Watch: What if normal people acted like agencies trying to win awards?

Ad Nut favourite Zulu Alpha Kilo of Toronto has done it again with the excelllent satire above, which skewers the lengths agencies will go to in order to win awards.

Like all the greatest satires, the film succeeds because it's not that far away from a realistic depiction of the process, but it uses just one twist to drive its point home. In this case, the twist is that the people seeking awards are mostly non-agency people, such as a lifeguard, a heart surgeon, a crossing guard, and a couple of kids running a lemonade stand. There's also a bemused dog walker who struggles to understand why an agency suddenly wants to spend time giving her business free advertising.

Ad Nut had a minion check with the agency, and all the people reacting to the suggestions are "real" people (not actors). So their reactions, ranging from puzzled to horrified, are a pretty good representation of what non-industry people would think of these practices—if they only knew.

The film debuted late last week at an Agency of the Year competition in Toronto, hosted by Strategy magazine. ZAK has made several other brilliant films for this show in the past:

• Holding company acquires, then ruins, an independent
• Nightmare pitch video is all too realistic
• Hey, kid, are you sure you want to go into advertising?
• Say no to spec
• What if ad concepts could talk smack?

CREDITS

Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Chief Creative Officer & Creative Director: Zak Mroueh
ACD/Art Director: Michael Siegers
ACD/Writer: Jonah Flynn
Account Team: Kara Oddi, Amy Nguyen
Producer: Lauren Schell, Jac Benoit
Production House: Zulubot
Director: Zak Mroueh
Post Production Company: Zulubot
Executive Prodcuer: Tom Evans
Director of Photography: Tony Edgar
Second Camera: Billy Stefanidis
Editor: Brian Noon
Casting: Jigsaw Casting- Shasta Lutz
Online: Felipe Chaparro
Colour: Alter Ego Post
Colourist: Conor Fisher
Audio Recordist: Stephen Dranitsaris
Audio Engineer: Dino Cuzzolino

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.