Airhorn Calms Down tonight!
My friends:
Like the ebb and flow of the tides, like the rise and fall of the sun's arc through the seasons, the cycle of Airhorn emails comes to you with gentle consistency. It's show day, and here comes your email to remind you that IT'S SHOW DAY!
(if you haven't gotten tickets: get em now!)
All the preparations are in place for a surprising, somnambulant, damn near hypnagogic Airhorn. I want to keep this email short so I can start calming down, but I have to give just a little vent, a complaint about this stressor that's been gnawing at me. I'll let it out so that there's friction come showtime, it's only healing vibes.
The stressor: this fricking bus ad at my bus stop:
What does this image mean?! Every day I set out all motivated and happy to do my daily ritual of riding the bus around town as I daydream about Airhorn, and then I see this ad and my dreams dissolve and the only thing in my head is this image. A man in a red vest prepares to throw a ball into a short netball net. It looks like an easy gentle shot. There is an older man, wearing a blue vest over casual weekend wear, looking up at the ball. I assume he is on the other team, though he doesn't seem eager to defend, happy to observe. In the lower left, staring straight at you, is a blue starfish. The poster says "Have a hmmm. If you get hurt, who gets harmed?"
What is dangerous in this picture? Where is the harm? Who is the me they are speaking to? Should I not play netball? Should I not watch people play netball? Should I not be a starfish? Why is the starfish a bedsheet? Who is the one holding the bedsheet? Are they all sharing a netball court, or is it a collage?
I know it is for ACC, I know it is about a campaign where they show a dangerous action and then you have to reckon with the heartbroken family you've left behind. That makes me want to understand it even more! Something is happening with Netball and cartoon starfish and it is destroying families and people aren't having enough of a hmm about it... but we can't even describe what the danger is.
The closest I can think of is that this is based on some video where the context makes sense... like something I could go online and watch. But there is no url given for me to watch it, there is no "learn more here". The only thing the ad campaign though they needed to say was "Have a hmmmm." They are fully confident that you see this and the entire scene will unfurl in your head.
It is not unfurling for me! How did this poster progress far enough to have a national bus stop campaign and no one thought, "oh, we should make sure the image makes any sort of sense at all." It's maddening!!
But you know what's not maddening? You know what's straightforward and understandable? Tonight's Airhorn. It starts at 8, tickets are $18-$25. There's going to be your faves giving you gentle forms of their comedy for a generous hour and then we'll all have a good sleep.
Want to see an image that makes complete sense?
These are three freshly baked loaves of bread, made for you today by DJ BBGun using her sourdough starter (named Bongo). This bread is for you. Tonight, we are going to make tea and toast for you. Have a hmm, then an mmmm, about that.
See you tonight at the Newtown Community Centre!