Kitchen Counter:
A Case Study of a Recent Danish TV Commercial

PRINCIPAL CREDITS Client: Ad agency: Creative team Producer: Production leader Director: Photo: Editor: Running time: Production period; Broadcast periods: Carpenter: Woman: Kansas Kwintet [work clothes] M2 Film, Aarhus Rune Lünell and Lars Amby Lars Amby Bjarke Toft Peder Pedersen Christian Gravesen Lasse Hoile 45 seconds Shot and edited in Oct. 2004 1-28 Nov. 2004, 7-13 Feb. 2005, 4-23 April 2005, 7-26 Nov. 2005 Saul Amaya Tine Gravenborg Nielsen Introduction The Danish TV spot selected for close study here was written and executed in such a way that it affords the viewer the same degree of narrative pleasure provided by the best short fiction films, while effectively promoting its brand. The primary purpose of the present article is to consider some of the storytelling qualities of this spot, in part by looking at ways in which it stands out from the other ads in the same campaign. This campaign was inspired by a set of highly successful commercials produced for Fristad, a Kansas sister-company based in Sweden, each ad depicting an outrageously inept or impertinent carpenter, bricklayer, plumber or house painter, and containing the tag-line: "It isn't only pros who use our work clothes" ("Det är inte bara proffs som använder våra arbejdskläder") .[1] But the Danish campaign is no mere copy of its Swedish predecessor. New research was carried out in the Danish context, with ideas for the new TV spots discussed by focus groups consisting of Danish workmen. Furthermore, the Danish spots underwent a considerable evolution from initial idea to final production, and were also tested on Danish workmen and adjusted accordingly before their release for broadcast. [2] The four TV commercials - Kitchen Counter, Hacksaw, Bathroom, and Bricklayer - were part of a comprehensive marketing package that included websites, billboards, newspaper ads, bus advertising and point-of-sale promotional materials, as well as advance visits of Kansas representatives to retailers who could then sign up for decorators to set up their stores for the campaign. The TV commercials themselves cost Kansas roughly 1,000,000 Danish Crowns (corresponding to approximately $170,000). The present study will begin with a shot-by-shot reconstruction of the Kitchen Counter spot, followed by a description of changes made in the initial ending of the spot, as a result of the above-mentioned audience tests. These two sections should give the reader a clear idea as to precisely what the TV viewer saw and heard at every moment of the commercial. The three other ads in the campaign will then be briefly summarized as a basis for subsequent comparison with Kitchen Counter. Then the target groups and intended functions of the entire campaign will be discussed. With this foundation in place, we can finally look at the storytelling in Kitchen Counter, by outlining its narrative structure, describing the role of the woman in the spot, considering the status and national background of the workman, the pause and punch-line, and two ways of interpreting the spot. The main points concerning the storytelling qualities of Kitchen Counter will then me briefly summarized in a concluding note. I would like to thank a number of people who played key roles in the making of the ad, both for taking the time to reply to my questions and for their kind permission to reproduce images and texts from the commercial: Lars Amby, the producer at M2 Film and half of the creative team (interviewed 11 May 2005); Rune Lünell, copywriter and other half of the creative team (also interviewed 11 May 2005); Peder Pedersen, the director of the spot (interviewed 23 May 2005); Saul Amaya, who played the workman's role (interviewed 18 May 2005); and Marie Arndal, marketing chief at Kwintet Kansas (interviewed 19 June 2006, and a source of additional information via numerous email exchanges in July and August 2006). The information and ideas generously shared with me by each of these five persons were of immense importance for the present case study. Since virtually every piece of information included in this article stems from one or another of the above-mentioned interviews or emails, and it would be burdensome for the reader if nearly every sentence had a footnote attached, I will simply state now in a blanket fashion that all factual claims had a reliable source and that the completed article was checked for possible errors by Maria Arndal, Lars Amby and Rune Lünell, to whom I am most grateful for this extra help. A shot-by-shot reconstruction of the ad Shot 1 (6 seconds) The workman is brushing sawdust off a crookedly mounted kitchen counter when the woman of the house walks in. WOMAN: I'm not satisfied with that. WORKMAN: But... but it's new. KVINDEN: Det der er jeg altså ikke tilfreds med. HÅNDVÆRKER: Men... men det er jo nyt. Shot 2 (3 seconds) WOMAN (incredulous): Look... I can't put anything on it. KVINDEN: Altså... Jeg kan ikke stille noget på det. Shot 3 (5 seconds) WORKMAN: Sure you can. HÅNDVÆRKER: Jo, jo. Shot 4 (3 seconds) She is speechless. Shot 5 (3 seconds) She slams a water bottle on its side on the counter, and the bottle rolls down into the sink . Shot 6 (6 seconds) WORKMAN: Oh that. That's because the house is crooked. WOMAN: Is... HÅNDVÆRKER: Nå det der. Det er fordi huset er skævt. KVINDEN : Er... Shot 7 (2 seconds) WOMAN: ...the house crooked? WORKMAN (nodding): Yes. KVINDEN: ..huset skævt? HÅNDVÆRKER: Ja, ja. Shot 8 (1 second) The WORKMAN continues nodding, after which there is a brief fade-to-black, indicating the passage of time. Shot 9 (2 seconds) WOMAN (resigned): It was also supposed to be mahogony. KVINDEN: Det skulle jo også have været mahogni. Shot 10 (7 seconds) The WORKMAN thinks for a while before answering, then finally replies. WORKMAN: It will become mahogany in time. HÅNDVÆRKER: Det bliver mahogni med tiden.. PACKSHOT (7 seconds) - the image varying from time to time A still image rolls down over the screen, making the sound of a slamming door as it hits the bottom. VOICE-OVER and WRITTEN TEXT: Kansas has its workmanship in order. The rest is up to you. Kansas har sit håndværk i orden. Resten er op til dig. Images and text reproduced with kind permission of M2 Film and Kwintet Kansas. Changing the ending When "Kitchen Counter" was first produced by M2 Film, it's ending was gradual and consisted of several highly overlapping phases. The tag-line "We also sell work-clothes to pros" (" Vi sælger arbejdstøj også til proffer") was silently superimposed over the image of the workman who had just promised that the counter would become mahogony in time, and from then until the end of the ad, the sound of his hand brushing sawdust off the counter was heard. A moment later the "Kansas" logo appeared on the corner of the screen, along with the workman and tag-line. Then the packshot silently appeared, with the Kansas logo remaining where it was previously, and the workman's voice-over was finally heard, saying "It just needs... a little oil" (" Det skal bare have... lidt olie.") When this version of the spot was tried out on test audiences, the point of the spot simply didn't come across. THE ORIGINAL ENDING SPOKEN TEXT OTHER SOUNDS WRITTEN TEXT WORKMAN: It will become mahogoni in time. HÅNDVÆRKER: Det bliver mahoni med tiden.       Faint sounds of the workman brushing sawdust off the counter. We also sell work-clothes to pros Vi sælger også arbejdstøj til proffer   [The Kansas logo appears on screen as the above text persists.] WORKMAN (voice-over): It just needs... a little oil. HÅNDVÆRKER: Det skal bare have ... lidt olie. Workman's trousers 474 Kansas logo Images and text reproduced with kind permission of M2 Film and Kwintet Kansas. In the final version of the spot, a clear demarcation is made between live-action and pack-shot, both visually and audibly. Once the workman has delivered his punch-line, "It will become mahogany in time," a pack-shot rolls down over the screen and makes the sound of a slamming door when it reaches the bottom, thereby closing the live-action definitively. A new end-title is now legible at the top of the screen and is also spoken in anonymous voice-over: "Kansas has its workmanship in order. The rest is up to you" (" Kansas har sit håndværk i orden. Resten er op til dig.") And the Kansas logo is integrated into the pack-shot, which varied from time to time, featuring a specific product foregrounded by the campaign at the time of broadcast. THE DEFINITIVE ENDING SPOKEN TEXT OTHER SOUNDS WRITTEN TEXT   or alternate image WORKMAN: It will become mahogoni in time. HÅNDVÆRKER: Det bliver mahoni med tiden.       The pack shot - a still image - rolls down from the top of the screen and as it hits the bottom, makes the sound of a door slamming   VOICE-OVER: Kansas has its workmanship in order. The rest is up to you. Kansas har sit håndværk i orden. Resten er op til dig.   Kansas has its workmanship in order. The rest is up to you. Kansas har sit håndværk i orden. Resten er op til dig. + Kansas logo Images and text reproduced with kind permission of M2 Film and Kwintet Kansas. In this way, the live-action portion of the ad is entirely closed when the packshot appears, and the viewer has only one thing to attend to at any given moment. The new tagline is both spoken and written, so that the words heard on the sound track - which now begin with the brand name Kansas - are identical to those appearing on screen. And the new packshot also lasts seven seconds instead of the original five. All of these changes helped to transfer attention at the conclusion of the ad from the fiction to the brand, thereby bringing home the point of the ad with greater clarity than in the previous version. Comparable changes were made in the endings of the three other spots as well. Hacksaw, Bathroom and Bricklayer In order to set Kitchen Counter in the context of the entire TV campaign to which it belongs, the three other commercials will now be summarized briefly. These synopses will subsequently provide a basis for comparing the ads and will help to identify some of the ways in which Kitchen Counter stands apart from the other commercials in the same campaign. Hacksaw (Stiksav) A workman has placed a plasterboard on a dining-room table, and while cutting the board with an electric hacksaw, he accidentally saws off the corner of the table. Just then, the woman homeowner enters the room and is appalled at what she sees. The worker picks up the sawed off corner of the table and holds it back in place; then noticing the customer's presence says to her, "Oops, that was a slip-up." She comes closer and is visibly horrified. The worker continues, with a reassuring smile: "But don't you worry. We'll just foam it back in place." After a brief fade-to-black, the scene resumes with the workman spraying a thick white foam between the severed corner and the tabletop, and he says "There, you can see it will be just like new" as she despondently looks at him. Bathroom (Badeværelse) Two workmen are taking a bathroom apart, one of them cutting into a metal pipe with an electric saw, the other one breaking up the tiles on the floor with a hammer and chisel. A woman arrives at the doorway and the man breaking up the floor tiles looks up and says "Hi" to her. The woman takes in the sight and after a moment's pause asks: "What are you doing in here?". The man replies with a smile: "It's your new bathroom", to which she answers: "Yes, but it was the one upstairs". The workman's smile fades and he repeats her word, "Upstairs". He and his co-worker exchange glances, after which he begins picking up pieces of broken tiles from the floor. Bricklayer (Murer) In the middle of a living room, a bricklayer wearing ear-protectors is shoveling cement from a large container on the coffee table and into a rotating cement-mixer. The owner of the home enters, looks around and calls out "Hello." The workman turns off the machine, pulls off his ear-protectors and says: "Yes?" The home-owner asks: "What are you doing in here?" to which the workman replies, "We have to work even if it's raining," and we can see through the window just behind him that rain is in fact pouring down outside. The homeowner asks: "What about all this?" looking at the sand and buckets strewn over the living-room floor and furniture. The bricklayer replies: "You know what? I can certainly work [in this mess]." He then turns the cement-mixer back on, replaces his ear-protectors and resumes shoveling cement. Target groups and intended functions The apparent purpose of this entire campaign was to motivate workmen to choose the Kansas brand when purchasing their workwear from retailers. And as already mentioned, workmen were in fact used in focus groups when concepts for the spots were developed, and later on as test audiences upon which the initial versions of the spots were tried out. The age bracket for this male target group was 19-50 according to the broadcast schedules for the campaign. The underlying purpose of the campaign involved, however, a very different target group: distributors who, until then, did not include the Kansas brand in their selection. And largely as a result of this campaign, Kansas gained access to distribution channels that had not been open to the company previously, including for example a chain of stores selling building materials and that also retail work-clothes. In the words of Maria Arndal, marketing chief at Kansas, and who was closely involved in all phases of the campaign: Our main purpose was to gain access to some distribution channels we were having difficulties with. And we succeeded in that afterwards. Whether it was solely because of the TV commercials, I think maybe not. It was probably more the whole package... But we call the TV spots an "alibi-campaign." We knew it was an investment that would not increase earnings in direct sales. But it was an investment in getting through to some potential partners we had not yet managed to reach. Then we gave Kansas a higher profile and in that way gained entry to some [distribution] channels. [3] In making the Kansas brand more visible in the media landscape, this TV campaign naturally involved the general viewing public, as well as distributors and workmen, and for viewers not potentially consumers of work-clothes, the entertainment value of the television spots was primary. Storytelling in Kitchen Counter NARRATIVE STRUCTURE The live-action portion of Kitchen Counter can be seen as a series of three initiative-response figures, with the woman in the ad making each of the opening moves and the workman replying to her initiatives. The first exchange begins with the woman's complaint: "I'm not satisfied with that," to which the workman replies by telling her something that is as irrelevant as it is obvious: "But it's brand new." The second exchange focuses explicitly on the crookedness of the counter, and plays out in three stages, opening with the woman's "I can't put anything on it," to which the workman counters with a "Sure you can." The next stage begins with the woman slamming her water bottle on the counter, and the bottle's rolling down the incline into the kitchen sink. The workman's response to this irrefutable demonstration is that it's the house that is crooked. The final stage of this exchange consists of the woman's stunned questioning of the workman's claim: "Is the house crooked?" met by a confident nod and reply in the affirmative. The third and final exchange focuses on the wrong wood used for the counter and begins with the woman's complaint: "It was also supposed to be mahogany." The workman's response, which comes after several beats of introspection, serves as the punch-line for the live-action portion of the spot: "It will become mahogany in time." These three figures might be schematically represented as follows:   WOMAN'S INITIATIVE WORKMAN'S RESPONSE Figure 1 I'm not satisfied with that. But it's brand new. Figure 2 a I can't put anything on it. Sure you can. b [She slams her water bottle down on the counter; the bottle rolls into the sink.] Oh that. That's because the house is crooked. c Is the house crooked? Yes. Figure 3 It was also supposed to be mahogany. It will become mahogany in time. The workman's responses become progressively more ludicrous, as we advance from one figure to the next, and that very progression helps ensure that the viewer's engagement in the narrative doesn't peak too soon and peter out. THE ROLE OF THE WOMAN CUSTOMER Of the four ads in the campaign, Kitchen Counter is the one in which the customer plays the most energetic role. As emphasized above, she is the one who initiates each of the exchanges between her and the workman, beginning with the defining line of dialogue: "I'm not satisfied with that." In "Hacksaw," the customer hasn't a single line of dialogue to deliver and her entire role consists of looking despondent while the workman does some damage or useless repairs and all of the talking. The customers in Bathroom and Bricklayer can be situated somewhere in between Kitchen Counter and Hacksaw with regard to their degree of activity. Furthermore, only the customer in Kitchen Counter is given a piece of physical action to perform: slamming her water bottle down on the inclined surface to demonstrate that it slants downward toward the sink. This decisive bit of physical action was not in the early scripts for the commercial, in which initially it was the workman who placed a lamp or coffee cup on a slanting surface and the customer merely witnessed the sliding of the object. In other words, it was as the script developed and took its final shape that the customer became more active. The extent of this increasingly dynamic role for the customer can be gauged by comparing the final production with the following initial script by writers Rune Lünell and Lars Amby: A carpenter stands before some shelves he has mounted on a wall. They are very crooked. A lot of things are lying on the floor. The carpenter puts some of them on the shelves, carefully so they don't fall down. As the carpenter puts a lamp on the highest shelf, a woman comes through the door. The carpenter turns around. The lamp starts slowly sliding along the shelf behind him. It will soon fall on the floor. This is seen by the woman but not by the carpenter. The carpenter, beaming: Yes, it will be good to get these things off the floor. The lamp falls down and shatters. The woman can't believe her eyes. The carpenter looks from the lamp to the woman: Yeah, it wasn't that nice anyway. The woman looks at the shelves, disappointed. They are extremely crooked. The carpenter, arrogant: Yes, it must be a real pain living in an old house with a lopsided foundation. [4] In this early script, the customer's role is limited to looking shocked and incredulous as in the Hacksaw commercial, and is a far cry from the demanding attitude she would eventually embody in Rune Lünell's later scripts for the spot. A general principle applicable to short narratives of every kind - including the best short fiction films - is that characters who take initiatives and make things happen are more interesting to viewers than characters things happen to and who remain relatively inactive as the story unfolds rather than driving it forward. And a closely related principle is that much of the vitality of a short narrative derives from the interaction of characters. [5] The interaction between customer and workman is considerably more dynamic and engaging in Kitchen Counter than in any of the other TV spots in the campaign. THE WORKMAN'S STATUS AND NATIONAL BACKGROUND Within the implicit value system of Kitchen Counter, the workman's attempts at damage control in his dialogue with a dissatisfied customer have both a negative and a positive valence. His endeavors to save face and maintain the upper hand in this situation are both: a) ludicrous in that they are unfairly frustrating to the woman customer and clearly in conflict with reality - the counter is crooked and will never become mahogany; and b) irresistibly appealing in their off-the-wall resourcefulness - a quality further enhanced by the sheer likeability of the actor playing the workman role and the positive energy he radiates. The actor playing this role, Saul Amaya, is from El Salvador, and although the role was not written with him in mind, once he was cast in the part because of his eminent ability to bring it to life, the production team and sponsor were very much aware that cultural differences in play between workman and customer would further enrich the spot by giving it yet another dimension. This had also been the case in one of the original Swedish spots, in which a plumber apparently of Turkish origin wades around in a bathroom he has flooded, with water spraying in a high arc into the center of the room. He sympathetically tells his despondent customer that he won't charge her anything for this job and he suggests that she get legal aid, to which she agrees. The plumber's likeability as a person, generously taking the side of a customer on the verge of tears, is just as striking as the hopelessness of his work. And although the carpenter's tactics in Kitchen Counter involve a denial of any wrong-doing and become progressively more far-fetched as the narrative advances, his very resourcefulness in dreaming up one absurd excuse after another is disarmingly appealing. In both the Swedish and the Danish spots featuring workmen from other cultures, the person of the respective workman is a positive, likeable figure and the cultural differences in play are invested with a special charm. This was an important consideration for Kansas, for the writer, the producer and the director of Kitchen Counter, and for the actor playing the carpenter role. Failing to appreciate fully the positive qualities of the role, one private citizen did however report Kansas to the police for having sponsored an ad denigrating foreigners, though no charges ever materialized. And as Maria Arndal pointed out, not giving Saul Amaya the role because of his national origins would in fact have been a discriminatory act. The cultural differences implicitly in play in Kitchen Counter - largely through Saul Amaya's appearance, ample gestures and the warm and positive energy he radiates, none of which is particularly characteristic of Nordic workmen - are yet another factor distinguishing this commercial from the three others in the campaign. THE PAUSE AND PUNCH-LINE When the woman in the ad makes her final complaint - that the kitchen counter was supposed to be made of mahogany - some seconds go by as the workman tries to think up a suitable answer. Peder Pedersen, the director of the ad, considers this pause in the action one of the best aspects of the commercial: What I think works really well is that we can see Saul thinking. And that's something there isn't usually time for in a commercial because things have to move so quickly. But we insisted from the start that this film should have the length it needed. Typically in a TV spot you have 30 seconds to tell a story and also to show a product. And most of the stories we actually see in 30 seconds should have had more time, at least with regard to getting to know the characters and bringing them to life. And it works really well that we can see Saul thinking "OK, how do I answer this?" We can see his eyes wander… And that makes it all somehow more genuine…[6] Similarly, producer Lars Amby described the pause as an "empty space" giving the viewer a chance to fill in what must be going on inside the character, and copywriter Rune Lünel saw it as an opportunity for letting the situation become progressively more uncomfortable for the workman, while bringing us inside his mind. In addition to establishing the inner experience of the workman, this pause also helps to set us up for the punch-line by making us wait for it, so that when it is finally delivered it has a maximum effect. The ingenious punch-line - "It will become mahogany in time" ("Det bliver mahogni med tiden") - did not appear in any of the scripts. In a test or rehearsal version of the spot, filmed before the actual production was made on the set by the director, the workman simply nodded saying "Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah" in reply to the customer's complaint about the wrong wood being used. It was during the actual shoot that copywriter Rune Lünell suddenly thought up the new reply, which was not only more outrageous than the line originally planned but would also serve as a kind of handle for the ad, a memorable, self-contained punch-line that could be quoted to evoke the entire ad. In Maria Arndal's words: "It was also our wish to find a line of that kind that could stand by itself and be remembered. I think that also contributed to the power of the film." TWO NARRATIVE MODES The storytelling in Kitchen Counter involves a balancing of two divergent narrative modes, so that alternate, complementary perspectives are simultaneously in play. What I mean by this is that the viewer can experience this spot as being both: a) a "straight" enactment of a workman-customer encounter, showing how frustrating workmen can be; and a tongue-in-cheek parody of "workman stories," comically overfulfilling a negative stereotype by pushing it to new, outrageous limits in an effort to outdo all earlier accounts. This doubleness is reminiscent of ways in which many Jewish jokes simultaneously transmit and make fun of particular ethnic stereotypes, such as that of the Jewish mother, by parodistically overfulfilling those stereotypes while perpetuating them in new accounts. [7] All four ads in the Kansas campaign share this quality, involving an interplay of straight and parodistic modes of storytelling, so that the viewer is at one and the same time - and most particularly in the final moments of each commercial - both engaged in and comically distanced from the fiction at hand. Concluding note I have tried to show that among the qualities of Kitchen Counter that make this ad stand out from the others in the same campaign, are: a more active role for the customer and consequently more dynamic interaction between customer and workman; a more likeable workman, largely as a result of the positive energy radiated by the actor playing the part; cultural differences in play, thanks to Saul Amaya's non-Nordic origins; a pause that establishes the inner experience of the workman and paves the way for the punchline; an outrageous and memorable punchline that can stand alone and evoke the entire ad. I have also suggested that one of the interesting features of all four ads in the campaign is that each of them can be understood as both: a) a story about how impossible workmen can be; and b) a parody of "workman stories." APPENDIX. Scripts by Rune Lünell and Lars Amby reproduced with their kind permission 1. Snedkerfilm - Røvsyg sætningsskade En snedker står foran nogle hylder, som han har sat op på en væg. De hænger meget skævt. Der står en masse ting på gulvet. Snedkeren er ved at sætte nogle af dem op på hylderne. Han stiller tingene omhyggeligt, så de ikke falder ned. I det snedkeren sætter en lampe på øverste hylde, kommer en kvinde ind ad døren. Snedkeren vender sig om. Lampen begynder langsomt at glide hen ad hylden bag ham. Den falder snart på gulvet. Det ser kvinden, men ikke snedkeren. Snedkeren, glædesstrålende: Ja, det bli'r rart at få tingende væk fra gulvet. Lampen falder ned og går i stykker. Kvinden tror ikke sine egne øje. Snedkeren, ser fra lampen til kvinden: Jah, den var heller ikke for køn. Kvinden ser skuffet på hylderne: Det er jo helt vildt skævt Snedkeren, arrogant: Ja, det må sgu være dødssygt at bo i et gammelt hus med alle de sætningsskader. Pack-shot Skilt: KANSAS - ikke kun for professionelle Produktskud Lyd at ting der falder ned af reolen. 2. Snedkerfilm - Sætningsskade En snedker har monteret et nyt køkkenbord. Han står med en kop kaffe i hånden. Køkkenbordpladen er meget skæv, og hælder ned mod håndvasken. En mand kommer ind ad døren. Han ser den skæve bordplade. Manden er rystet: Den er jo skæv Snedkeren: Det kan du selv være. Snedkeren sætter sin kaffekop på køkkenbordet, tager sit waterpass og lægger det i værktøjskassen. Kaffekoppen begynder at kure hen mod håndvasken. Manden: Der kan du se Snedkeren: Det der? Det er sgu da fordi huset har en sætningsskade. Så må du have fat i mureren. Men pas på, de kan godt tage røven på folk. Snedkeren fortsætter med at pakke sit værktøj sammen. Grafik: Det er ikke kun rigtige håndværkere, der bruger vores arbejdstøj. Pack-Shot Afmelding: KANSAS - Også til professionelle Lyden af snedkeren der pakker sit værktøj. 3. Snedkerfilm - Sætningsskade En snedker har monteret et nyt køkkenbord. Han står med en kop kaffe i hånden. Køkkenbordpladen er meget skæv, og hælder ned mod håndvasken. En mand kommer ind ad døren. Han ser den skæve bordplade. Manden: Den er jo skæv Snedkeren: Nå, nå Snedkeren siger ingenting. Han sætter sin kaffekop på køkkenbordet, tager sit waterpass og lægger det i værktøjskassen. Kaffekoppen begynder at kure hen mod håndvasken. Manden: Se der! Snedkeren: Det der? Det er fordi huset har en sætningsskade Snedkeren pakker sit værktøj sammen Snedkeren: Det må du snakke med mureren om. Grafik: Det er ikke kun proffer, der bruger vores arbejdstøj. Pack-Shot Afmelding: KANSAS - Også til professionelle Lyden af snedkeren der pakker sit værktøj. 4. Snedkerfilm - Sætningsskade En snedker har monteret et nyt køkkenbord. Han står med en kop kaffe i hånden. Køkkenbordpladen er meget skæv, og hælder ned mod håndvasken. En mand kommer ind ad døren. Han ser den skæve bordplade. Snedker: (løfter hilsende sin kaffekop) Hej Manden er rystet: Det er jo skæv Snedker: Nej det er lige som det skal være Snedkeren sætter sin kaffekop på køkkenbordet, tager sit waterpas og lægger det i værktøjskassen. Kaffekoppen begynder at kure hen mod håndvasken. Manden: Jamen... (peger efter koppen). Snedkeren: Det der? Det er fordi huset er skævt. Det må du lige have en murer til at kigge på. Snedkeren fortsætter med at pakke sit værktøj sammen. Grafik: Det er ikke kun proffer, der bruger vores arbejdstøj. Pack-Shot Afmelding: KANSAS - Også til professionelle Lyden af snedkeren der pakker sit værktøj. 5. Snedkerfilm - Sætningsskade En snedker har monteret et nyt køkkenbord. Han står med en kop kaffe i hånden. Køkkenbordpladen er meget skæv, og hælder ned mod håndvasken. En mand kommer ind ad døren. Han ser den skæve bordplade. Snedker: (løfter hilsende sin kaffekop) Hej Manden er rystet: Det er jo skæv Snedker: Nej det er lige som det skal være Snedkeren sætter sin kaffekop på køkkenbordet, tager sit waterpas og lægger det i værktøjskassen. Kaffekoppen begynder at kure hen mod håndvasken. Manden: Jamen... (peger efter koppen). Snedkeren: Det der? Det er fordi huset er skævt. Det må du lige have en murer til at kigge på. Manden: Det skulle jo også være en mahogniplade. Snedkeren: Det' altså en toplaminat den her Manden: Det skulle være mahogni Snedkeren: Nu synes jeg ikke vi skal gå så'n i detaljer. Snedkeren fortsætter med at pakke sit værktøj sammen. Grafik: Det er ikke kun proffer, der bruger vores arbejdstøj. Pack-Shot Afmelding: KANSAS - Også til professionelle Lyden af snedkeren der pakker sit værktøj. Det skulle være mahogni / Ja ja det er godt med dig / Ja ja det sku' du også / Og den er skæv / det kan du selv være / rømmer sig / Ja 6. Snedkerfilm - Huset er skævt En snedker har netop monteret et nyt køkkenbord. Han er ved at pakke sin værktøjskasse. Bordpladen er meget skæv, og hælder ned mod håndvasken. En kvinde kommer ind ad døren. Snedker: Peger glad på bord Kvinden: Det her er jeg altså ikke tilfreds med. Snedker: Hvad mener du? Kvinden sætter en kaffekop på køkkenbordet. Den kurer hen mod håndvasken. Snedker: Nå det der, jamen det er fordi huset er skævt. Det får vi lige en murer til at klare. Kvinden: En murer? Snedker: Ja, ja. Det kan han sagtens rette op på. Sådan noget der. Sort Kvinden: Det skulle jo også være en mahogniplade. Snedker: Ja, nu skal vi jo ikke sådan gå i detaljer. Grafik: Det er ikke kun proffer, der bruger vores arbejdstøj. Pack-Shot Afmelding: KANSAS - Også til professionelle Lyden af snedkeren der pakker sit værktøj. 7. Snedkerfilm - Huset er skævt Saul Amaya/Tine Gravenborg Nielsen En snedker har netop monteret et nyt køkkenbord. Han er ved at pakke sin værktøjskasse. Bordpladen er meget skæv, og hælder ned mod håndvasken. En kvinde kommer ind ad døren. Kvinden: Det her er jeg altså ikke tilfreds med. Kvinden sætter en kaffekop på køkkenbordet. Den kurer hen mod håndvasken. Snedker: Nå det der, jamen det er fordi hus et er skævt. Kvinden: Jamen jeg kan jo ikke stille noget på det. Snedker: Jo, jo det er helt nyt. Det er ligesom med et par nye sko - av av - de skal lige gås til. Kvinden: Det skulle jo også være mahogni. Snedker: Ja, ja, ja. Kvinden: Det er det jo ikke. Snedker: Ja, ja, ja. Pack-Shot Afmelding: KANSAS - Også til professionelle Lyden af snedkeren der pakker sit værktøj. 8. Snedkerfilm - Huset er skævt Saul Amaya/Tine Gravenborg Nielsen En snedker har netop monteret et nyt køkkenbord. Han er ved at pakke sin værktøjskasse. Bordpladen er meget skæv, og hælder ned mod håndvasken. En kvinde kommer ind ad døren. Kvinden: Det her er jeg altså ikke tilfreds med. Snedker: Nå det der, jamen det er fordi huset er skævt. Kvinden: Er huset skævt? Snedker: Ja, ja Kvinden: Jamen jeg kan jo ikke stille noget på det. Snedker: Jo, jo det er helt nyt. Kvinden: Det skulle jo også være mahogni. Snedker: Ja, ja, ja. Kvinden: Det er det jo ikke. Snedker: Ja, ja, ja. Pack-Shot Afmelding: KANSAS - Også til professionelle Lyden af snedkeren der pakker sit værktøj.

1 The four Swedish spots are currently accessible at: http://www.m2film.dk/kansas/files/Fristads_Badrummet.mov http://www.m2film.dk/kansas/files/Fristads_Dorren.mov http://www.m2film.dk/kansas/files/Fristads_Golvet.mov http://www.m2film.dk/kansas/files/Fristads_Malaren.mov 2 The fours Danish spots (though before final adjustments were made in their packshots) can at present be accessed at: http://www.m2film.dk/?id=12356821245 http://www.m2film.dk/?id=12356821495 http://www.m2film.dk/?id=12356821595 http://www.m2film.dk/?id=12356821695 3 Interview on June 20, 2006. 4 This is the first of eight scripts for the spot, kindly provided by Rune Lünell. My translation from the Danish. All eight scripts will be found in Danish in an appendix to this article. 5 For a discussion of these storytelling qualities in short fiction films, see the author's Kortfilmen som fortælling (Aarhus: Systime, 2001) or The Art of the Short Fiction Film: A Shot-by-Shot Study of Nine Modern Classics (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2002). 6 Interview on May 23, 2005. 7 For a discussion of this subject, the reader is referred to the author's Life Is Like a Glass of Tea: Studies of Classic Jewish Jokes (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 1992). Literature: Bruun, Hanne (1999): Talkshowet - portræt af en tv-genre, Borgen/Medier Carlsen, John & Frandsen, Kirsten (2005): Nytte- og livsstilsprogrammer på dansk tv, working paper 133-05, Center for Kulturforskning, University of Aarhus. Campbell, Colin (1987): The Romantic Ethic and the spirit of Modern Consumerism, Oxford: Basil Blackwell Crouch, David, Thomspon, Felix, Jackson, Rohna (eds.) (2005): The Media & The Tourist imagination, Routledge Drotner, Kirsten (2002): "Når virkeligheden overgår fiktionen: mediematrice mellem det kendte og det ukendte", in: L. Qvortrup (ed): Mediernes 11. september, Gads Forlag, Copenhagen Fiske, John (2000): Introduction to Communication Studies, Routledge (2nd ed.). Jansson, André (2002): "Spatial Phantasmagoria - The Mediatization of Tourism Experience", in: European Journal of Communication, vol. 17/2002, s. 429-443, Sage. Jansson, André (2001): Image Culture - Media, Consumption and Everyday Life in Reflexive Modernity, JMG, Gothenburg University Jantzen, Christian (2004): Den moderne hedonisme, working paper, presented at the author's homepage, Aalborg University (www.aau.hum.dk) Johnson, Mark (1987): The Body in the Mind - The Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination, and Reason. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago/London Kant, Immanuel (1913): "Kritik der Uhrteilskraft", in: Kant's gesammelte Werke, vol. 5, Berlin, Reimer (orig. pub. 1790) Kaare Nielsen, Henrik, 2002: Æstetik, Kultur & Politik, Aarhus Universitetsforlag Larsen, Jonas (2001): "Tourism Mobilities and the travel Glance: Experiences of Being on the Move", in: Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, vol. 1, no. 2, 2001, Taylor and Francis Larsen, Jonas (2004): Performing tourist photography, PhD thesis, Roskilde University Löfgren, Orvar (1999): On Holiday, University of California Press, Maffesoli, Michel (1997) "The return of Dionysos" in: P. Sulkunen et al. (eds.): Constructing the New Consumer Society, Houndsmills: Macmillan Morin, Edgar (2005): The Cinema, or The Imaginary Man, An Essay in Sociological Anthropology, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis USA (first published 1956) Osborne, Peter D.( 2000): Travelling light: photography, travel and visual culture, Manchester Sørensen, Anders (1999): Travelers in the periphery; backpackers and other independent multiple destinations; Unit of Tourism Research, Bornholm Urry, John (1995): Consuming places, Routledge Urry, John (2002): The Tourist Gaze - Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies, 2nd edition, Routledge Waade, Anne Marit (2005): " Rejseholdets Danmarksbilleder: Om stedets æstetik, kameraets kartografiske turistblik og rejsens forvandling", in: Passepartout, no. 24/2005, University of Aarhus Waade, Anne Marit (2006): "Armchair travelling with Pilot Guides - cartographic and sensuous strategies", in: Falkheimer, J. & Jansson, A. (eds): Geographies of Communication - the spatial turn in Media Studies, Nordicom, Gothenburg Andersen, Christian & Jantzen, Christian (2004): "Reklamesemiotik mellem mening og virkning - komposition, kategorier og kognition", in: Mediekultur no. 37/2004

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