If you're lucky enough to live into your golden years, you've earned the right to act as ridiculous as you want.
This campaign for Ethel + Frank, a new online store for vintage handbags, charmingly plays on the theme of old lady swag—aka, the raunchy, shameless stylings of women 65 and above. Three videos present slow-motion, tongue-in-cheek portraits of ladies decked out in full kitsch, making eyes at the camera while showing off their most outrageous dance moves.
The overall production is distinctly reminiscent of camp masters Tim and Eric's Super Bowl commercial for Loctite via Fallon. But it's a good fit for Ethel + Frank's niche positioning, which itself is timely given the zeitgeist's general fascination with nonagenarian icon Iris Apfel and her ilk.
"When it comes to fashion, old ladies are the shit," reads the "About" copy on the Ethel + Frank website, which is dripping with bravado. "They ignore magazines and trends because more than anyone, they know style has little to do with the outfit you wear."
The clips are all funny in their own ways, though "Nanee" might the richest thanks to the understated brilliance of its star, who wields a banana like a pistol in a modern nod to Mae West (with Groupon overtones) and enjoys a sort of Scarface-Carmen-Miranda moment.
Kelly Diaz, a copywriter who's worked at agencies including Mother New York, launched Ethel+Frank just last week, and created the ads with director Michael Immerman. Diaz said she "wanted to launch a chick brand with some attitude and a sense of humor after working on one too many 'vanilla' female-targeted campaigns."
Extra points for also not being obnoxiously posh.