I Screen Studies

For reasons I can’t quite explain, this really, really shits me. No, I mean REALLY shits me.

I was in a mall in Seoul last week with a bunch of people I met at the congress (see previous post) when we wandered past a shop selling one brand of mobile phone. The arresting thing about the shop was the massive picture of Audrey Hepburn – in a publicity still from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I think – which had been doctored, appropriated and sullied in the most horrific way. The picture was captioned, in English, “I’m Audrey Hepburn, I’m secret”. All well and good, if somewhat enigmatic. But what got my dander well and truly up was the clear suggestion that Audrey was endorsing a brand of mobile phone.

Now I don’t object to celebrity endorsements per se, and of course I know that Audrey endorsed a number of products during her lifetime,

but she’s DEAD for chrissakes! And she probably never even used a mobile phone.
There are even TV ads for the Cyon Black Label phone that use clips from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Roman Holiday with a cutesy version of ‘Moon River’ over the top. Not Audrey’s version, mind – why not? Cost too much for those rights?

But then, perhaps I’m just naive (and behind the times – but then, kind of goes without saying really), as in hunting the internet for ammunition for my new crusade to save Audrey from the evil advertisers I’ve found this commercial for Gap.

Now that shits me too, but not as much as the Korean phone ones. I found a reference to this Gap commercial on The Fabulous Audrey Hepburn blog, which also mentions some Japanese tea commercials which suggest Audrey’s endorsement. Again, I find these offensive, but not nearly as gut-wrenchingly awful as the Korean phone ads.