People have seen a LOTR influence in the Guiness and Nissan ads, but Alison writes in to point out: “I’d been reading a few notices about the Nissan and Guiness ads taking inspiration from FOTR. Just thought I’d point out that unfortunately Lord of the Rings wasn’t the first story to link horses and water. It was done at least as early as Greek mythology, where Poseidon, god of the sea, was also the creator of horses. Maybe it’s in other mythology as well. Either way, it’s a nice image and I’m not surprised that quite a few people have used it, but I doubt it really came from LOTR.”
Neil B came up with another ad though: “I hope that you guys and gals have seen the mini-production currently running on UK television, to cheer us all up a bit. A wizard, played by a famous actor, giving advice to a humble little chap, with lots of special effects, all in the space of a minute – surely not ? In fact it is an advertisement to focus on a company’s sponsorship of British rugby, but we can all see the Middle Earth connections !”
I’m sure this is just the beginning…..