I came across this spot this evening and thought it may apply to the test (don’t let the URL dissuade or disgust you. or, maybe do.)

http://ineedahandjob.com/Handjob/Order.html

primarily, it seems to me, they highlight those moments when the value provided by the cultural resonance (usually dissonant?) far outweighs (mocks?) the assumed value the market and us, as participants, are meant to invest.

so doing, it seems, they are able to do what all great advertising does – inspire affection for a proposition – all while mocking both the notion of affection and the expectation that they might actually be in business, transacting, pitching, etc.

I suppose the question then is, what changes when you realize that they are, in fact, actual profit-seeking devices? and is this kind of deconstruction available only to the mundane?

Gosh! My hopes are that this is satire and that there are still clients out there that wouldn’t let this fly. You’d be surprised! Scary thing is that it might be considered “real” advertising because it could be “disruptive.” It’s also why my first reaction to watching Napoleon Dynamite was to slap my TV set a few times.

What’s fascinating is that you could pose such a question, and folks may actually have to ponder it?

Some Satire Giveaways: it’s too long, haircut guarantee, carrying mannequin heads by the hair–Nice touch, btw… And my personal favorite, a line I thought was the USP… (Rosser Reeves forgive me!) “I won’t mess up, and even if I do, it’s only $2.” I could hear the wheels turning…”Uh…2 BUCKS? OR… Uhhh…How I look for uhhh… the next 4 to 6 weeks? Uhhh, OKAY, Ralphie-boy… You got me! 2 bucks it is!!!”

Nice try. Hell, a re-edit might do the trick.

Of course it helps that they are local and not making fun of an outside group.

Amen to a couple of guys who have taken a stand against the brutally lame “local commercials” that we’ve learned to accept – and who have taken the initiative to go from consumer to producer!

Yeah, they had fun with the cheesiness of the whole production. But what’s important, is that these guys understand pop culture. There’s something about ‘satire’ that our culture finds extremely entertaining. And I can justify this argument with two words – Family Guy.

Also, this production is totally intended for a local male audience. A culture that isn’t ‘fashionable’ – but rather a slow culture that appreciates the simple things life has to offer – ‘pretty’ girls and good humor. In this case, it doesn’t get any more ‘genuine’ than “the two dollar haircut.”

So my answer…does it matter? The bottom line – bad local commercials, consumers turned producers, an understanding of culture, +184,000 impressions. Not bad!