Yesterday, we experienced the previously undiscovered sci-fi powers of electric-blue paint (which, by the way, appears to have eliminated the need for colored contact lenses). Today, we meet the other side of pigment: Glidden, a carefree and down-to-earth spirit, presented in this new spot by DDB New York and its European partner, Etcetera. The ad takes what many people find to be a tedious and exhausting task—painting—and rather unconvincingly shows you how much fun it really can be. So much so, in fact, that even some elated nuns can't help jumping up and down at the simple joy of redoing the abbey's interior. (It's a wonder, though, that they avoided ruining those pristine habits.)
A gal and her pals, meanwhile, do such a great job of recreating the sun that the likeness assumes the gleaming characteristics of the real one. If the ad hadn't crossed the line into completely over-the-top joie de vivre, steel yourself for the ending. There, a crowd of people arrange innumerable cans of paint at the center of a baseball stadium to create a pointillist portrait of the aforementioned woman—inspiring in the viewer vague feelings of abundance, patriotism, and confusion. Is it her birthday? Were the friends to whom she recommended the brand so grateful that they conspired to produce the elaborate homage? In whose helicopter did she fly so as to witness the glory of this spectacle in its entirety?
In short, we can probably conclude that the kids at the beginning of the spot are probably the only ones actually having a good time, and that Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Blue Sky" was a strong choice to support the tenor of the spot.
CREDITS:
Client: Glidden
Agency: DDB, New York
Spot: "Everyone Can Paint"
Creative director: Mark Ledermann
Art/creative director: Heath Matyjewicz
Producer: Joanne Diglio
Etcetera creative director: Peter Van Leeuwan
Production company: MJZ
Director: Rocky Morton
Producer: Donald Taylor
