High Five: Pomp&Clout's Favourite Dark and Absurdist Humour

It makes a lot of sense to learn that director Mike Diva was given an open brief and spun this concept up himself. We can only thank the ad gods it was greenlit. With an all-white room reminiscent of the final scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a Sandman-esque ditty floating into the mix, an idyllic stage is set for the subversive twist. “Everyone you love is gone. There is only ice cream.” Now, there’s a value proposition.

'Anyway U Want It' is such a breath of fresh air in an endless sea of music video mediocrity. It’s not often that a MV will have you cracking up louder and louder throughout as scenes and moves escalate to the peak of absurdity - flowers to director Erin Murray for gracing us with her most unhinged and hilarious movements yet. And hats off to visual artist Pete Puskas for bringing to life the vibrant virtual sex arena we’d all love to take for a spin.

I don’t remember where I first saw this, but it’s always cracked me up. The absurdity, the awkwardness, the vitamins and pills next to the witch - it’s super simple yet weirdly memorable. Shot entirely locked off with what looks like separate plates to composite the gas burner, crow, etc, our focus is kept entirely on a delightfully off-putting performance that portrays Skittles as weirdly as possible.

We made this spot with 215 McCann, Xbox, Jimmy Yang, and our friends at Common Good up in Toronto. It was one of the more freeform comedic spots we’ve done, with loads of creative opportunities presenting themselves along the way. Jimmy’s body double moment wasn’t even planned - he just looked too good, and Ryan and Jimmy decided he had to make an appearance in the edit.

Presented without comment.