posted by running order squabble fest at 9:36 AM on June 10, 2011

(Or rather, a commentary on capitalism through the medium of energy drinks. I did not get enough sleep last night.)

What makes you think it's a commentary on capitalism exactly? The word revolution on their about us page? It seems like the usual tired "underground" marketing cliche to me.
posted by public at 9:40 AM on June 10, 2011

public: What makes you think it's a commentary on capitalism exactly? The word revolution on their about us page? It seems like the usual tired "underground" marketing cliche to me.


Well, roughly the fact that Syke, the energy drink isn't available for sale - what's being marketed is not an energy drink, but a position of protest against the behavior of other industries:

Syke is our fake company that shows how ridiculous some companies can be. Would anyone allow an addictive energy drink filled with toxins and produced by child laborers be sold in the US? No way. But big music, big fashion, and big tobacco do it everyday-so Syke pretends to do the same things to expose industry hypocrisy. But it is a joke, of course (get it, SYKE?!)

posted by running order squabble fest at 9:49 AM on June 10, 2011

Dunno why anyone would waste breathe talking about another lame energy drink, but omg Paul Robertson. How many times must I tell you cretins* that everything he does is awesome?

*Not you, the other cretin.
posted by d1rge at 11:32 AM on June 10, 2011

Oh duh, like the other people are saying it's not really an energy drink.
posted by d1rge at 11:37 AM on June 10, 2011

When I first watched this I didn't realize it was a fake protest product. Consequently, when I saw the cut to the little girl at 1:03 my own intuitive "I hate this product" mind made me internally snicker that psycho boy should in reality be shown doing something terrible to the "princess" in real life. The video ended all happy-happy, and then I went on my merry way back to the comments. They lead me to the "product" website and then it dawned on me...

...oh, man, yeah, I think the point of that clip with the little girl amidst the tripping boy's dreams of grandeur was to insinuate something really bad did happen to her.
posted by Muddler at 12:39 PM on June 10, 2011

Syke represents a movement supporting people who create great music and art. We fight against industries that are destroying our environment, our civil rights, our health, and our culture. We like stuff that hasn't fallen victim to corporate manipulation-things that are creative, things that haven't been churned out by mainstream robots.

'Mainstream robots'? Really? This is cringeworthy. They also seem to be promoting some pretty terrible bands.

I thought it was real when I first saw it, I guess. I like to think that this is how Paul Robertson's brain works all the time.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 7:35 PM on June 10, 2011

"Syke is our fake company that shows how ridiculous some companies can be. Would anyone allow an addictive energy drink filled with toxins and produced by child laborers be sold in the US? No way. But big music, big fashion, and big tobacco do it everyday-so Syke pretends to do the same things to expose industry hypocrisy."

So it's a protest against, among other things, "big music" because "big music" is full of toxins and produced by child labour in far flung foreign climes. Right. As nobody is selling energy drinks to children, as he readily admits, is he really calling for the US Government to ban energy drinks for adults? Should possession of a can of Red Bull be a criminal offence? If caffeine and sugar are so evil should Starbucks be shut down by Act of Congress and the coffee police sent out to shred everyone's kitchen too? I'm guessing that in a couple of years time, having somehow unaccountably failed to bring capitalism crashing down around our ears he'll be flogging washing powder or IPhones and be pocketing the cheque albeit in a terribly ironic and self aware way.
posted by joannemullen at 5:19 AM on June 11, 2011 [1 favorite]