A 30-Second Mr. Brooks

I don’t about you guys but I am a huge movie buff. When I first saw the spot above for The Lustgarten Foundation, a PSA announcement for Pancreatic cancer it reminded me of a movie. A movie that I absolutely love titled Mr. Brooks starring Kevin Costner. In the movie, Costner is a tortured serial killer who views his unnatural desire to kill as a disease. His disease is fueled by a hunger that is personified as a man known as “Marshal.” You can see Marshal in the movie but he isn’t real, he is only in Mr. Brooks’s mind. Marshal is always sitting in the back seat of the car when Brooks goes on his “outings.”

The commercial above has Pancreatic cancer personified as a man in the back of a car discussing his victims impending doom. The spot ends with a help find a cure for Pancreatic Cancer message. The message and the rest of the spot, in my opinion didn’t go together. But back to the commercial and the movie, the spot had an eerie similarity to the 2007 flick, what do you all think?

In my opinion the spot was great but would others have made the same connection between the movie and the ad? If you haven’t seen the movie, what would you think of the commercial’s idea? The idea that death personified as a man discussing his victims death in the back of a car seem kind of morbid to me. Also, can you believe the spot is a PSA?

The agency that created this Pancreatic Cancer spot is Gardner Nelson + Partners. This is the first time I’ve heard of this ad agency. But it’s someone new I get to mention so that makes me happy.

Best,
A.B.