Mother NY, I think you need to step up the crazy. Right now, Mother London has you beat in that department.
So, what is the Wooly Actors Guild (WAG) you ask? Well, according to a monkey puppet in the above video, movie studios worldwide have been participating in “woolism,” or prejudice against furry actors. In the online spot, Monkey explains that famous wool actors are being cut out of major films and replaced by, well, people. In fact, parts of Jurassic Park, Scarface, Jaws and Notting Hill were all re-cast with human actors, perpetuating this cycle of discrimination. What does this all mean? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that Notting Hill is included alongside classic blockbusters.
You see, while only a blip on the United States’ cultural radar, Notting Hill was a gigantic success overseas in Britain. This would imply that while we Americans probably find this WAG thing utterly confusing, the British will think this is hilarious. In fact, Monkey is a beloved commercial character in the UK, best known for being the spokespuppet for ITV Digital, a now-defunct PPV television overseas that folded after four years. While ITV Digital is now long-forgotten, Monkey’s popularity endures. Still confused?
On the WAG’s website, interested parties can sign a petition asking movie studios to give equal rights to wooly actors. Of course, this is a strange, empty gesture. However, web visitors will hopefully click on the big “SHOP” button on the site, where they can purchase Monkey and WAG merchandise. Apparently, Monkey-related merchandise was insanely popular commodity when ITV went off the air in 2002. Proceeds from this merchandise then goes to Comic Relief, a British charity that you may remember from its American spinoff, which started in the 80s.
In other words, Mother wants you to watch this viral video, remember the monkey from a failed British digital TV channel, visit the website, sign a petition and then buy stuff on the web store, which will then go to charity. Do I have this right? I don’t know, send this your friends from across the pond and see if they can make more sense out of it. Credits after the jump.
Creative Agency: Mother
Art Director: Mother
Copywriter: Mother
Planner: Mother
Agency Producer: Mother
Director: Anthony Austin
Production Co: BOSH
Producer: Alex Hedges
Editor: Tim Symes
Post Production: The Moving Picture Company
Post Production Producer: Ian Luxford
Illustrator: BOSH
Audio Post-Production: Daniel Beckwith at Factory
Sound Design: Daniel Beckwith at Factory
Typographer: BOSH
DoP: Luke Palmer