“They say nothing comes easy,” murmurs the protagonist in the opening sequence of the single most ridiculous promotional video for a building ever made, shooting to the top of the list of 11 other contenders. Indeed: Making a sensible advertisement for a luxury high-rise is almost impossible these days, it seems. British developer Redrow has pulled the latest video from its website, after sparking something of a Twitterstorm with its sinister portrayal of corporate elitism and scenes all too reminiscent of Mary Harron’s 2000 classic horror American Psycho. The spot plays like a trailer for Fight Club, with sound bites befitting those disturbing commercials for Calvin Klein’s Obsession For Men. “The missed opportunities,” he moans. “The doubts. The need to be different; to define yourself; to be more than individual. To stay true to what you believe.” You get the feeling he’s either about to whip out a bottle of Obsession for your consideration… or murder someone in cold blood. To watch it is a truly unnerving experience. The Guardian’s architecture critic Oliver Wainwright was as mortified as anyone, summarizing the chilling narrative as follows: “The whole thing is beyond parody; as if JG Ballard had been put in charge ...
“They say nothing comes easy,” murmurs the protagonist in the opening sequence of the single most ridiculous promotional video for a building ever made, shooting to the top of the list of 11 other contenders. Indeed: Making a sensible advertisement for a luxury high-rise is almost impossible these days, it seems. British developer Redrow has pulled the latest video from its website, after sparking something of a Twitterstorm with its sinister portrayal of corporate elitism and scenes all too reminiscent of Mary Harron’s 2000 classic horror American Psycho. The spot plays like a trailer for Fight Club, with sound bites befitting those disturbing commercials for Calvin Klein’s Obsession For Men. “The missed opportunities,” he moans. “The doubts. The need to be different; to define yourself; to be more than individual. To stay true to what you believe.” You get the feeling he’s either about to whip out a bottle of Obsession for your consideration… or murder someone in cold blood. To watch it is a truly unnerving experience. The Guardian’s architecture critic Oliver Wainwright was as mortified as anyone, summarizing the chilling narrative as follows: “The whole thing is beyond parody; as if JG Ballard had been put in charge ...