28 March 2008

Separation of Church and Steak





"Smith & Wollensky is embarking on a new national campaign to promote the restaurant's nine high end steak houses. Scored by the glorious 'Credo' of Johan Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor, this nearly wordless 30 second commercial presents rapid fire images of the complete Wollensky experience -- the waiters, the food, the customers, the works. It's wrapped up by a concluding line, "If steak were a religion, this would be its cathedral."

This is my new favourite commercial. It is so fucking retarded that it's actually amazing. But when I first saw it I didn't realise just how brilliant it was, I just knew something had caught my attention and drawn me to it; something about it was intriguing, if not downright hypnotic!

It's meat, its sanguine, its read, its fire and flame, its devil-may-care greed and decadence and just... its... its... its HELL!

Its basically a subconscious-laden commercial about hell and living it up in hell and not giving a fuck about anything. Pay close attention to the colours - if you don't your subconscious will - it's crimson, deep mahogany browns, golds, crisp whites, dark hunter greens along with cackling faces, the supposition of disposable wealth and absolute power... It's lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride all within 30 immaculate seconds. I would not be the least bit surprised if Scorsese had ghost-produced this commercial.


This commercial should seriously be studied in advertising schools and psychology classes. Theres a lot of subliminal shit in here, too. An oil painting of a patriotic cherub flashes at one point... is that Israfil? the angel responsible for signalling the coming of Judgment Day by blowing a horn and sending out a Blast of Truth?

From the choral music to the idiots dining there to the admittedly brilliant "If Steak Were A Religion, This Would Be Its Cathedral" tagline...

But my most favourite part is the cherry on top, the waiter at the end, the demonic grim reaper, the devil himself: "Nice t'see y'again". Like welcome back to hell, we know who you are, you're a well-known member around here and we've been awaiting your arrival. Sound the trumpets.

God, I could watch this all day. It's that good. A brilliant commercial.

And that's a lot coming from a vegetarian.

It's on the homepage here, check it out. It's seriously addictive. I'd love to know who directed it and what the proposal and concept was behind it. I guarantee it had something to do with the seven deadly sins.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anyone know from which recording of the mass in b minor this credo comes? Is it Shaw? Gardiner? other?

Cecilia Pineda Feret said...

Did you ever find out who made this commercial? The director? The ad agency? The video production company?

Never considered the subliminal stuff, but now that you mention it . . .A steak dinner is certainly up there on the scale of decadence . . .