Who's Happy With the State of America Today? Fat Cats, Nazis and Putin

Eighteen months into the Trump presidency, the surge of creative protest messaging seems to have subsided a bit. But here’s an exception—a dark, cinematic new commercial directed by Furlined’s Ted Pauly that bluntly suggests only evil people are happy with the direction of America today. 

The spot, created for the Future Forward USA PAC, has aired on MSNBC.

See it here:

In an email, a rep for the creators told Muse: “The idea is pretty simple: It is shocking that the people who are most happy with the direction of the country are also the most evil. The creative idea was to show in a hyperbolic manner three of the main groups most enjoying our current president and how out-of-touch with everyday Americans they really are. In the end, even if you are mildly supportive of Trump and his policies, this ad asked, ‘Who are you aligning yourself with?'” 

The ad has been gathering steam in social media, with approving tweets from Jon Favreau and Jesse Ferguson, among others. 

Now this is an ad https://t.co/Mn0o7GtSpd

— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) July 19, 2018

NEW: As seen on Morning Joe, POWERFUL and CREATIVE TV ad about who is HAPPY w/ the Trump administration.

Spoiler Alert: It’s not the American middle class.https://t.co/RHIzXClim4

— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) July 18, 2018

CREDITS
Client: Open Labs / Future Forward USA
c/o MBA Consulting Group
President: Chauncey McLean
Director of Operations: Reed Shaw 
Creative Director: Jon Fromowitz
Creative Director: Nick Kaplan
Creative Director: Tim Gordon
Producer: Josh Morse

Production: Furlined
Director: Ted Pauly
President: Diane McArter
Exec Producer: Ben Davies
Exec Producer: Jay Wakefield
Producer: Dustin Highbridge
DoP: Corey Walter

Editorial: Final Cut Edit
Exec Producer: Sarah Roebuck
Producer: Lena Lobel
Editor: Patrick Coleman

Music: Butter Music and Sound
CCO/Composer: Andrew Sherman
MD/EP: Ian Jeffreys
Producer: Kristin Kuraishi

Audio Mix: Heard City
Mixer: Keith Reynaud/ Evan Mangiamele
Executive Producer: Sasha Awn

Color Grade: Company 3
Colorist: Tim Masick
Senior Producer: Kevin Breheny
Executive Producer: Angela Lupo

Finishing: My Active Driveway
Owner/CCO: Steve Choo