Needlessly creepy parental control ads

Why so creepy? My guess is that the Art Director watches a lot of vintage porn.

Unfortunately, the "parent" in these ads ends up looking like a predator. Which is pretty much the opposite of what was intended. (Also, why is the supposed protagonist made of porn? Hmmm...)

Ads by Sancho BBDO, Bogota, Colombia.

Via Ads Of The World

Drap(eri)ed nudes

Remember when George wanted to drape himself in velvet?



Well, thanks to this German online curtain retailer, it looks like his dream could come true...

Those Europeans. They're so classy and shit when they use naked women in advertising.

Ads by  BBDO Proximity, Düsseldorf, Germany
Via Ads of The World

F'd Ad Fridays: Yes, you should stop...

...before your head overflows all over the page.

Via Ads of The World

F'd Ad Fridays: Condom wrappers everywhere

Maybe it's just me, but I hate finding other people's condom packages lying around the streets or on other public places. Mostly because it's a reminder that there may be a discarded "white balloon" nearby, and also because it's litter. I'm happy people use them. I just don't want to be reminded that people are picking up street prostitutes so close to my home and work.

That said, I get the humour in this playful ad from K Swamy BBDO, India.  But why would an old married couple use one?



I do, however, love the brand name: Hindustan Lifecare Limited Moods Condoms

For all your limited moods?

Via IBiA

"Learn English Abroad" ads hit my communication sweet spot

I really like these Swiss learning travel ads in today's Ads of The World:

The copy reads, "Exciting conversations don't come out of your schoolbook.
Language courses abroad: www.smallworld.ch".

This struck me as such a perfectly true insight. So true, in fact, that there's no way it can't have been done many times before.

It also hits home. As an English Canadian of a certain age, I studied French as a mandatory school course from Grade 3 to Grade 10. Today, I cannot speak French to save my cul.

A few years later, I learned to speak Italian. Not grammatically perfect Italian, but enough to keep my culo out of trouble as I mingled with new friends in bars, clubs and parties — exactly the scenarios shown above.

And this is why I love the ads. Real language immersion is a full-contact cultural experience. You learn what you need to learn naturally, simply because you really want to communicate. And the payoffs, in lifelong beyond-tourism experiences, are immediate and more than worth the effort.