A Funny Probe Into the Absurd World of Soviet Commercials. True story about a fake reality or a fake story about true reality? The inhabitants of the countries of former Eastern Bloc can still remember the absurdity of television commercials in the socialist era, when such products as salad or things permanently out of stock were advertised. The Gold Spinners (Kullaketrajad) is a story about the birth, glory years and disappearance of the film studio Eesti Reklaamfilm – the only company producing advertisements in the Soviet Union. Under this regime with no actual goods to advertise, the marketing rules did not apply and – to the thousands of concerned Soviet officials – even the word ‘advertisement’ sounded almost as ominous as such as words as saxophone, CIA and Coca-Cola. [Read more…]