I hate Dylan, and I hate adverts for banks.
The only thing blowing in the wind here is the flatulence of the whole affair. The advert is 150 seconds long, for fuck’s sake. Ten would be enough to convey the message behind this dumb hippy shit that simply ticks all the formulaic boxes with robotic accuracy.
Young tousled-mop hair boy, fantastical idealised version of Britain, recognisable public monuments, wind farms, melting glaciers, noble foreign folk – check, check, check…
It’s sad really, because the Co-op really does have something to shout about, its ethical investments policy for one.
The fact that this ad marries a dozen trite middle-class cliches shouldn’t really detract from the company’s laudable core values, but I defy anyone to watch it without feeling like they’ve been smugged to death by mung beans, joss sticks, The Independent on sodding Sunday, the Toyota bloody Prius and Bob Fucking Dylan.
In the latest in a long line of deeply-stupid finger-in-dam moves, music companies have started to withold permission for their songs being played on Youtube, even if the audio is married to a different visual. So you can’t actually hear the soundtrack on this ad, which is Blowin’ in the Wind. Small mercies, and all that.