Therapy a la Prada

It's always nice when advertising doesn't feel like advertising. In both agencies that I have worked for this was always the big aim. The biggest criticism was always "It feel like an advert" - a dirty word within the world of advertising it seems. Selly selly? Well, its just not cool. So we try to create experiences, bits of entertainment, dress things up as short films, music videos, pieces of journalism and games.

In Prada's new advert premiered at the Cannes film festival they have achieved this aim. This is advertising alright, but it is niftily disguised as a short art film - with Helena Bonham Carter (LOVE) and Ben Kingsley. It's also directed by Roman Polanski.

The product placement is subtle - we see Helena kick off her Prada shoes. And it seems Prada has a sense of humour. Helena plays a spoilt rich daddy's girl wearing Prada. She's no waif-like angle lit by sun flares on a beach. This is no boring perfume advert. Instead we have a psychotherapist's room and Kingsley who cannot resist the lure of trying a dramatic glamourous pose in a woman's fur coat.

Funny that Prada chose the fur coat to play centre stage - that's not gonna make Peta pleased.
Nice job though guys.