… Keith Brymer Jones. There’s no contest. Promotional videos for ceramics sometimes feel like an afterthought, a slapdash 20-second commercial showing the work rotating against a gray background accompanied by music you’d normally hear playing at the dentist’s office.
Jones, who works out of Whitstable in the United Kingdom, injects a little more life into his videos by turning them into an extension of his work. These films sometimes take the form of pop song parodies, but before you roll your eyes at me check out his take on Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” video.
The production that went into this video is astonishing. Jones, who expertly mimics the look of the original down to Adele’s dress, has a great singing voice. He also injects a “Silence of the Lambs” vibe into the story and if there’s one thing I love about the Brits, it’s their passion for horror-comedy. God help me, I’ve watched this video three times this morning.
You’ll recognize the same mugs as co-stars in this soap opera produced by Jones:
Comedy is too often misconstrued as a “low” art form, but its ability to bring people together through chaos and irreverence is powerful. The BBC interviewed Jones about his films after he released a ceramics parody of Pharrell Williams’ pop earworm “Happy.” The designer says he likes to portray himself in a different way; he doesn’t like to take himself too seriously and he uses that attitude to make connections with people.
“It comes across as very personable. It’s showing the process. It’s not selling the product as such. It’s trying to connect with who you’re trying to sell to in not a very sort of sales way.”
Bill Rodgers is a Contributing Editor at CFile.
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Truly Fabulous!
I love,
Mia
A big Keith video fan for a while now. Hadn’t seen the one where he shows us the scene behind the curtain in China. Lots of happy factory workers. But I’ve seen other Chinese factory worker pictures, they don’t look so happy. I suppose there’s a place for such large scale manufacturing, but it’s a touchy issue. Conflicted feelings about seeing another exciting and innovative potter turn to potentially borderline slave wages to get the edge over others struggling to make ends meet with (their own) hand made items…
funny & informative; my head is spinning with songs I would love to see Keith’s version of !!!
Now that is great fun…a good warm laugh and smile on a cold and rainy day. Thanks c-file. You made my day! HAPPY! Thanks Keith!!!!
I will show these to my students as a last class treat tomorrow. Thanks, as always
Truly Fabulous! Ceramics as theatre prop (and prompt!) – just what I love. Thanks for sharing this.
I have been a ‘Keith’ fan ever since I saw his Adele take. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen in ceramics marketing- a place where humour is not in abundance. Glad he gets the gong for best video from your end also. I have friends who have bought his ceramics solely on the basis of the videos- so also very effective!
Those soap opera stars look too much like the main protagonists in celebrated
British film ‘Brief Encounter’, and the era is dead-on too…. for it to be a co-incidence.
Jones has a cerami-parody-promo for a range it seems… great stuff!