SO HERE IS HOW IT STARTS...
A couple of ad guys (and gals) are sitting at a bar. Please stop me if you’ve heard this.
One looks up from his martini and says,“I just did the worst f***ing commercial in the history of the world.” “Oh yeah,” says the guy across the table, finishing his imported beer, “No way. The thing I did last year is still the worst piece of s*** to ever run on network.” “You guys don’t know the meaning of the word,” she says, draining her third (or fourth) cosmopolitan (a Sex and the City moment), “Try feminine hygiene. I did five of the world’s worst and guess which one won in testing. Computer graphics, Suzanne Sommers, and the world’s most disgusting mnemonic all wrapped up in some mindless marketer’s wet dream. You guys are f***ing amateurs. Waiter…”
And so it goes – each skilled communication professional absolutely convinced that he or she is responsible for the dumbest, most offensive, and embarrassing piece of 30 second communication ever created. What’s a mother to do?
How to Solve This Problem.
So – sometime back in the previous century, we did and that’s how the April Fool Film Festival was born. Back then, it was all actually on film. Hoping we were among friends, we all brought in those vile little 16mm prints, told the sorry tale of their misbegotten birth, and brought them once more see the light accompanied by the laughter and shouts of dismay of our fellow victims.
It wasn’t pretty – but it was kind of fun.
Today, with technology allowing whole new levels of bad judgment and inappropriateness – whether purposeful or the accidental excrement of some marketer run amok, we celebrate our shared humanity with this once a year moment of truth.
Bruce Bendinger – Founder The April Fool Film Festival.