Ads that borrow from pop culture tend to do so in one of two ways. Either they invite the viewer to join the dots for themselves, or they spell out the cultural references.
The former appeals to the viewer’s intelligence and hipness quotients but can end up confusing, as in the case of the recent Murphy’s commercial. The other approach, exemplified by the new ad for Lyons tea, made by DDFH&B, is safer and more reliable. A homage to Chicken Run, it has, unlike many ads that doff a fedora to the big screen, a life of its own. Homage ads work best when they doff in the direction of art works so deeply embedded in popular culture that they are unmistakeable. Deep pockets help too: Ford’s Bullitt and Easy Rider recreations were helped by the fact that the motor company could buy footage from the former and hire Dennis Hopper for the latter.
The Lyons ad is lower budget but more subtle and intelligent than both; money isn’t everything. The tale of three depressed birds moving flat is a freely adapted homage to a less freely adapted homage, its Plasticine birds resembling those in Nick Park’s take on The Great Escape, but its narrative having little in common with Chicken Run.
A skewed, Irish take of a parody of a PoW film is, as one might expect, a minefield, but what could have ended up gratuitous turns out a delight. In a dig at drinkers of Barry’s tea, the ad opens with two birds speaking in Cork accents: “Who chose this dump anyway?” asks one. Though comic, the script is as downbeat as the birds’ new flat.
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Naturalistic dialogue aside, the ad comes up trumps in its attention to detail, from the solitary light bulb to the almost subliminal shot of one bird scratching its rear end, to its cartoon take of Odlum’s iconic owl.
The final, surreal scene of the three birds supping cups of humble tea while discussing the merits of Aztec Sunrise wallpaper, is pure, updated Flann O’Brien. When no rashers grease your pan, DDFH&B is your only man.