The Night of the AdEaters

The Night of the AdEaters is an annual showcase of the worldwide advertising: not necessarily of the best, the fanciest, or the most artistic advertising but simply of the most interesting commercials or the ones that cannot be missed. The event was founded in 1981 by a film-enthusiast Jean Marie Boursicot in France and the concept became successful and well known very soon. Later, the show spread all around the world - nowadays it is run as a tour in more than 160 cities and 40 countries.

The 2008 Edition had its premiere 25 April in Moscow. In the Czech Republic, this year’s show was held at the beginning of October – 3^rd and 4^th in Prague and 10^th in Brno. The almost six hours long screening contained 500 ads and short films, 480 of which were previously unscreened. The menu was very diverse and included a huge number of forms of the international advertising, such as 2008 soccer collection dedicated to this ‘Year of Football’ in Europe, Paris as seen in advertising, the winning Russian, Polish and Mexican commercials, celebrities, old cultic adverts, and of course a large amount of pro-social ads.

The Night of the AdEaters allows no censorship: alcohol, tobacco, and sex are openly shown. Celebrities, politicians and top sportsmen and sportswomen are also present. Humor, wittiness, innuendos, sarcasm, and emotions are without any doubt the strongest weapons of the commercials presented. Controversy is a part of the plan – it is there to shock, to make the ads memorable. Despite the fact that the fun factor is high, the most important goal is to open the eyes and hearts of the audience. Thus, the world’s greatest concerns and issues are openly discussed: AIDS, nature protection, racism, hunger and poverty, smoking, alcohol and drugs, domestic violence, abusing of children, euthanasia, black market with human organs, etc. The organizers of the event believe that such a personal encounter with these problems cannot let the public cold and idle.

The creator of this tradition, Jean Marie Boursicot, is also a director and owner of the unique Cinématheque – “the only film library in the world dedicated to TV and cinema commercials.” Up to this day, Boursicot has collected more than 800,000 adverts from all around the world. The oldest one comes from a year 1898.

The attached video files should give you an idea about the pro-social commercials that can be seen during the Night of the Adeaters. These seven deal with the issues of smoking, AIDS, guns, and sharing among people.

More info and spots at:
The Night of the AdEaters
YouTube

List of References:

Adeaters 2008 – 6. (2008). Youtube – Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_khIjRME7mU&feature=related

Adeaters 2008 – 7. (2008). Youtube – Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDp-hTdzsj4&feature=related

Against Guns. (2007). Youtube – Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFifGnokwY8

Jean Marie Boursicot’s Cinematheque. (2008). The Night of the AdEaters - Official Website. Retrieved December 25, 2008, from http://www.nuitdespublivores.com/us/cinematheque-jean-marie-boursicot.htm

Pub MTV Sida. (2007). Youtube – Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3J80ttz11A&feature=related

Quitting is Hard, Not Quitting is Harder. (2007). Youtube – Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3W2fmYz2os

Sidaction – Sablier Humain. (2007). Youtube – Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WhPTygHLMI

The Concept. (2008). The Night of the AdEaters - Official Website. Retrieved December 25, 2008, from http://www.nuitdespublivores.com/us/nuitdespublivores.htm

Think Smoking is Sexy?. (2006). Youtube – Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bblNcA0U6Fo&feature=related

Worldwide Tour. The Night of the AdEaters - Official Website. Retrieved December 25, 2008, from http://www.nuitdespublivores.com/us/tournee-nuit-des-publivores.htm