Brands

Adobe’s ‘Mean Streets’ Commercial Is Pretty Much the Best Thing About Advertising Week

By Joe Lazer

That isn’t to say that Advertising Week has been anything short of awesome; “Mean Streets,” which parodies click-buying like nobody’s business, is just that good.

The video was posted to YouTube on Monday, and has played before most Advertising Week sessions. I hadn’t seen it before Sam Slaughter and I took the stage on Monday, and we were still cracking up as we struggled to start our presentation.

It’s incredibly spot-on; one of the best parodies—and summaries—of the state of marketing today. You can just watch the video above, but because I love it so much, I’m also going to give the play-by-play:

An nervous, middle-aged man in a disheveled suit rushes down a dark street and approaches a dealer who looks disturbingly like Brad Pitt circa 1998.

Disheveled marketer: Yo, man, I need some clicks.

Dealer: OK, OK, I’ve got some choice clicks right here, yo. (Ballin’ arm gestures.) Impressions, pageviews, followers.

Disheveled marketer: Are they pure?

Dealer: Man, I don’t cut with bots.

Disheveled marketer: You got some likes?

Dealer: Whoa, this is a high-class operation.

Disheveled marketer (nearly crying): C’mon, everybody’s doing it… I’ve got my whole Q4 budget right here. (Reaches into jacket pocket.)

Dealer (stopping him): Whoa, whoa, easy.

Disheveled marketer (increasingly desperate): I just need enough to get me through this quarter.

Then the cops come, slam him against the wall, and book him in a holding cell with a bunch of criminals that closely resemble the Monstars from Space Jam. (There was clearly a heavy ’90s influence in the writer’s room for this one.) When he tells the creepy prisoner next to him that he’s in for buying clicks, the creepy prisoner slinks away. Who knows what would have happened if he said he was in for buying likes.

If you’re still reading this, and are as ridiculously excited as I am, check out the alternative ending: