David Mamet gets into advertising

+ David Mamet directs spots for Ford's Edge commercials set to launch tonight during "American Idol".

The idea of calling in Mamet, known for writing sparse, choppy dialogue, came from Ford's advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson Co., said Barry Engle, general manager of Ford Division marketing.

The spots feature two men sitting in Edges, talking about how their vehicles compare with the BMW and Lexus.

And according to this article, "agency copywriters drew up the dialogue in an effort to mimic Mamet's work, and he didn't change any of the words, Engle said. But Mamet was in charge of camera angles, lighting and the actors' facial expressions."