Pillow Fight

June 6, 2007 9:30 AM

Pillow Fight
posted by kirkaracha (47 comments total)

1. Yes, it's an Absolut ad.
2. It's got catapults

posted by kirkaracha at 9:30 AM on June 6, 2007

enema-licious (out of the freezer).
posted by dreamsign at 9:34 AM on June 6, 2007

Similar to an unreleased XBox ad.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:35 AM on June 6, 2007

Why do the pillows burst like water-balloons on the first hit?
posted by winston at 9:36 AM on June 6, 2007

It could never happen in the U.S. The ACLU would sue to protect protesters allergic to goose down.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 9:41 AM on June 6, 2007

The Charles Trenet was a nice touch.
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:43 AM on June 6, 2007

Don't you love how something interesting and original almost always becomes an advert?
posted by gcbv at 9:45 AM on June 6, 2007

Don't you love how something interesting and original almost always becomes an advert?

Yeah, intriguing point. It makes me wonder if that's the only way to get funding to make something interesting and original.
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:47 AM on June 6, 2007

Is there a youtube version of this? The quicktime file is taking forever to download for me.
posted by fallenposters at 9:49 AM on June 6, 2007

Just imagine all the original and interesting stuff we never get to see because it gets rejected by lame ass clients.
posted by spicynuts at 9:49 AM on June 6, 2007

Catapults or no, it's still a frikking ad.
posted by Dave Faris at 9:51 AM on June 6, 2007

So let me get this straight: In an Absolut world...

...everyone would be so wasted that the bullets and bricks would only seem like pillows?

...everyone would be so wasted that they wouldn't actually care about politics or working conditions or civil rights, etc., so they would just stage mock protests to give the police something to do with their riot gear?

...everyone would be so wasted that commercials really don't need to make any sort of sense anymore, so long as they feature quaint, mildly surprising visual gags that wouldn't cut it on a post-Chrissy Three's Company episdode but is barely witty enough to function as a viral ad?

Hope me. I'm confused.
posted by googly at 9:52 AM on June 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

episdode? is barely witty?

Apparently, just seeing that ad has rendered me intoxicated.
posted by googly at 9:56 AM on June 6, 2007

Absolut Vodka really sucks.
posted by BeerFilter at 9:57 AM on June 6, 2007

I love the pillow grenade that gets dropped into the van. A few seconds later you see feathers puff out of all the windows.

I believe that examples like this are perfect things to point to when discussing the concept of advertisements as art. It's a fantastic production.

Though I bet when it was put together it had nothing to do with vodka. This strikes me as a project an ad agency would develop to show off their skills, which gets bought and branded with a product that is totally unrelated to what is being shown.

Kinda like Stunt City.
posted by quin at 9:57 AM on June 6, 2007

So let me get this straight: In an Absolut world...

...everyone would be so wasted that they wouldn't actually care about politics or working conditions or civil rights, etc., so they would just stage mock protests to give the police something to do with their riot gear?

I think they're all out there just so they get to see that hot blonde at the halfway point participate.
posted by dreamsign at 10:01 AM on June 6, 2007

fallenposters : Is there a youtube version of this?

Here you go.
posted by quin at 10:03 AM on June 6, 2007

Ok, I was going to say that Nutrigrain-linkage is mandatory in any ad thread, but that Stunt City clip filled the awesome quota nicely.
posted by dreamsign at 10:04 AM on June 6, 2007

thanks quin
posted by fallenposters at 10:04 AM on June 6, 2007

I prfer the use of that Trenet song in Toto Le Heros.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:07 AM on June 6, 2007

Boum!
posted by cazoo at 10:08 AM on June 6, 2007

Anarchism for sale! This depresses me utterly. Particularly the hot blonde at the halfway point.
posted by serazin at 10:13 AM on June 6, 2007

It could never happen in the U.S. The ACLU would sue to protect protesters allergic to goose down.

No, they wouldn't. That's not what they do.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:21 AM on June 6, 2007 [5 favorites]

I liked it. a lot. What's wrong with ads having entertaining or thought-provoking themes? Don't certain companies (perhaps not Absolut) need innovative advertising to promote a new idea or service, and not simply sell a product?
posted by adamms222 at 10:31 AM on June 6, 2007

There's absolutely (ha!) nothing wrong with innovative ads with throught-provoking themes. They just don't need to be made into single link front page posts on metafilter.
posted by Dave Faris at 10:38 AM on June 6, 2007

Another funny protest. (Thanks, madamjujujive!)
posted by Killick at 10:53 AM on June 6, 2007

You guys know that people have big pillow fights in cities all the time right? self link to flickr
posted by Brainy at 11:14 AM on June 6, 2007

First rule of pillow fight club: tell everyone about pillow fight club.

Also: no heavy things in pillows is the sixth rule. I really think that one ought to be first.
posted by absalom at 11:20 AM on June 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

Ok, I was going to say that Nutrigrain-linkage is mandatory in any ad thread, but that Stunt City clip filled the awesome quota nicely.
Well, you did say mandatory.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:31 AM on June 6, 2007

Absolute Blue.
Also, that vodka sucks.
Also, my favorite vodka sucks.
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:42 AM on June 6, 2007

First rule of pillow fight club:

No bras?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:16 PM on June 6, 2007

Another one of my event I helped create becomes a commercial. First Urban Golf (McDonalds did one) then the Salmon running upstream, now this. Fucking advertisers.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:21 PM on June 6, 2007

Oh and I forgot about CSI ripping off my Urban Iditarod event. DAMMIT must you bastards make money off my brilliance.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:23 PM on June 6, 2007

Yeah, intriguing point. It makes me wonder if that's the only way to get funding to make something interesting and original.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, sucker.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:56 PM on June 6, 2007

In an Absolut world...everyone would be so wasted that the bullets and bricks would only seem like pillows?


It's creepy taken in that context. Everyone wakes up the next morning covered not with feathers but dried blood, sporting tremendous hangovers. Stray dogs feed on the bodies littering the streets. Quite a departure from cigarette butts and empty bottles all over the kitchen counter.

Meanwhile over in PotPartnerLand everyone's too stoned to get it up.
posted by CynicalKnight at 1:04 PM on June 6, 2007

Dear AskMe: if pillows were really dropped out of planes onto people's heads, would it be dangerous/deadly? kthx
posted by thirteenkiller at 3:43 PM on June 6, 2007

Interesting, I hadn't seen the long version of the ad, with the 'bombers' and all...

The 'unaired XBox ad' is cool, but reminds me far too much of a couple great scenes from 'Spaced'...
posted by pupdog at 3:55 PM on June 6, 2007

Yes, pupdog. Spaced should be loudly acknowledged as the brilliant originator of that. The X-box ad is good, but Simon Pegg's use is inspired.
posted by quin at 4:10 PM on June 6, 2007

I thought it was funny.
posted by nola at 4:30 PM on June 6, 2007

We'll take your discontent and sell it back to you.
posted by empath at 5:13 PM on June 6, 2007

> We'll take your discontent and sell it back to you.

I always thought this chemical brothers video framed it surprisingly well.
posted by churl at 8:04 PM on June 6, 2007

Ad Exec: ...and get this, they are feather pillows.

Intern: Um, you do realize feather come from birds?

Ad Exec: [blank stare]

Ad Exec #2: [to intern] Shut the fuck up. What are you retarded? [turns back to other exec] Okay, then what?
posted by humannaire at 8:08 PM on June 6, 2007

This depresses me utterly. Particularly the hot blonde at the halfway point.

C'mon, that's the only reason I could think of that this quicktime version is better than the one on TV.
posted by fungible at 8:53 PM on June 6, 2007

"The day Marvin Gaye and Phil Ochs got married,
The trees all waved their giant arms,
And happiness bled from every street corner,
And biplanes bombed with fluffy pillows."

-"The Day" by They Might Be Giants
posted by ErWenn at 9:04 PM on June 6, 2007

Man. I really hate the changes to the embedded Youtube design.
posted by phaedon at 2:00 AM on June 7, 2007

My favorite fluffy pillow riot video.

I used to use "Your rebellion is their marketing scheme" as my signature quote.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:51 AM on June 7, 2007

It could never happen in the U.S. The ACLU would sue to protect protesters allergic to goose down.

Do you have any idea what the ACLU actually does?
posted by delmoi at 9:55 AM on June 8, 2007