This clever parody mocks every slick-but-meaningless brand video ever

Ever sit through an ad break, then reach the end and wonder exactly what the brand was trying to say? You’re not alone.

In between shots of viral goodness and touchy feely clips, you’re likely to spot an ad which uses abstract terms, a mix of attractive people, some artistic representations of research and some nice stop motion night shots, complete with trailing headlamp lines. It’s a generic way to represent ideas and craft an image of a progressive, inspiring business — so generic in fact that you could make the whole ad out of stock video clips. We know this because someone did.

Stock footage company Dissolve has put together a clever video poking fun at brands who create ads full of seemingly meaningless, abstract concepts which have little to do with their actual business. They translated a post by copy supervisor Kendra Eash titled ‘This Is a Generic Brand Video’ into an actual generic brand video, complete with familiar narration and charming music.

The result is an ad which could be used for a random business near you, which works without any type of customisation (save an updated voice over). Even the music is available to anyone with an internet connection — it’s a creative commons licensed clip from SoundCloud.