They both take place in Grand Central Station, and they both involve stationary people. This is where the similarities end though. Grand Central Station is an iconic locale, and the fact that Sony and Improv Everywhere use it for their work is not out of the ordinary.
The freezing subjects are handled differently: the Sony Models make a grand entrance as mannequins come to life, while Improv Everywhere actors operate in their usual matter-of-fact approach. Two videos taking place in the same location and having a similar concept doesn't imply any idea theft. At best, it suggests inspiration.
Why don't we throw criticism at Improve Everywhere for the basis of their operation being blatantly taken from Allan Kaprow's Happenings and the event scores of Fluxus?
I was intrigued though by the url at the end of the Vaio video: sony.com/golightly. I immediately thought this was a reference to Breakfast at Tiffany's, and this would have made sense with the video's fashion direction. Sony has tagged the latest Vaio with "Go lightly. The world's lightest, most stylish 8" notebook."
For me, The idea of "go lightly" brings up images of the repetitive myspace pages of young women with Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly plastered about. It makes me think: have these women seen the movie (or read Capote's book) and experienced Holly's character, or are they buying into the surface image of Holly with her apartment and parties? I admit I have 2 Breakfast at Tiffany's posters in my room (I don't know how I ended up with two). I enjoy the film for its technicolor bliss, George Peppard's impeccable fashion and the Jets to Brazil poster. I don't think of or equate myself to Peppard though.
Sony's Vaio commercial and tagline have done more social criticism than Improv Everywhere could have ever hoped to do with its (although funny and quirky) hollow displays. Sony, unwittingly or not, has painted its mannequin models with their mechanical movements and repetitive features as our generation's Holly Golightys. They are out there on the internet striving for style over substance and making themselves into just one of many new mannequins: fake, brittle and dressed by someone else.
Why don't we throw criticism at Improve Everywhere for the basis of their operation being blatantly taken from Allan Kaprow's Happenings and the event scores of Fluxus?
I was intrigued though by the url at the end of the Vaio video: sony.com/golightly. I immediately thought this was a reference to Breakfast at Tiffany's, and this would have made sense with the video's fashion direction. Sony has tagged the latest Vaio with "Go lightly. The world's lightest, most stylish 8" notebook."
For me, The idea of "go lightly" brings up images of the repetitive myspace pages of young women with Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly plastered about. It makes me think: have these women seen the movie (or read Capote's book) and experienced Holly's character, or are they buying into the surface image of Holly with her apartment and parties? I admit I have 2 Breakfast at Tiffany's posters in my room (I don't know how I ended up with two). I enjoy the film for its technicolor bliss, George Peppard's impeccable fashion and the Jets to Brazil poster. I don't think of or equate myself to Peppard though.
Sony's Vaio commercial and tagline have done more social criticism than Improv Everywhere could have ever hoped to do with its (although funny and quirky) hollow displays. Sony, unwittingly or not, has painted its mannequin models with their mechanical movements and repetitive features as our generation's Holly Golightys. They are out there on the internet striving for style over substance and making themselves into just one of many new mannequins: fake, brittle and dressed by someone else.
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