Maybe you've seen this American Express ad featuring Martin Scorsese directing a most random group of celebrities (Shaun White and Alicia Keys?) in a fake spot about soliciting humanitarian ideas from card members. It's been running for weeks in heavy rotation, so it's a safe time to ask: huh? Until that preppie interrupts the shoot, it's undeniable that the ad is earnestly un-Scorsese. It's creepy, actually.
A friend, who thinks this ad is funny, pointed out that it's a mock-public service announcement, which might be the case. But that drab location looks like an unused set from a no-budget Aaliyah video, and the only person who doesn't look trapped in this wax museum is Ellen DeGeneres. She delivers the comic relief, which is funny simply because it cracks up Andre Agassi, and that seems spontaneous. But, seriously, what a weird commercial: why is Shaun White wearing that suit, and why is he straddling that poor ugly chair, and would Scorsese, who directed the whole commercial, really use such a plain wide shot?
But to quote my friend: "Dude, it's to change the world. What's wrong with you?"
