I have to give INSANE amounts of props to the marketing company who created the latest campaign for Dos Equis. It’s called “The Most Interesting Man in the World” and it has all the marks of a solid campaign: originality, creativity, and downright effective salesmanship. Here is the most recent commercial they’ve issued:
Last week, I purchased a very reasonably priced silkscreen print from a young artist named Baxter Orr. Here it is:
I really like his stuff, but I can’t decide if he’s an asshole or not. Last year, he took Shepherd Fairey’s “Obey Giant” image and altered it slightly, and now, he is selling prints of his alteration on his website. Fairey has since issued a cease and desist order against him. On the surface, the cease and desist order makes Fairey look like a hypocrite. Because last year, Fairey took a random AP photo of Barack Obama and turned it into the now internationally famous “Obama Hope” poster.
It seems painfully obvious that making Fairey look like a hypocrite was Orr’s intention. But when you really think about it, Orr’s alteration of the Obey Giant image has none of the heartwarming purity of Fairey’s alteration of the AP photo of Obama. Fairey put a ridiculous amount of work into the Obama Hope poster, while Orr just stuck a surgical mask on the Obey Giant image. Now, if Orr was simply distributing his alteration for free, that would be one thing. But he’s selling his alteration for $30 a pop, which seems just plain low. The bitch of it is, Orr really does have talent of his own.
Finally, the three CDs currently in my 3-disc changer:
1) XTC – Nonsuch
2) Hercules and Love Affair – Hercules and Love Affair
3) The Katies – The Katies
Have a lovely end to your weekend.
