I‘ve been a fan of actress Ellen Page’s work ever since she appeared in the Indie hit Juno. She’s always had a great mix of intelligence, humor, depth and humility in every role she has taken on, and while I haven’t met her, she seems as down to earth as they come. She also gets extra brownie points for being Canadian, natch!
Earlier tonight, at the Human Rights Campaign Time to Thrive Conferencebeing held in Las Vegas, Ellen Page came out as a gay woman. She was visibly shaken with nerves and understandably so. The following speech displays her ‘oh so human’ plight, and it was one that moved me beyond words.
I’m truly happy for her, and for anyone she may inspire to authentically walk in their truth, whatever that may be.
‘I Am Tired of Lying by Omission’—Ellen Page
Watch here:
Here’s to compassion & acceptance for all human beings…
I absolutely adore when an ad house collaborates with multiple streams to create something so unique it *begs* to be noticed.
In this case, creative titans Sid Lee collaborated with Absolut Vodka and ‘It Girl’ group Icona Pop for a fusion cocktail of premium Absolut Vodka and a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand called Absolut Tune. The sparkly new concoction; which tastes a little like champagne with a dash of vodka, is obvs not champagne at all–but it looks absolutely yummylicious!
The packaging and ornate glass bottle have a polish and sophistication that will be a huge hit with party-goers and house warming gifters alike, especially over thanksgiving weekend and X-mas. Again, the allure here is that for $31.95, it looks like a champagne bottle with an authentic wire cork, and you’ll probably want to save the bottle itself as a keepsake place to keep your spare change.
Absolut Tune
But I digress. I’m not here to ‘flog poetic’ about the product (unless I’m getting PAID—which I’m not)
The realgenius here is in the marketing campaign!
The viral video which focuses on a modern New York House Ball is loosely based on the iconic documentary Paris is Burning–a chronicle of the 80’s Harlem drag and house ball scene that came out in 1990. It was in this film that the audience was introduced to a profusion of terminology like ‘Realness,’ ‘Giving Face,’ Reading and a highly stylized dance called Voguing.
The fact that the “All Night” video is a narrative of the house ball scene, a music video and very subtleadvertorial in one is where the magic lies. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing José Gutiérrez known as Father Jose (AKA Father Xtravaganza) featured prominently in this video.
No Way Jose!!!
Gutiérrez is a famed choreographer and a stalwart of the house ball scene, who at a young age had a brief cameo in Paris is Burning.
Gutiérrez also gained international acclaim when Madonna hand-picked him to be a principal dancer on her Blond Ambition tour and featured him in her video for “Vogue“.
To sum up; this is one of the best ads I’ve seen in recent memory. It’s authenticity and attention to detail makes the branding potential for Absolute Tune limitless, with ‘house party’ events already being planned with the likes of DJ’s Samantha Ronson and Solange Knowles in New York and LA.
The Pop Culture Rainman™ 