''Viktor Vogel – Commercial Man'' is a 2001 German comedy film released in 2001 in the US and other countries as '' Advertising Rules! '' Directed by
Lars Kraume
Lars Kraume (born 24 February 1973) is an Italian-born German film director, screenwriter and producer. He has directed 35 films since 1996.
Biography
Born in Abruzzo, Italy, to German parents.
Career
Kraume has directed numerous television produ ...
, the cast includes
Alexander Scheer
Alexander Scheer (born 1 June 1976 in East Berlin) is a German actor and musician. He has won several national awards for his performances in film and theater, including one German Film Award for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" and one Bavarian F ...
,
Götz George
Götz George (; 23 July 1938 – 19 June 2016) was a German actor, the son of actor couple Berta Drews and Heinrich George. His arguably best-known role is that of Duisburg detective Horst Schimanski in the TV crime series ''Tatort''.
Early lif ...
, and
Chulpan Khamatova
Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova (; ; , born 1 October 1975) is a Russian actress.
Biography Early life and theater career
Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova was born on 1 October 1975 in Kazan, Tatar ASSR, in what was then the Soviet Union. Her parents Mar ...
.
Plot
During a meeting between
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
and the advertising agency ''Brainstorm'', Viktor Vogel sneaks in and offers his views on how the agency's new campaign is boring and lacking in irony. This helps the already dissatisfied Opel people tell Brainstorm they need to come up with a new idea as they leave. After some discussion at Brainstorm the agency decides that they need to find Viktor, whom they threw out after the meeting, and hire him to work on the campaign. Eventually Viktor becomes the partner of Edward Kaminsky, a veteran ad man who is hoping to retire soon and they begin work on an idea that will keep Brainstorm alive through Opel's money.
Meanwhile, Viktor meets the artist Rosa and begins a relationship, albeit rocky at first. While at a party that Rosa has thrown, Viktor and Rosa work out an idea for a gallery exhibit where Rosa is in a shopping mart hunting (literally) for her groceries. Sometime later at a meeting with Opel, Viktor accidentally happens to blurt out the idea, which Opel loves, and they are told to begin work on the idea.
Now Viktor, torn between his work and his girlfriend, must decide what is most important to him. Edward tells him that all he has to do is pay her for the idea, but Viktor knows that for this artist the idea is more important than money. However, Rosa's parents feel that they can butt into her life all the time because they give her an allowance and Viktor, seeing this as his opportunity to save himself from his mistake, tries to convince her that this is her opportunity to liberate herself from this cycle. With no exhibit Rosa is now forced to create something for the gallery that already has her booked and she ends up being turned into a dove as a magic act.
In an attempt to help out his new friend, Viktor, Kaminsky tries to get the agency to change from the hunting idea to something else, which inadvertently gets him let go from the firm. After this, Eddie hatches a plan which culminates with Viktor defecting from Brainstorm and stealing a client in the process. Viktor tries to patch things up with his girlfriend, but as she is still a dove we are left to our own imagination about how it will work out.
Cast
*
Alexander Scheer
Alexander Scheer (born 1 June 1976 in East Berlin) is a German actor and musician. He has won several national awards for his performances in film and theater, including one German Film Award for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" and one Bavarian F ...
as Viktor Vogel
*
Götz George
Götz George (; 23 July 1938 – 19 June 2016) was a German actor, the son of actor couple Berta Drews and Heinrich George. His arguably best-known role is that of Duisburg detective Horst Schimanski in the TV crime series ''Tatort''.
Early lif ...
as Edward Kaminsky
*
Chulpan Khamatova
Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova (; ; , born 1 October 1975) is a Russian actress.
Biography Early life and theater career
Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova was born on 1 October 1975 in Kazan, Tatar ASSR, in what was then the Soviet Union. Her parents Mar ...
as Rosa Braun
*
Maria Schrader
Maria Schrader (born 27 September 1965) is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award-winning 2007 film ''Love Life'' and the 2020 Netflix miniseries '' Unorthodox'', for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...
as Johanna von Schulenberg
*
Vadim Glowna
Vadim Glowna (; 26 September 1941 – 24 January 2012) was a German actor and film director. Since 1964, he appeared in more than 150 films and television shows.
He directed the 1983 film '' Dies rigorose Leben'', which won an Honourable Mentio ...
as Werner Stahl
* Nele Mueller-Stöfen as Michelle
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viktor Vogel - Commercial Man
2001 films
2001 romantic comedy films
German romantic comedy films
Films about advertising
2000s German-language films
Films shot in Berlin
Films shot in Germany
German independent films
2001 independent films
2000s German films
German-language independent films
Columbia Pictures films