30-second spot for a 3-day yard sale
The inherent charm of low-budget yet highly endearing commercials isn’t lost on Madison. Would Christmas be the same if you didn’t see the adorable Pizza Pit spot with the children singing and the toy car driving through a snow-covered scale model of downtown at least once?
But for as little money as the long-running local pizza chain dumped into that 30 seconds of perfection, it sure got it a ton of use out of it. That’s why it’s so astounding to see a commercial (on YouTube, no local airtime) for a yard sale happening on the East Side this weekend. It’s a long yard sale (three days), but going to the trouble to film a short spot goes far beyond the old marker-on-paper-stapled-to-a-light-post routine that fits into most rummage sales' budgets. For visual artist Julia Sonmi Heglund (of Sonmi) and (the unofficially canceled) Starlight Cinema’s Reo Fordecor, it’s a fun way to advertise their biggest yard sale yet, happening Friday through Sunday on the corner of East Johnson and North Livingston. For us, sadly, it marks one of the last weekends before the two head out West.
Heglund said that the clip was shot using primitive equipment in a matter of hours, powered by “the fuel of stir fry and tuna melt sandwiches.” The hazy, sunny, washed-out colors of the summery video are fittingly soundtracked by the lo-fi harmonies and tinny production of “Barnyard,” from the Beach Boys’ Smile. And though Heglund and Fordecor’s delightfully dorky descriptions point out some hot items—including something that looks like half a set of clown dentures—it doesn’t begin to cover the veritable goldmine of kitsch that awaits.
Heglund said that she and the others whose items are almost ready to be picked over are “hoarders who like weird items and collectibles.” She said shoppers can expect to find tons of vinyl (LPs and 45s), vintage clothes and graphic tees, nostalgic and eclectic stickers, zines, underground comics, quirky Japanese items, Chicago Bulls gear, original paintings and art prints, musical instruments, action figures, VHS and DVDs, books, art supplies, furniture, picture frames, and rock posters, adding, “We're basically forming a mini pop-up shop.”
It sounds like if you’ve ever wanted to have the coolest collection of pop-culture odds and ends but didn’t feel like going through all the trouble (and years) of finding the stuff, you can basically round out your whole stash in one weekend. It’s just a shame that we won’t be seeing that commercial every summer.
