Dewars Scotch Whiskey

Supposedly one of the film filmed advertisements, this probably wouldn't get far in a modern marketing meeting but it is of interest because, even back in the very first days of cinema, the technology was seen as a way of shifting product. The actual advert itself appears to be a poorly positioned sign showing the name of the whiskey with a handful of men dressed in Scottish garb dancing (badly) in front of it. The dance is not done in any sort of structured way and it is not so much a presentation of anything as it is a bit like a couple of p1ssed up blokes messing around.

I suppose it is interesting as a piece of media history but outside of that it is, well, a couple of blokes dancing badly in front of a small billboard.

It's strange to think that film-makers grasped the concept of using film to advertise products before the idea of using film to tell stories occurred to them, but here you have the proof. As another reviewer mentioned, Admiral Cigarettes is generally considered to be the first advertisement but this one can't have been far behind. As all the other reviewers have also noted, this isn't very good. A bunch of men in kilts jig about on a stage in slow motion for a while, no doubt having a whale of a time, but the rest of us are left strangely unmoved. Wouldn't it have been nice if, after efforts like this, ad men had decided film wasn't the medium to use for peddling their wares after all?

It very wee could be. Whether or not it is, it's a short, sweet little vignette showing a group of guys doing scottish highland dancing, or at least their own loose interpretation thereof (they look like they've been hitting the sauce pretty hard between takes). The cameraman was obviously undercranking the machine, so the action appears in slow motion. It's barely a minute long, yet delightful while it lasts.

Okay, the film gets a 3 even though it's duller than dust because back in 1898, ALL the films were duller than dust--having NOT AN OUNCE OF PLOT--consisting of people doing mundane stuff that thrilled audiences at the time but would hopelessly bore people today because films are so omnipresent.

This film, believe it or not, consists of some Scottish-looking guys in kilts jumping about--and it's bad dancing at that! THAT'S IT!!! Just guys in skirts dancing! From a historical standpoint, this is a very important film, but in every other respect, it's pretty pointless. How this could encourage ANYONE to buy their Scotch is beyond me!

While the actual footage is rather strange and not really very good, this is certainly of historical significance. As others have pointed out, it shows how quickly after their invention that motion pictures came to be seen as a possible means of advertising. This promotional footage for Dewars whiskey is one of the very earliest such features (perhaps the very first) that still survives.

The footage itself simply depicts a number of individuals dressed as Highlanders, complete with kilts, and obviously having a good time. Apparently audiences were supposed to infer that the product being advertised was responsible for the euphoric mood of the actors.

It's kind of silly, really, but on a rational level it is surely no less logical than are the majority of the advertising appeals that we see in our own technologically advanced era. Besides its historical significance, it's certainly an unusual curio of its era as well.