Back in March, the New York Times did a story on an ad campaign for insurance company Liberty Mutual that would center around a realistic-yet-fictional blue collar American family known as “the Marlowes” who are coping with problems stemming from the economic recession. The ads — budgeted at $50-$60 million — are part of a project started by the company in 2006 called “The Responsibility Project” which seeks to “encourage discussions on subjects related to responsibility.”
Harmony Korine was commissioned by advertising company Hill Holliday to direct the ads, which show a drastically different side of the filmmaker. Though there is a similar naturalistic, improvised quality to the performances (and even a touch of the surreal), where most of Korine’s work seeks to shock, these ads tug at the heartstrings. While flipping past one of the ads on TV, the vaguely Southern setting, lens flare-heavy cinematography, seemingly improvised acting, and young kid voice over, had us convinced it was the work of David Gordon Green as it’s strikingly similar to his work on “George Washington” (though watching it again, the kid in the animal costume seems like a slight nod to the Bunny Boy in “Gummo” ). However it is indeed Korine, and reveals an as yet unseen side of the filmmaker.
During their July 2009 interview with the “Trash Humpers” filmmaker, fansite Harmony-Korine.com asked why the man who was once more interested in filming movies where white trash kids kill cats for fun than anything resembling a commercial film would direct a series of at times “very scripted” commercials, Korine — who has also done ads for Budweiser — said he relished the chance to finally shoot in anamorphic 2:3:5 and respected that these ads weren’t pushing a “physical product” or “sticking a bottle in the frame.” The interview also reveals that the project came about from Korine’s signing with the award-winning advertising production company MJZ — who in the past has employed filmmakers like Spike Jonze and Craig Gillespie — so we should look forward to more ads from him in the future.
Korine directed 10 ads featuring the Marlowe family. The series is ongoing, but so far none of the spots have featured the kids eating spaghetti in filthy black bath water (though really, why not? Wouldn’t that convince you to buy some damn insurance?)
While some may think this is a major stretch, for the erstwhile shockateur’s work, it’s actually kind of a nice continuation of the soft, tender tones evinced in Korine’s “Mister Lonely” from last year. Though with “Trash Humpers” on the horizon, something not all of us have seen yet, it’s hard to say whether something more accessible is in the filmmaker’s pipeline. Until then, if you want to catch a semi-rare glimpse of Harmony Korine being all warm and fuzzy (again, also see “Mister Lonely”) — and with what looks to be his highest production values yet — check out the first ad entitled “Meet the Marlowes” below. You can find the others on the Responsibility Project website. — Stephen Belden