engine of change

If Dr. David Banner had had access to information on the Internet, he might have found a way to control his anger instead of turning into the Incredible Hulk whenever he got upset.
Similarly, if Janet Leigh’s embezzling secretary character from Psycho had sought out a decent motel online rather than finding one by chance, she probably could have avoided her fateful encounter with Norman Bates.
Such are the alternate universe scenarios depicted in new TV spots for Internet search engine AltaVista.
The spots, via Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore., show how these well-known characters’ lives might have changed had they used AltaVista.
The ads use actual footage from the TV and movie scenes, but the outcomes are altered through clever editing. For example, Dr. Banner’s metamorphosis into the Hulk is reversed after the words “Anger management techniques” are typed into the AltaVista search prompt.
The tagline remains, “Smart is beautiful.”
Copywriter Mark Fitzloff, who partnered with art director Danielle Flagg on the Hulk spot, said there are endless possibilities for more altered endings.
–Angela Dawso