Program

In reaction to the marketing and advertising strategies of the pharmaceutical industry, Justine Cooper has created a fictitious marketing campaign to launch HAVIDOL™, a new wonder drug designed to treat “dysphoric anxiety attacks due to a deficiency of social esteem and retail spending.”

With unrelenting parody, the project takes on people’s collective longings and expectations to be able to constantly improve their current situation.

The artist would like to thank New York State Council for the Arts, Greenwall Foundation, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for their support of this project. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. This project has been assisted by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments. 

Video credits for TV ads - Animator: Kuni Chang; Editor: Faisal Azam; Sound: John Plenge; Just What I Needed vocals and re-record: Tammy Brennan; Camera: Nicoykatiushka; Actors: Claire Byrne, Romain Fruge; Models: Zuzana Reidlova, Luca Faletti; Voiceover: Gary Kahn, Candice Holdorf; Hair + Makeup: Martina Schula, Mariana Garayo