In a classic case of ‘Corona Ate My Ideas’ from agencies worldwide, Microsoft Sam put together this supercut of COVID-19 related commercials in the US and Canada. Very spookily similar, and rather manipulative and stale in messaging. Together! Together! Together! Home! Home! Home! It’s almost like a Negativland track.
And if I was still working in advertising I’d really recommend not to use the ‘clap’ at the end, hijacking people’s genuine love for health and essential workers for profit is rather beyond the pale, even for corporates. Everyone knows we AREN’T in this together (or should do by now), with rich people and CEOs jetting off to Fiddler’s Green style vacation hideaways or making desperately insecure Insta videos, while corporates furloughing staff like crazy and dumping them onto the social security systems with no possibility of help.
But joke might be on them; if a whole generation realises they don’t need these companies or what they sell, if they find other work and sources of income, if they decide not to go back to the previous ‘normal’ then these corporations are screwed. Hence all the panicky ‘you need us RIGHT?’ co-dependent passive-aggressive reminders.
It might be that we don’t need these parasites in the new future…
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