A Tale of two ads

Five years ago, Lowe produced two ads for Stella at the same time.

One was Ice Skating Priests:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-8qty25EPk

While the other was Le Sacrifice.

Before they were made I was aware of the two scripts going around town and of the high-calibre directors who wanted to shoot them. I may have got this wrong (I don’t think I have, but I’m going to cover my arse anyway), but I believe Frank Budgen had first pick, with the other one, assuming he wanted it, going to Jonathan Glazer.

Now, I am fully aware that history has declared Ice Skating Priests to be the victor – it has won far more awards than Le Sacrifice and seems to be recalled with greater alacrity and fondness. I am also fully aware that its craftsmanship is superb, with faultless cinematography, casting, direction and music.

However, as a script, and as an idea, I think Le Sacrifice is by far the better of the two, and have always been surprised that it is comparatively unsung. It is crazy, brave, original, different and an unexpected departure for the brand, whilst being entirely consistent with its European movie connections.

Whereas the plot of ISP is really quite poor. Priests fancy a beer, get a lackey to bring a case, lackey and beer fall through ice, priests insist lackey retrieves them. It’s not exactly Nouvelle Chaussures or Pilot, is it?

So I can see why Frank took on Le Sacrifice, and I very much prefer it, but I can also see that I’m in a minority.

Assuming more of you like ISP than Le Sacrifice, perhaps you could tell me why.