FUQ

more Frequently Unasked Questions

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

How do you make a really complex, emotionally tense subject accessible and entertaining? 

Like this is how. 

In this one for Family Equality, not only do the performances charm your socks off, it’s genuinely funny too. For a subject that’s pretty serious, this subtle use of humour helps you fall in love with the characters and see them as not statistics or cliches, but people. Which is exactly what families are made up of. 

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

Jesper Ryom is one of my favourite music artists. He’s a true wizard. But if there’s anyone with a doctorate in the whimsical magic of the moving image, it’s Mathijs Luijten, the director and animator of the above Vimeo Staff Pick. 

Wholly unique and delicate, he manages to not only capture the soul of the music, but wrap it all up in a narrative that’s inventive as it is unexpected. Unconstrained by the usual commercial realities of music videos, it really is a work of art.

Little wonder that Luijten’s services are demanded the world over. And rightly so. 

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

I know, I’m late to the party, but this is, hands down, the best movie of 2020. It’s how you imagined that teacher you had a crush on in high school would be - so smart, so funny. Watch it. 

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

Father’s Day. It should celebrate father’s, right? Like, that’s what the day is called, yeah? It’s a no-brainer. 

Ba-Bawmp. 

No. It should celebrate the people forking out their hard earned cash, forced to buy something for Daddy, less they’re cut out from the will. Or worse, kicked out of home.

So here’s a spot by directing duo Tommy Quartino & Fran Colombatti (a.k.a. 1985 out of Landia) that celebrates the kids. That generation who are so at ease with the speed the world’s moving, they almost seem to practically stand still. A spot that perfectly juxtaposes that younger generation’s aptitude with the older’s sensibilities for comedic effect.

With not a word spoken, it injects some much needed fun into a day that’s usually the stale sanctuary of aftershave and underwear. So Bravo Tommy & Fran. You’ve made me feel like a cool Dad. Kudos to you. 

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

This is so crazy good on so many levels.

When all the other sports drinks are getting serious, here’s a brand reminding everyone that sports is fun. Meanwhile, the nostalgia speaks to the brand’s long association with basketball while tipping it’s hat to the future of the sport - the kid buying the product.

What I love, though, is it takes an idea to it’s natural yet unexpected conclusion and then some. That’s what makes it funny (yet never silly) and memorable.

So hats off Daniel Wolfe and the gang at Weiden Kennedy Portland, cause that is some kinda power.

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

This is one of the most epic animations ever from one of my fave animators, Páraic McGloughlin.

Hectic, yet blissful, it will blow your mind and, hopefully, open your heart. Enjoy.

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

“These are serious times, we can’t be seen not being serious.”

I hear that a lot. But watching this short film, “God”, by screenwriter and director John August (Big Fish, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Charlie’s Angels), I was reminded of a couple of things

Firstly, I wish Melissa McCarthy was my best friend (sorry Gav).

Secondly, when done right, comedy is the perfect way to talk about the tough stuff - discrimination, religion, morals, relationships, what toothpaste brand is best for whitening your teeth, etc.

Just because being a brand is serious, hard work, doesn't mean your brand has to be serious too. You can still have fun and take a stand. Unless, of course, you’re a funeral home.

But whether you’re a funeral home or not, religious or not, watch this film. It’s hilarious.

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

All great art is built on trust. The artist must trust his instincts. Collaborators must trust each other. Nowhere is that more telling than in this here music video for Glass Animals. Filmed during Covid lockdowns by the artist himself, with gear shipped to his home, it reminds us of the power of constraints.

As Mr. Eames said, “I have never been forced to accept compromises, but I have willingly accepted constraints.”

Most importantly, though, it screams “trust” built on conversations that, no matter how virtual, are the real glue of great work.

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

This is an ad for corn chips. But it does not talk about the corn chips. It does not talk about their taste. It does not talk about the texture inside your mouth. It does not talk about all that crap they talk about on Master Chef. It does not show close-ups of chips falling or exploding into a fine cheese dust.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, it instead focuses on positioning Doritos as a valuable commodity. 

Why?

Because, with a thousand corn chips out there, how do you stand out? So why compete on a level playing field when you can change that playing field to suit you?

So who’s cool? Doritos, that’s who.

Now let’s dance.

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

A lot of people will keep things simple because it’s cheap.

Sure, there’s value in that, but only if it’s done right. It needs to be the right thing, done simply, not simply something done cheap.

Take Radiohead’s video for Lotus Flower. At face value, it’s no different to so many vacuous music videos. A singer sings to camera, all on their own. Simple, right? Maybe, but there’s a lot of thinking that goes into making something so simple so damn effective.

Just take Thom Yorke’s performance. It’s mesmerising. Though choreographed by Wayne McGregor, it’s done with a sense of spontaneity that makes it feel intimate and authentic.  

We hadn’t seen Thom like that before either, and this alone made the piece transformative. Not giving us more of what we knew, but revealing what we didn’t, we got to peek behind the curtain of his personality. It makes us like him more, regardless of what we think of his dancing.

Shot in black and white, the music and performance are stripped to their raw ingredients too, removing any artifice between Thom and his audience.

That’s a lot going on. And it all required a lot of thought to make something so simple so powerful.

So next time someone says “let’s just do something simple” ask them whether they mean simple “cheap” or simple “good”? Then point them to Garth Jennings’ direction on this here video.

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

Intimate. Touching. Unexpected. They’re not words you’d usually associate with a beer ad, but that’s what went through my head as I first watched this one for John Smith’s out of DDB in London.

It even makes you think you’re watching another droll testimonial or maybe even a quaint milk ad with it’s “I’m Keith Beasley, dairy farmer” opening.  But, oh how wrong such assumptions are.

Playing with our expectations of beer ads, it challenges our ideas of masculinity, all while reaffirming the sanctity of mateship and the maverick spirit within all of us. A story so majestic in its restraint, yet so oddly heartwarming, it will have you smiling all the way to the pub. Cheers to that.

[friskesaidlikewhiskey]

Insurance is something old people care about. Until now.