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History of cinema largely eludes Hennessy Film buffs may chuckle when they see Berlin Cameron United’s new work for Hennessy cognac. The print ads are designed to look like posters for a movie called The Lost Weekend (which is actually a 90-second spot running online). Cinema fans, though, will recall the classic film The Lost Weekend, perhaps the greatest movie ever made about alcoholism. (Directed by Billy Wilder, it won Best Picture in 1945 for its portrayal of a chronic alcoholic’s four-day drinking bout.) Hennessy surely doesn’t mean to suggest its stylish imbibers are just a bunch of lousy drunks. But from the looks of the party scene in the ad, some of them will lose at least part of their weekend in recovery. —Posted by Tim Nudd

September 5, 2007 | Permalink

Comments

Sometime I just wonder what the meetings are like that lead up to these things.

Then I see the problem right in the credits. The agency CEO gets to screenwrite/starfuck with a celebrity photog and hip-hop producer, so who the hell on the team is going to tell this non-America-with-a-dream that the single greatest American film about drunkenness - one known by anyone serious about cinema and legendary in popular cultural parlance - shares a title with his 90 second internet short with hackneyed internationalized stock characters hawking booze.

"Oh, it doesn't matter. That movie is old, anyway." "Our target doesn't care." "No one will make the connection." Hello, it's alcohol marketing; you don't mess around with this kind of stuff. Why not do a heartwarming story about adoption and call it "Rosemary's Baby" while you're at it?

And where was the client? Is there even a social responsibility team in the house doing anything besides making sure there's plenty of hooch in the Hummer?

I hope MADD crawls up their ass about this. Really dumb.

Posted by: Ray Milland | Sep 5, 2007 2:31:46 PM

WoW! This is badvertising at its best. I don't know which are worse the ads or the TV spots. Really really dumb!

Posted by: BSV | Sep 6, 2007 10:56:22 PM

WoW! This is badvertising at its best. I don't know which are worse the ads or the TV spots. Really really dumb!

Posted by: BSV | Sep 6, 2007 10:56:23 PM

You sound a bit pretentious to me. Its alcohol. It doesnt matter. Its meant to be over the top, hell, its meant to be WRONG. The target audience:drinkers. Sounds like you dont get out from behind your computer much. Its entertainment. Who WOULDNT take that vacation? Are you kidding me? It hits its market dead on the head, regardless of movie historionics. Poor movie history reference but effective adverstising to me.

Posted by: Anthony | Sep 11, 2007 8:26:25 PM

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