"Depressed Copywriter" is actually hilarious

It's a new advertising Tumblr. And some of the posts are depressingly funny:

It's like he or she is posting from inside every burnt out Copywriter's poundingly hung over mind.

Check out the whole psychological mess here.

Via Copyranter

McDonald's wants you to buy your kids' love with McNuggets

It's always been known that McDonald's real brand promise is "buy your children's love". They create this opportunity by marketing so effectively to kids that they think anything tastes better in a McWrapper. Then they sappily remind third- and fourth-generation McParents how great they felt when they went to the Golden Arches.

Knowing all of this, and as cynical as I am, I was still shocked when I saw this print campaign on Copyranter's Buzzfeed blog.

DDB New York has produced what may be the most blatant execution of McDonald's brand strategy by telling parents that even if they suck at making their kids happy, the anodyne is a quick trip to the Mc, where a few bucks worth of sugar, salt, fat and designer flavours will make it all okay.

Yeah, it's supposed to be clever and funny. No, I am not laughing. Especially in regards to the one where a little boy is abandoned in a dark soccer field because mom or dad simply forgot to pick him up:

Show some responsibility already, McDonalds and DDB. Or at least be a little more subtle in your evil manipulation of parental love. OK?

And the most Effed ad of #FdAdFriday goes to...

...this barfworthy spot for French radio station Le Mouv':



Copyranter translates the kicker:

"Not everything was better before."
"My time. My radio."

You see, condoms were once made of sheep guts. (Some still are.) And listening to classic rock is kind of like putting an intestine on your johnson.

Okay.

Does "pussy" have the same connotation in Estonian? #FdAdFriday

Without the benefit of Google Translate, my guess is "yes"

Via Copyranter, who notes that Elu24 is the country's largest newspaper.

It's part of a pudenda-obsessed poster campaign which, (this time with the help of Google Translate) is apparently causing quite a bit of controversy.

The martini and the trowel, apparently, do not translate...

The only Chip Shop ad I like... #FdAdFriday

...is totally ruined by bad punctuation.

The Chip Shop Awards allow British creatives to show off how "edgy" they could be if it weren't for pesky things like client approvals, focus groups and basic human decency.

Many of them pander to the lowest instincts of cynical ad guys, with a good dose of racism thrown in:

And some good old toilet humour:

See more ads at Copyranter's Buzzfeed post, or go straight to the source

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Crabs used to sell tampons #FdAdFriday

As Copyranter pointed out, "I'm pretty sure crabs and tampons shouldn't be in the same ad".



I guess it's pretty clever, if gross, to have the crab build beachfront crab condos out of plastic trash that has been there and done that. It's not as if sea creatures would complain about the...

...never mind.

Copyranter goes upstream, joins Buzzfeed

I've been following Copyranter's blog at Blogger for years. One thing I figured out, once I started one of my own, was that the only way to get good tips and leads was to go upstream, to Buzzfeed, Reddit, Fark, and all those other clearing houses of internet stupidity.

Now, however, Copyranter's Mark Duffy (whose last name I did not know until today) has actually moved himself upstream, taking his blog to Buzzfeed.

Smart move, and presumably he'll get paid for his work now. At least I hope so. But after being so used to the bare-bones template of his old blog, the change is a little jarring right now.

At least he promises, "you will still find 'fucks' and dirty, unfunny jokes and misanthropy and hyperbole." So there's that.

Update: In their coverage, AdFreak added a link to the "about" post I missed, which explains that Copyranter has actually quit agency life and even posed for a photo:

Yeah, fuck you too Mark. And best of luck!

The saddest GIS image theft ever #FdAdFriday

In the age of Google, it's not uncommon to find personal or news photos stolen and used for ads in other countries. But what those unethical adpeople don't realize is that the same internet that gives them access to "free" visuals can also make their thefts very public.

Copyranter shared this billboard from India, for overseas study and job placement firm Jubeerich Consultancy.

"The trusted name since 1999"

Whoever designed the ad was obviously looking for a pretty, smiling, fair-complexioned face to represent the West. But they didn't check the story behind the image.

Eve Carson, the woman pictured, was a student at the University of North Carolina who was brutally murdered by Demario James Atwater (and possibly his teen accomplice) on March 5, 2008. In what was apparently a random act of violence, she was killed by repeated shotgun blasts and her car and ATM card stolen.

This act of image theft was not only unforgivably cruel to Ms. Carson's family and friends. There is also a painful irony in using the picture of a murdered American student in an ad for study abroad.

Shame on them.

May contain traces of man nuts #FdAdFriday

Copyranter posted this one yesterday. All I can add is "do not want".

A cracking fitness ad from Russia #FdAdFriday

Copyranter shared this gem from the dependably twisted minds of the Russian ad industry:



Mmmm... bum nuts...

Ad hackers play into admen's hands #FdAdFriday

The defacement of public advertising can be brilliant and entertaining, as in the recent Mad Men teaser poster hacks in NYC. And then there's this:

The Drum writes:

Peter Davis, executive creative director of [Powownow agency] gyro Manchester, commented: “Our new campaign for Powwownow has been made to court with controversy, so we’re pleased to see it’s already doing just that. If our character is already causing widespread offence then many people won’t like some of the things we have planned for him - this is only the beginning! We all have preconceptions about free services – ‘if it’s free, it must be bad!’ To confront this idea, we’ve created an obnoxious fictional businessman that spends money lavishly and dislikes anything that’s free – especially Powwownow. Our "more sense than money" campaign drives the idea that actually, you don’t have to pay a premium to get a great quality service.”

In Plain English: the guy in the ads is supposed to be an asshole and the copy is supposed to piss you off.

So, whoever got enraged enough to risk arrest and fine by stating the obvious on this ad actually did the advertiser a tremendous favour. I wouldn't be surprised if future campaigns of this kind actually hire people to deface the ads. (Maybe that's what's happening with the Mad Men meme - you never know.)

Being an ironic asshole in your advertising, by the way, has a history of backfiring. Remember the Groupon dogpile during last year's Super Bowl? People are just not that clever.

F'd Ad Fridays: The breast outdoor outfitter in Ukraine

No, this isn't a post about FEMEN. But it does provide some context for why they started using their breasts as their primary medium of protest. Because if these ads for outdoor outfitter Go Free are any indication, consumers there are even more boob-obsessed than their Western counterparts.



The first ad, apparently for helmets, was featured on Copyranter this morning. I found two more on their YouTube channel.

Boozy baby bottles

Italian artist Anna Utopia Giardino has created this series of bottles that mash up popular alcohol and kids' brands, and outfits them with baby bottle nipples in case you missed the point.

Here is the artist's statement:

"The bottles are NOT for sale, they are part of an art exhibition. This is an art project to raise social awareness on topics such as alcohol abuse by teens, alcohol abuse by pregnant women, the disinterest of some parents towards their children (abandoned for days between toys and video games), how far marketers can go to gain the attention of their younger customers. There are no commercial purposes."

Personally, I think that they would have been better without the nipples. (Which marks the first time in history that art has not been improved by showing nipples.)

First seen on Copyranter. Full collection via Laughing Squid.

F'd Ad Fridays: Fly the friendly skies, undress the stewardess with your eyes

Copyranter posted this 1950s airline promotion that could in no way encourage sexual harassment of the flight attendants.

Mad Men new season premiere falls on March 25

Via Copyranter

F'd Ad Fridays: North Dakota pimps its women out to male visitors

Is this Fargo's red light district?

Or maybe it's an attempt to increase the state's population: "Arrive a guest, leave a zygote."

Tip via Copyranter

F'd Ad Fridays: Because fat people have no feelings

These two recent ads, both from MCCann Erickson, Tel Aviv, are pretty mean-spirited.

Via Copyranter

Via Ads of The World

Way to prove to the world that advertisers are in a conspiracy to make people feel bad about themselves, guys.

F'd Ad Fridays: Cat got your... umm... nose?

It's a nasal decongestant ad from the Philippines. Since cat hair is one of the things that causes snotageddon for me, I'm going to be seeing this image in my nightmares.

Thanks a lot, Copyranter.

Bunny Girls vs. Horse Men

This Playboy ad (via Copyranter) uses an old group photo trick that coincidentally (?) has an ancestor circulating on Reddit, Tumblr and Buzzfeed right now:

Weird. Have any other examples to share?

F'd Ad Fridays: Appalling Holocaust-themed fitness ad

I first saw this Facebook ad on Copyranter, but The Stir had a full version.

Using the Holocaust to sell gym memberships in Dubai is some repugnant shit. So I guess it would be superficial of me to point out that it they couldn't even be bothered to design it, as the "ad" was apparently laid out on Demotivator's DIY dynamic generator.

They have since apologized on Facebook: