Are parodies acceptable? I don't like them very much. Maybe if they are timely, but 18 years later?
Below see the original British Airways ad circa 1989 then look at the 2007 SilverJet ad that premiered during the Rugby World Cup.
I agree that they are positioning themselves against BA as in BA talks about serving 24 million, while SilverJet only serves the privileged few but still something just doesn't feel right.
British Airways
SilverJet
I also wonder why Hugh Hudson the acclaimed Director of many commercials and movies including Chariots of Fire (1981) would want to direct a parody?
2 comments:
Have you seen Hugh Hudson's take on the commercial? He says he was intrigued by the idea of parodying his own work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B1hewb6qr0
It's interesting how times change. People used to want to know that their airline was big and how many people they flew like in the original BA ad but now we've all seen what mass air travel's like and we don't like it, we want something more exclusive like Silverjet.
No I hadn't seen that video, thanks for the comment. I still don't fully understand his reason for wanting to parody his own work. It is in my mind the easy way out.
The consumer today wants mass customization, not mass production. We would rather pay for a personalized product or service than save and have the same as the man next to you. The commercial does a great job of using this insight. If I was Hugh Hudson I would rather say "Lets not parody, lets create a commercial new and unique that becomes bigger and creates even more of a legacy than the BA work".
Just my three cents.
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