Canadian focus groups shocked by topless statues on WW I memorial shown on $20 bill

Journalists really have to stop basing their coverage of political issues on Access to Information requests for focus group results.

Here's a scoop: sometimes, focus group participants say stupid things.

Case in freaking point: CTV reports that focus groups shown Canada's new $20 bill design complained about "pornographic" images of partially nude women and "the twin towers" from 9/11.

They were looking at an engraving of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, a world famous monument to First World War Canadian soldiers killed or presumed dead in France who have no known grave.

And, being a neoclassical kind of monument, it includes naked boobies:

Oh! The humanity.

I would like to ask the journalistic community to please stop making Canadians look so ignorant.

Also, nudity in currency notes is classy.

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.

What does a pedophile look like? #FdAdFriday

I'm trying to imagine the creative session at Herezie in Paris:

Copywriter: ..."and then it's really a pedophile holding his 'thumbs-up' in front of his face"

Art Director: "How do we know he's a pedophile?"

Copywriter: "I don't know... he's a creepy, middle-aged white guy. With a slightly open bathrobe."

Art Director: "Ewww... but is it campaignable?"

Copywriter: "Sure! We'll show that creeps can come from all ages. We'll have a young guy with a beard, a muscle shirt, and... a TEDDY BEAR!"

Art Director: "I guess we could put the same teddy bear in every ad, as a symbol of lost—


"Copywriter: "Yeah, yeah. Whatevs. But we need three."


Art Director: "Why?"


Copywriter: "We just do."

Art Director: "How about a fat, hairy shirtless guy? And he's bald?"


Copywriter: "Does he have a teddy bear?"


Art Director: "No, too many fuzzy things in one ad. He has a tin cup."


Copywriter: "Why a tin cup?"


Art Director: "I don't know. Can we wrap this up? It's almost wine-thirty."


Yes, it's a serious topic. But besides scaremongering, this campaign implies that sexual predators have a "look". They don't. Why is why so many "nice people" get away with it for so long.


Via Ads of The World 

FEMEN invite the women of Islam to get naked with them

FEMEN are in Paris, demonstrating for Muslim women around the world to demand sexual freedom and equal rights.

   

The demonstration, themed "Allah created me naked" includes slogans such as "Muslim women let's get naked", "Nudity is freedom", "I am a woman, not an object", "Naked war" and "Naked truth". (They also hold signs in Ukrainian, French and Arabic.)

While their hearts are all in the right place, the show of solidarity also reminds me of this cartoon:

The question being whether sexual freedom depends on sexual display. I'm sure the women of FEMEN would agree that the choice of dress or undress is every person's individual choice — as long as they are not being coerced or brainwashed.

On the other hand, women from more oppressive religious Muslim societies who choose the route of nude expression, such as Golshifteh Farahani or Aliaa Magda Elmahdy (who is name-checked in body paint), face disapproval, banishment, and even physical harm.

What do you think of this message and tactic?

You can see and read more about the demonstration (in Ukranian) at FEMEN's Livejournal.

Is this ad saying what I think it is?

Maybe not. Hopefully not.

This campaign from Euro RSCG for a social network encouraging trading features scenarios of people who have things each other want. But it's not good advertising for a place to make trades, since in the other two cases the "trade" is an uneven one born out of desperation and greed:

Toilet paper girl wants nice shoes. Lifesaver boy wants to be captain. But what does the Chinese food delivery guy want with the dog?

Yeah, I'm being disingenuous. But you'd never get away with that joke where I live. At least, not in print.

Via Ads of The World

F'd Ad Fridays: Did Jean Dujardin eff up his Oscar chances?

These posters were too much even for France. The Local reports that these posters for Les Infideles, showing Jean Dujardin (below) and costar Gilles Lellouche (above) being sexually serviced by anonymous women (with punny headlines), were found by French ad regulator ARPP to be in "bad taste". They were voluntarily taken down.

International media are speculating, however, that the bad PR surrounding the campaign could hurt Dujardin's chances at getting the Oscar for his role in The Artist.

I don't see what these posters have to do with his performance in another movie, but anyway...

Tip via Buzzfeed

F'd Ad Fridays: Naked guy photobombs kids' clothing shoot

It apparently showed up in La Redoute's web site and catalogue.

Here's a Google Translate of their apology on Facebook:

"La Redoute apologizes for the photo published on its site and is taking steps to remove it. 

We opted to remove all the posts including this picture. We are aware that it may offend the sensibilities of surfers. 

We will strengthen the validation process of all brand communications for this can not happen again in the future."

And, presumably, to keep naked dudes out of their kiddie photoshoots.

Via Copyranter

Berlin tries to out-sexy Paris

Surprisingly, there was no grim kinkiness involved. Just a barely-dressed lingerie model freezing her T&A off on the cold grey streets of the City of Lights.



Not particularly original, or even edgy by today's fashion ad standards. But I did like the soundtrack.