Duncan Macleod on faith and culture
SpecSavers in the UK provide us with “Colliewobble”, the story of a solitary shepherd whose poor eyesight becomes obvious as he shears the sheep, and border collie sheep dog. The advert uses cinematography and music to evoke the remoteness of Saksun in the Faroe Islands, between the Shetland Islands and Iceland. Actual Faroese shepherd, Peter Andreas Petersen, along with border collie Jim, gather the sheep for shearing.
MTV Staying Alive project includes “The Joy of Non Sex”, a commercial encouraging sexual partners to wear protection. The 1970s-style spoof of Alex Comfort’s Joy of Sex classic includes Position 9, The Sting, Position 23, The Lock of Gibraltar, and Position 28, The Journey of the Otter. All in the interests of safety in a world threatened by AIDS.
The British Council followed up its “Poms Will Whinge” campaign in Australia with a viral campaign showing the lengths people were prepared to go to meet and work with UK professionals through the Realise Your Dream competition.
Volvo and the NSW Asthma Foundation in Australia have commissioned a short film to engage young adults in the ongoing struggle for a cure for the 2.2 million Australians who suffer from asthma. Every day six die. There is no cure.
Barack Obama, during a rally at Powder Springs, Georgia, has suggested that American children learn to speak Spanish. It’s a suggestion that is bound to get people talking, in English. Predictably, the people Obama is referring to, such as US English, are not happy. US English points out that twice in the last three years, the U.S. Senate passed measures to make English the national language and to reduce multilingual entitlements. Legislation is currently pending in both the House and the Senate that would make English the official language. One bill, H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, has nearly 150 bi-partisan co-sponsors.
