Coco Martin is one of the recognizable faces in the Philippine entertainment industry today and, as is expected with fame, he is also the subject of hilarious memes.
People were amused when the actor appeared in Cobra Energy Drink’s parody movie posters. We have to admit this is some clever advertising scheme, appealing to people’s short attention spans online.
Some even thought that it was just a series of “memes” made by a fan or an otherwise ordinary person. However, Cobra said that it was not and that, Martin has volunteered for the posters himself.
The energy drink’s parody movie posters were tributes to some of Filipinos’ ordinary workers who are often overlooked in society.
“Ngayong Labor Day, kayong masisipag ang tunay na bida!” the posters go.
In the posters, Martin was seen as the following:
- A carpenter (“Carpenthor” from “Thor”)
- A security guard (“Guardians of the Grocery” from “Guardians of the Galaxy”)
- A tricycle driver (“Back Toda Future” from “Back to the Future”)
- A nurse (“Star Nars: The Patient Awakens” from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”)
- A barber (“Fade Runnner” from “Blade Runner”)
- A call center agent (“The Dark Night Shift” from “The Dark Knight”)
Shots of him in different uniforms/occupations were seen in one poster as well, aptly called “The Dependables,” taken from “The Incredibles.”
Some of the best parody posters
Parody movie posters are all over the internet. Most of them are made by fans of the franchise.
There are those who have become so popular that articles have been dedicated to them, although all are fanmade.
For instance, there’s a parody movie poster of “Deadpool” that mimics the official “Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II” poster.
It features Wade Winston Wilson sitting in a chair instead of Katniss Everdeen.
The Hunger Games just got Deadpool Movied – pic.twitter.com/ROb3lQ9Md7
— 9GAG Tweets (@9GAGTweets) July 12, 2015
Another one, “A Haunted House,” mimics the style of “Sinister’s” poster.
There’s also a satire of Donald Trump and Sarah Palin made by a designer who was inspired by the movie “Dumb and Dumber.”
It’s the must-miss movie of the year! Donald Trump and Sarah Palin are… Dumb And Dumber (by me & @davidschneider) pic.twitter.com/oHar88MJq8
— Andrea Mann (@AndreaMann) January 20, 2016
Even Hollywood actress Halle Berry was not spared. She was featured in a parody movie poster of “The Cat in the Hat.”
@Kitsuagi Here’s one you should of heard of/remember…THE CATWOMAN IN THE HAT! ???? pic.twitter.com/3mD4SaEUly
— The Sci-Fi Shed ? (@TheSciFiShed) January 11, 2017
The digital era is making it popular
According to The Artifice, “A parody is an imitation with a twist. In other words, a good parody is a humorous or ironic imitation of its source. The funniest parodies are those that most closely imitate the form which they mock.”
It noted that “the closer the imitation, the better the parody.”
In a blog post by Twentieth Century Posters, parody — specifically the parody posters — was reported to have increased in the digital era.
This is evident in the thousands of parody posters being uploaded to different websites such as Pinterest, IMDB, Huffington Post and Business Insider.
Pinterest, a photo sharing and publishing service, has hundreds of parody posters in its database. All of them are submitted by their users or reposted for sharing purposes.
IMDB, despite being a primary source of information on movies, has its own collection of parody posters as well that boasts of 170 artworks.
Huffington Post, a liberal news and opinion website, has also written articles specifically tracking parody posters.
Disney also created parody posters of Oscar’s Best Picture nominees in 2016, where it immediately caught the attention of Business Insider.
