Let's stop treating commercials like art, even if they're directed by Yorgos Lanthimos: 'What stage of capitalism is it when we start making film trailers for ads'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Feb 5, 2026 10:00 AM EST

Can a commercial ever truly be considered art?

If you're a fan of Mad Men like me, you know how much can go into an advertisement. That show is all about the way advertisers mine our personal lives, hopes, fears, and deepest desires to sell us products. It's genius. And some ad pitches are truly moving, like when Don shows a slideshow of his family memories in a pitch for the Kodak "Carousel." But, outside of the world of Mad Men, can commercials ever become art in the way that a film or a painting could be? That's a question that came up when Grubhub, the food delivery app, dropped a teaser for their Super Bowl commercial, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the mind behind the Oscar-nominated film Bugonia and the Oscar-winning film Poor Things. When the teaser dropped on Twitter, the reactions were mixed. 

Some saw the ad as a common avenue for directors to make a couple of bucks. Turns out it's hard to make money in filmmaking, especially as somewhat of an indie darling. Directors should be allowed to exercise their right to work gigs for cash… actors do that all the time. But some were put off by treating the commercial like it was going to be some kind of artistic event, especially by dropping a "trailer." Should trailers exist for advertisements, something that we probably don't really want to watch anyway? When we start treating commercials like art, we fall into a dangerous cycle that ends up devaluing art itself. 

Advertisement
  • FILM FUPDATES Film Updates @FilmUpdates Follow ... Yorgos Lanthimos directed a Super Bowl commercial for Grubhub, debuting February 8.
    via FilmUpdates
  • via FilmUpdates

  • Whatever artistic merit might come from Lanthimos' commercial is incidental to its main reason for existing: to boost Grubhub's brand and generate revenue. Art that only exists to sell something isn't art, and when we treat it like it is, we lose something valuable. We're constantly being advertised to all the time, and if we start acting like that isn't anything other than what it is, we lose the purpose of art. Whatever you think the purpose of art is, whether it's to inspire, to challenge, to divert, or to provoke… hopefully, we can agree that it isn't there to subconsciously make us Grubhub a burrito. That said, I'll be tuned in when it comes time for the commercial breaks during the Super Bowl.

  • TristanTM @BucketDipper Jan 26 ... Love Yorgos but trailers for commercials is fucked up
    via BucketDipper
  • dustferatu @dustbinrecker • Jan 26 The diversity is lighting and color grading and camera work is SOOO welcome. Ads used to be art too!
    via dustbinrecker
  • Sammy @samfz7. Jan 26 The idea of a teaser trailer for a commercial
    via samfz7
  • sar ah @exs1nner • Jan 26 What stage of capitalism is it when we start making film trailers for ads
    via exs1nner
  • movie wwwad a tour pred but kenzie xcx @kenzvanunu Jan 26 ... • yorgos started out doing commercials in greece and lots of directors do commercials lol yall need to chill.
    via kenzvanunu
  • Mr. Chau @Srirachachau • Jan 26 Stavvy said on his podcast that Yorgos Lanthimos is like the most mainstream filmmaker in Greece, it's only here that we think of him as some weirdo artist. Knowing that, not all that crazy for him to do a Super Bowl commercial
    via Srirachachau
  • nxd @nxd1979. Jan 26 Replying to @Srirachachau he also cut his teeth on commercials in greece
    via nxd1979
  • chupacabra @generic_storie • Jan 26 Replying to @Srirachachau ... I mean directors are just hired guys until you become like a Nolan or Spielberg for the most part. Brady Corbet talked about having to go back to make commercials to make money after the brutalist. Lanthimos is a bigger director sure but he still needs to make money somehow
    via generic_storie
  • matthew! @iammatt349 Jan 26 Replying to @Srirachachau Is Yorgos Lanthimos not a mainstream director here in America?
    via iammatt349
  • KossifasG @GKossifas Jan 26 • Replying to @Srirachachau Not mainstream. Most famous, most prolific, yes. He really divides to this date the Greek audience. I personally love him
    via GKossifas
  • George Michael (Bluth... @... Jan 26 ... Replying to @Srirachachau • Spike Jonze has been doing a bunch of ads recently for Apple
    via gjk2448
  • ויויויו sin(e) boy @dark_tyler • Jan 27 Replying to @Srirachachau Poor Things did almost as much as Barbie in the box office here. He *is* considered very weird but his international success makes him an undeniable draw even for mainstream audiences. Also he was famous even before his first film thanks to his extremely mainstream music videos.
    via dark_tyler

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

advertising commerical yorgos lanthimos super bowl movies grubhub filmmaking Celebrity Edition quick flip
Scroll Down For The Next Article