A cigarette commercial directed by French auteurs Jean-Luc Godard and Anne-Marie Miéville. Fine. It doesn't have the same quality as presented by the classic ones
made by Marlboro in America and then brodcast to the world at the time and before that, neither the same artsy quality as the ones made by Carlton in the mid 1990's as
shown in here before the banning of such ads on televison (the ones from Carlton are part of my childhood with peaceful, empty scenarios all shot in black-and-white with tons
of red,
with a smooth soundtrack in the background. YouTube might have one of those last ads). Yet this one by Godard has a page here so it gets a brief comment.
It's highly unusual where there are countless packs displayed on the ground - I think the scenery is a shoping mall - and someone walks around them, not stomping, just
pushing them around with her foot, at the same time a skater makes some moves around bigger versions of such packs, as Godard keeps reading a book called "Parisienne People".
That's it. Oh he lights the cigarette without showing himself on the screen, just his hands. It's a highly unusual cigarette ad, it doesn't have that attractive quality
those commercials used to present so it's hard to judge and say if it works or don't - and we're talking about a product that has its fans (smokers) and haters (non-smokers).
A point of balance and a more interesting evaluation would come from a smoker who grew up watching those ads and say if there's quality in what Godard/Mièville does or not.
Compared with similar ads from the 1990's, this is quite poor. On itself, it works in creating some curiosity for the brand, its the usual style in which he shot everything
in his films so...there's some quality in it. 6/10.
