If only we’d thought of it…

In May 2003, two young filmmakers disguised as “managers” cut the red ribbon and invited 3,000 people to clamor greedily towards a hypermarket that was, in fact, just a tromp-l’oeil billboard.

A long, professionally developed and beautiful ad campaign so persuaded guests that they were shocked when the golden promise of 10 cent mineral water turned out to be a hoax. The tangible result was not money saved and products purchased, but the film Czech Dream, which I am hereby officially recommending to you. Watching it is an education in the marketing process, as well as an insight into why advertising is so incredibly lucrative. In a film filled with hopeful but disempowered people (like all of us), the ability to spend money, and the opportunities to spend it well, are often the only ways we feel truly powerful.

Czech Dream is now playing at IFC Center in New York City. Check your local listings for wherever you live. If it’s not in your area, it’s also on DVD.

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