Publívoros to screen 400 commercials in one show

BY MARIA GALLUCCI
The News
Sept. 18, 2009

Iconic television commercials and jingles can evoke in our minds those nostalgic images that have defined our popular culture. They also provide a glimpse into other worlds, reflecting the interests and desires of distinctly different consumers.

With more than 400 commercials from 30 countries, that's exactly what the Night of Los Publívoros hopes to project this weekend in Mexico City.

Now in its twelfth year, the six-hour program will screen commercials tonight from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Teatro Metropólitan in the city's Centro Histórico. This year's edition will also feature a 1917 silent advertisement featuring U.S. comedian Charlie Chaplin.

"It opens a window to the world through images and sounds," said event organizer Romain Greco. "Many times commercials as a genre have been undervalued, but we believe that in many cases, commercials are works of art. They're mini-movies."

Greco said the name Los Publívoros combines the Spanish words "publicidad" and "carnívoro," or "advertisement" and "carnivore." He estimated that around 3,000 fans of the marathon event, whom he called "ad-eaters," come out to the show each year.

"It's a great nighttime party," he said. "People applaud, whistle and cheer as if it was a concert or a soccer game."

The marathon concept was originally developed by French anthropologist Jean Marie Boursicot around thirty years ago, and the idea soon took flight in theaters around the world.

Los Publívoros began in Mexico in 1997, and today it presents itself as a dose of entertainment packed with social criticisms, reflections on contemporary society, images from the day-to-day and unexpected clips, Greco said. The short videos will screen in four 75-minute blocks, with brief intermissions between each set.

Similar programs will screen in 50 cities around the world, and cities in Russia, Japan, New York and others will show the same collection that will screen in Mexico.

However, Greco explained that, "It's not an event for advertisers, but rather, it is for everyone that likes film, photography, fashion and all these other genres."

He added that the selected commercials focus not only on marketed products, but universal issues such as AIDS, public health and political campaigns as well.

"Commercials talk to us about diversity. Many times we believe that diversity can create conflicts and problems, but it is part of our cultural richness. All of this diversity is shown on the screen by these various sources," he said.

Greco noted that it is particularly exciting for younger vieweres to experience the show.

"It is always interesting for a young person to see a commercial from Africa or Asia and see the priorities of the people there," he said. "Here, we're worried about having the lightest computer; others are worried about having water.

"There is a lot of social discourse over issues like terrorism, abuse, mistreatment of women, etc. It's not only commercials that are funny or sexy - there are more serious themes, too. We believe that commercials tell us much more than just 'Buy my product,' they speak to us about many other things.

"They teach us a little bit about the world we're living in."

Los Publívoros in the next months will also travel to other cities including San Luis Potosí, Irapuato, Puebla, Mérida, Campeche, Aguascalientes, Veracruz and Monterrey.