Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Банк Империал

You're in Russia. The year is 1995. After being late to work because the gangster driving in front of you was gunned down at point blank while at a stop light, you go to get lunch. You arrive at McDonald's and pay 50 Million rubles for a Big Mac. On the way back to work you see babushkas selling playboys to survive and men in tracksuits smoking Беломорканал cigarettes.

Later, you go home and watch on your new TV this commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_oTsEcGZxk

This epic commercial advertises a bank. In the chaos of post Soviet Russia many weird things happened and these commercials are one of them. Using a dramatically filmed episode from history, they illustrate majesty, power, or humor in order to sell Bank Imperial. Note how they never reference it's services though.


They were all directed by the same director (Timur Bekmambetov)
and won numerous awards throughout Europe. Sadly though, they did not keep Bank Imperial afloat and the bank disappeared.

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