Switchers
October 25, 2004 11:34 AM Subscribe
1) Is Ellen of voting age?
2) If so, who is she voting for?
posted by gluechunk at 11:49 AM on October 25, 2004
2) If so, who is she voting for?
posted by gluechunk at 11:49 AM on October 25, 2004
I'm voting for whoever is in favor of executing anyone who thinks parodying Apple ads be it 'switch', ipod silhouettes, or 'think different' etc is remotely clever or engaging.
I happen to imagine people who make these parodies are like that Bayna guy on Seinfeld in real life.
posted by Stan Chin at 11:57 AM on October 25, 2004
I happen to imagine people who make these parodies are like that Bayna guy on Seinfeld in real life.
posted by Stan Chin at 11:57 AM on October 25, 2004
Ignoring the politics, how legal is it to use Apple's "Switch" format for something that isn't a parody? (I'm really wondering, anyone know?)
posted by zelphi at 11:58 AM on October 25, 2004
posted by zelphi at 11:58 AM on October 25, 2004
Stan Chin, is it a parody when these ads are created by the same filmmaker?
posted by Robot Johnny at 11:59 AM on October 25, 2004
posted by Robot Johnny at 11:59 AM on October 25, 2004
Then again, I just noticed that probably the site IS the actual guy who made the ads. So my bad.
It's still annoys me though.
posted by Stan Chin at 12:00 PM on October 25, 2004
It's still annoys me though.
posted by Stan Chin at 12:00 PM on October 25, 2004
I saw these following a link from who knows where a few days ago... I couldn't help thinking (after how old and tired the idea is) how hard they worked to make it *appear* like there were a lot of different people switching when all I see is that they could only come up with 6 people in the country that would switch... some of them just a bit... um... crazy
Then again, I kinda would have enjoyed to hear what Mrs. Wood has to say on foreign policy and education.
posted by 10sball at 12:03 PM on October 25, 2004
Then again, I kinda would have enjoyed to hear what Mrs. Wood has to say on foreign policy and education.
posted by 10sball at 12:03 PM on October 25, 2004
He really shouldn't be known just for those commercials, I think he's one of the best documentary film makers around. "Fog of War" was one of the most interesting movies I saw last year (he won the documentary Oscar for it).
Anyway, it's a shame Move On chose to let their rabid members vote up the worst of these for TV (I think they ended up showing 1, and it was the dumbest of all of them, something about how Bush wasn't conservative because he didn't conserve the environment -- as if conservative ever meant that), and then decided to stick to lousy attack ads rather than airing more of these.
10sball: Actually, he got thousands of responses to his initial call, then recorded the best of them into thirty hours of tape, and ultimately edited it down to the sixty or so best ones. I'm not sure how you came up with only 6, there's more than 20 on the linked page alone.
posted by malphigian at 12:11 PM on October 25, 2004
Anyway, it's a shame Move On chose to let their rabid members vote up the worst of these for TV (I think they ended up showing 1, and it was the dumbest of all of them, something about how Bush wasn't conservative because he didn't conserve the environment -- as if conservative ever meant that), and then decided to stick to lousy attack ads rather than airing more of these.
10sball: Actually, he got thousands of responses to his initial call, then recorded the best of them into thirty hours of tape, and ultimately edited it down to the sixty or so best ones. I'm not sure how you came up with only 6, there's more than 20 on the linked page alone.
posted by malphigian at 12:11 PM on October 25, 2004
"the actual guy who made the ads" is the actual guy who is actually America's greatest documentary filmmaker
(sorry mr Moore!). Morris was discussed here
I also remember a good Kerry ad directed by John Sayles, this year
posted by matteo at 12:12 PM on October 25, 2004
(sorry mr Moore!). Morris was discussed here
I also remember a good Kerry ad directed by John Sayles, this year
posted by matteo at 12:12 PM on October 25, 2004
I'm voting for whoever is in favor of executing anyone who thinks parodying Apple ads be it 'switch', ipod silhouettes, or 'think different' etc is remotely clever or engaging.
Well, I'm not voting for you, that's for sure -- favoring executing people seems pretty harsh.
Do feel like protecting a brand value or are you from the "inovation in message forging" police?
posted by NewBornHippy at 12:17 PM on October 25, 2004
Well, I'm not voting for you, that's for sure -- favoring executing people seems pretty harsh.
Do feel like protecting a brand value or are you from the "inovation in message forging" police?
posted by NewBornHippy at 12:17 PM on October 25, 2004
Actually the concept of switching, be it in computers or politics, is *very* interesting and is a perfect and honest distillation of what advertising is for.
Think about it -- these are some of the most sincere and honest uses of advertising dollars ever spent. They feature real people explaining how they realized through experience that they were wrong and decided to change their ways. I think that it is excellent and remarkably direct work. They don't ask you to change your mind. They don't 'attack' and they do not lie. They are just the ramblings of people honestly relating how they changed their minds that other people hoped would similarly change your mind. I'd rather watch an hour of these than the ads I've seen from either side which I find to be profoundly depressing.
posted by n9 at 12:24 PM on October 25, 2004
Think about it -- these are some of the most sincere and honest uses of advertising dollars ever spent. They feature real people explaining how they realized through experience that they were wrong and decided to change their ways. I think that it is excellent and remarkably direct work. They don't ask you to change your mind. They don't 'attack' and they do not lie. They are just the ramblings of people honestly relating how they changed their minds that other people hoped would similarly change your mind. I'd rather watch an hour of these than the ads I've seen from either side which I find to be profoundly depressing.
posted by n9 at 12:24 PM on October 25, 2004
malphigian : 6, 10 whatever. My point wasn't to tear into their cause because they could only find "6" people in the country who switched, just that the presentation on the page made me focus on the repitition and turned it into a game (for me) of "lets see what that nut Deb has to say next".
But thanks for the background info none the less.
posted by 10sball at 6:32 PM on October 25, 2004
But thanks for the background info none the less.
posted by 10sball at 6:32 PM on October 25, 2004
Stan Chin is such a hater now.
posted by The God Complex at 6:39 PM on October 25, 2004
posted by The God Complex at 6:39 PM on October 25, 2004
I've always been a hater for Apple ad parodies. It's just... lack of effort. Actually, I'll bet if you do a search on MeFi on popular Apple ad parody posts, you'll find me hating there too.
posted by Stan Chin at 7:01 PM on October 25, 2004
posted by Stan Chin at 7:01 PM on October 25, 2004
For me, they're really hit and miss. Some of their actors (Harrop, Dove, Coffee) are really good. Others seem kinda stilted.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 7:43 PM on October 25, 2004
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 7:43 PM on October 25, 2004
Are these commercials airing on any TV stations? I cannot find information providing such information.
posted by quam at 7:54 PM on October 25, 2004
posted by quam at 7:54 PM on October 25, 2004
I'm canvassing for MoveOn, and when we find an undecided or "leaning Bush" voter, we hand out a newsprint sheet distilling a number of these ads, with a printed link that will get you to a site where you can see more.
For the record, this sheet alone has 9 different people. That's an odd criticism, anyway, considering the vast numbers of Republican luminaries who have publicly switched. How many is enough? He created a total of 60, according to this interview. By the way, it also details how he uses his patented Interrotron device, a two-way mirror which allows people to look directly into the camera. Morris also goes into a good Lakoffian dissection of both the Kerry and Bush messages, and thinks his ads certainly could have had an effective place in the campaign, but only for a certain slice of voters. (Myself, I have always thought the perfect wedge issue for Kerry to use would have been the Saudis. There's hella conservatives who don't trust them worth a damn, whether out of clear-eyed Straussian Realism, or mere racism.)
Ignoring the politics, how legal is it to use Apple's "Switch" format for something that isn't a parody?
zelphi, Nader won when Mastercard sued over his "Priceless" ads (from 2000).
posted by dhartung at 9:10 PM on October 25, 2004
For the record, this sheet alone has 9 different people. That's an odd criticism, anyway, considering the vast numbers of Republican luminaries who have publicly switched. How many is enough? He created a total of 60, according to this interview. By the way, it also details how he uses his patented Interrotron device, a two-way mirror which allows people to look directly into the camera. Morris also goes into a good Lakoffian dissection of both the Kerry and Bush messages, and thinks his ads certainly could have had an effective place in the campaign, but only for a certain slice of voters. (Myself, I have always thought the perfect wedge issue for Kerry to use would have been the Saudis. There's hella conservatives who don't trust them worth a damn, whether out of clear-eyed Straussian Realism, or mere racism.)
Ignoring the politics, how legal is it to use Apple's "Switch" format for something that isn't a parody?
zelphi, Nader won when Mastercard sued over his "Priceless" ads (from 2000).
posted by dhartung at 9:10 PM on October 25, 2004
Yet an other XXX for YYY: Bush can't even carry his own family.
posted by NewBornHippy at 10:27 PM on October 25, 2004
posted by NewBornHippy at 10:27 PM on October 25, 2004
Even American Conservative Magazine are endorsing Kerry.
posted by RylandDotNet at 10:35 PM on October 25, 2004
posted by RylandDotNet at 10:35 PM on October 25, 2004
Who's gonna go all out and set up georgewbushforkerry.com?
posted by dobbs at 11:08 PM on October 25, 2004
posted by dobbs at 11:08 PM on October 25, 2004
the actual guy who is actually America's greatest documentary filmmaker
naaa, you're confusing popular with great, allow me to introduce ze greatest american documentary filmmaker
mandatory screenings: High School, Hospital and Titicut Follies
/off topic
posted by kush at 4:24 AM on October 26, 2004
naaa, you're confusing popular with great, allow me to introduce ze greatest american documentary filmmaker
mandatory screenings: High School, Hospital and Titicut Follies
/off topic
posted by kush at 4:24 AM on October 26, 2004
quam - errol morris hasn't been able to find a 527 to front the money... so no, they aren't.
zurishaddai - the boston phoenix ran an article about these ads. it's in the form of an interview with morris himself. it seems that morris even talked to the kerry campaign [one of his plans was to have an interview with kerry following the same format], but he's had no luck in getting anyone to fund the ads for quite some time. of course, he's been busy with his other documentaries, so i'm sure he hasn't been able to make getting the ads out his biggest priority.
posted by ubersturm at 8:17 AM on October 26, 2004
zurishaddai - the boston phoenix ran an article about these ads. it's in the form of an interview with morris himself. it seems that morris even talked to the kerry campaign [one of his plans was to have an interview with kerry following the same format], but he's had no luck in getting anyone to fund the ads for quite some time. of course, he's been busy with his other documentaries, so i'm sure he hasn't been able to make getting the ads out his biggest priority.
posted by ubersturm at 8:17 AM on October 26, 2004
The New Yorker had an article in August about these ads and Morris -- it's here. I was wondering when & if they'd make it on-air.
At least 20,000 people responded with their personal "switch" stories when Morris & MoveOn requested them; 500 fit the ideal criterion they were seeking for the ads. So it's not like "they could only come up with six people".
posted by lisa g at 1:07 PM on October 26, 2004
At least 20,000 people responded with their personal "switch" stories when Morris & MoveOn requested them; 500 fit the ideal criterion they were seeking for the ads. So it's not like "they could only come up with six people".
posted by lisa g at 1:07 PM on October 26, 2004
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posted by Zurishaddai at 11:46 AM on October 25, 2004