Indie Spotlight: In ‘The Brief,’ Ad Agency Professionals Spoof Themselves

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now. Read previous installments here.

This installment of Indie Spotlight is brought to you by Spreadshirt

Thanks to its over-the-top jargon and the self-absorbed nature of many of the people who work within it, the advertising industry is a strong target for satire. The Brief, a new web series from Matt Sadowski and Dustin Brown, provides exactly that. It takes the life experiences of its creative team and uses them to construct a number of ridiculous scenarios set in the agency world.

The Brief stars Jesse Rath and Michael Seater as a copywriter and an art director, respectively. Despite their odd couple relationship, they must work together in order to come out on top in an agency filled with ridiculous characters. Right from the top of the first episode, the jokes fly fast and free; Sadowski’s script is filled with cheeky dialogue that highlights the absurd nature of the characters he has created.

Sadowski and Brown draw their comedy from an insider perspective. In addition to working as a filmmaker, Sadowski is also a copywriter, and Brown works at the Toronto-based agency Elemental, where The Brief is set. Despite their deep knowledge of the industry they’re targeting, Sadowski and Brown don’t overwhelm their audience with in-jokes. Even if you don’t know your ROIs from your CPMs, you’ll still find plenty to laugh at here.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• AdFIRM. If The Brief isn’t enough agency comedy for you, check here for some more.
• Here We Wait. At this purgatory-like location, patrons order a final meal.
• Brian Remus: Science Genius. This series, launching in December, will follow a wannabe Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.

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