Great Advertising

12 Most Embarrassing Ads

Published on Today 4/29/2012 under Cool Ads - by Gracie Murano

A little too close to reality. (Link)

No more living in denial about the size of your waist line, thanks to this fantastic, albeit terrifying, guerrilla marketing initiative from the health club chain, Fitness First. Unsuspecting commuters in the Netherlands are faced with viewing their body weight in bright lights - quite literally - when they take a seat at this Rotterdam bus stop. Scary, to say the very least, but extraordinarily clever, and likely to increase membership numbers at the local Fitness First. The brainchild of Netherlands' agency N=5, the initiative takes the concept of guerilla marketing to a whole new level. (Link)

The best helpers are ones that you don't have to pay. The Canadian ad agency Rethink makes good use of bald commuters on rapid transit trains by exposing their heads for all to see.

VIP Gym thought images of a flabby, cellulite-ridden butt topped with a pair of love handles would be enough to make people want to "get up and run." Glued to chairs in restaurants and cafes, the poster gives you the uncomfortable feeling that you're seeing way more of strangers than you would like. (Via)

When costumers bend to read the little text it says:

"At this moment, you bum is completely exposed. If it were in a sexy pair of jeans, it would attract attention all the time!"

Okay, it isn't a promotional product, but it is a clever way to make a poster interactive. The poster is purposely mounted so it droops over itself. When a curious passerby lifts it up, their personal smell is called into question. They get props for being funny, and for making a simple piece of paper into an interactive ad. (Link)

A Coca Cola Guerrilla Marketing Magnet Ad to promote Coca Cola's grip bottles. The ad places magnets behind the billboard so when passersby stand too close with metal in their pockets, they are magically attracted to the ad. (Link)

Condomi Erotic Shopping Bag. Advertising Agency: Draft FCB Kobza, Vienna, Austria (Link)

This guerrilla ad campaign wouldn't stand a chance of flying in the US.

This man doesn't look too happy to be in the ad. (Link)

A floating afro sits at head-level behind a bus stop seat, just at the right height to make it look like anyone who sits there has quite an impressive head of hair. This poster by ‘Real Hip Hop' is definitely an eye-catcher. (Link)

A huge interactive light box was mounted in the Seoul Sindorim Subway Station, the entrance way to a multiplex electronics shopping mall where various brands compete. Over 500,000 commuters use the station daily, making it the perfect place for an ad like this. Huddled together as if at a premiere, the paparazzi appear to be jostling and competing for the best celebrity shot. The celebrities, however, are the ones walking by; they automatically trigger a deluge of flashing camera lights. The accidental superstars then follow the red carpet all the way out of the station and into a mall, where there's a Nikon shop conveniently located inside.

If I were shy, I wouldn't be too happy about passing by this ad. (Link)

Wealthy, Un-Educated & Broke (but armed to the teeth...)

The USA is bemoaning it's lost status as a world power....and one of the reasons is

Farewell to an old friend over the years. Andy Rooney

First off, I'd like to express how deeply & truly sad I am at the death of Andy Rooney from CBS' 60 Minutes.

I grew up watching that show every Sunday night. If you knew me as a kid, it was playing in my home every Sunday when you were over for some of my mom's barely edible steaks, if you knew me as a young adult then it was playing every Sunday over Chinese/Pizza takeout AND if you had known me on Oct 6, 2011 when he did his last broadcast, I was there watching as well.

Andy represented to me a kindly, grumpy, wise and yet childish grandfather. He said some pretty pertinent shit, called it like he saw it and for all his faults, he was at least honest with himself and his audience.

I will miss him and his bushy eyebrows every Sunday from now on.

RIP Andy, you will be missed in my household.

Some quotes stolen from CNN (don't worry...they can afford it)


(CNN) -- Andy Rooney, who died Saturday at the age of 92, had the last word each week on the CBS news magazine "60 Minutes." Here are some of his great lines from those essays, along with a few others, that reveal his talent as a writer and the dry wit that made him famous.

"I try to look nice. I comb my hair, I tie my tie, I put on a jacket, but I draw the line when it comes to trimming my eyebrows. You work with what you got." -- from an essay on his eyebrows, Nov. 24, 1996

"We need people who can actually do things. We have too many bosses and too few workers. More college graduates ought to become plumbers or electricians, then go home at night and read Shakespeare." -- from an essay on finding a good job, March 21, 2010

"We didn't shock them, and we didn't awe them in Baghdad. The phrase makes us look like foolish braggarts. The president ought to fire whoever wrote that for him." -- on the start of the war in Iraq in 2003

"I recently bought this new laptop to use when I travel. Look at that. Fits right into my briefcase. It weighs less than three pounds. I lose that much getting mad, waiting to get on the plane through security at the airport." -- from an essay on computers, Feb. 11, 2009

"We can all be prouder to be human beings, because that's what they were. They make up for a lot of liars, cheats, and terrorists among us." -- on the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger after it exploded on takeoff in 1986

"Not many people in this world are as lucky as I've been. ... All this time I've been paid to say what is on my mind on television. You don't get any luckier in life than that." -- from Rooney's final "60 Minutes" essay, Oct. 2, 2011

"One of the things we can be sure of over the July 4th weekend is that news reports will keep telling us how many of us are going to die in automobile accidents." -- from Rooney's first "60 Minutes" essay, July 2, 1978

"The third rule of life is this: Everything you buy today is smaller, more expensive, and not as good as it was yesterday." -- from an essay on coffee cans, Oct. 23, 1988

"A lot of these products are actually pretty good. But why are they always trying to con us with the contrived pictures on the box that don't look anything like you get when you eat it?" -- from an essay on the pictures on food packages, Dec. 4, 1988

"I don't know anything offhand that mystifies Americans more than the cotton they put in pill bottles. Why do they do it? Are you supposed to put the cotton back in once you've taken a pill out?" -- from an essay on pill bottles, Oct. 12, 1986

"I understand shipping -- you have to expect to pay for the stamps or for the freight company -- but what's this handling they always have? How much does handling cost, anyway? I don't want a lot of people handling something I'm going to buy before I get it. How much would it cost if you didn't handle it before you sent it to me?" -- from an essay on fine print, March 12, 1989

"Dogs are nicer than people." -- from an essay on the true things in life, Dec. 5, 2007

"I did not believe in the war. I thought it was wrong to go into any war. And I got to the war, and saw the Germans, and I changed my mind. I decided we were right going into World War II." -- from a CBS interview with Morley Safer, Oct. 2, 2011

"I am interested in details. If you go into anything far enough, you get into the details of it, and people turn out to be interested in what makes things work." -- from a 2010 interview in The Colgate Scene

Not gettin' any ? You can always buy some !!

In preparation for Halloween, some Ideas from a few Twisted Minds

Pumpkin - Granny

Pumpkin - Pooh

Pumpkin - The Morning After

Pumpkin - Don't Eat Me

Pumpkin - Nerd

Pumpkin - "The Shining"

 

Pumpkin - Man Eater

Are YOU on Facebook ?

Calls you wish you had made......

The first Politician ?

Archaeological History is Made

An archaeological team, digging in Washington DC has uncovered 10,000 year old bones and fossil remains of what is believed to be the first Politician.

For all you geeks out there.....

Make sure to read the comments ;)

Food for thought - Not for 8% of us

I came across this and was absolutely stunned by the results for Canada.

This is the IMF (International Monetary Fund) 2010 ranking of"Advanced Economies". I'm usually proud of my country and like to think that we'd rank be way up there, especially under the "enlightened, benevolent, happy-happy-joy-joy leadership" of our current government in Ottawa. But as the results below indicate, apparently 8% of us can't afford to feed ourselves.

Can Mr. Harper please identify the 8.4 Senators and 24.6 MPs.....in fact, the whole 25,211.6 Federal Employees in his government who are going hungry so I can invite them over for a decent meal. After all, running our country is hungry business and I want to do my part to ensure that they're up to the job.

Somehow I don't think that any of those people are missing a meal, nor are the additional 2 Million Provincial and Municipal employees. But you and I...well, you better enjoy your lunch cause it may be all you get today.

And the sad part ? Ottawa will claim this as a victory because look at our numbers vs. the USA !! If I were American, I'd be furious hence the title of the graph below.

(8% of 105 Senators, 308 MPs, StatsCan Fed Employees http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/govt58a-eng.htm)

Click Image to Enlarge

Saif Gaddafi - N. Africa's Glenn Beck

Seif Gaddafi went on air this evening in what can only be described as a delusional, drug addled Brain Fart. Apparently he was the head of their Anti-Narcotics department so I wonder if he pulled a "Tony Montana" before recording his ramblings.


Here's some photos from his tirade earlier this evening. You tell me if this guy doesn't look like he's stripped a few gears. 

Some translated snippets of his speech.

"Citizens tried to attack the army and they were in a situation that was difficult. The army was not used to dealing with riots," he says.

"Libyan citizens died and this was a tragedy.

"There is a plot against Libya. People want to create a government in Benghazi and others want to have an Islamic emirate in Bayda. All these [people] have their own plots. Of course Arab media hyped this. The fault of the Libyan media is that it did not cover this.

Libya is not like Egypt, it is tribes and clans, it is not a society with parties. Everyone knows their duties and this may cause civil wars. 

Libya is not Tunisia and Egypt. Libya has oil - that has united the whole of Libya.

"I have to be honest with you. We are all armed, even the thugs and the unemployed. At this moment in time, tanks are driven about with civilians. In Bayda you have machine huns right in the middle of the city. Many arms have been stolen.

"No one will come to Libya or do any business with Libya.

"We will call for new media laws, civil rights, lift the stupid punishments, we will have a constitution... We will tomorrow create a new Libya. We can agree on a new national anthem, new flag, new Libya. Or be prepared for civil war. Forget about oil.

"The country will be divided like North and South Korea, we will see each other through a fence. You will wait in line for months for a visa.

"The Libyans who live in Europe and USA, their children go to school and they want you to fight. They are comfortable. They then want to come and rule us and Libya. They want us to kill each other then come, like in Iraq."

SRW

Arabic Survival Guide

In an effort to assist my fellow non Arab readers in deciphering the news coming out of North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf States, I proudly present my inaugural installment of......

"WTF did they say ?"

Arabic Survival Guide edition....The following common words and phrases will assist you in communicating smoothly with your fellow online revolutionaries. Brought to you by the collective genius of social networks like Twitter and some Google / Wikipedia.

NOTE: 7 is the hard 'h' sound: 'Ha', not the 'Heh', or soft 'H'; 3 is the 'ayeen' sound: 'eye'; Another good symbolic sound you will see a lot is '2'. That is a short 'a' sound, shortens vowel pronunciations

Irhal = Leave

Batil = Invalid

Thawra = Revolution

Hurriya = Freedom

Khalas = Enough

Majnoon = Crazy

Yalla = Go (rallying cry)

Hokoma = Government

Neezam = Regime

Shoghl = Work

Khobz = Bread

Ma / Mayya = Water

Hathr Tajawwol = Curfew

Damm = Blood

Ghadab = Anger

Khara = Shit

Kalb = Dog or Dictator (insulting to dogs)

Baltagya = Thugs

Tazweer = Forgery

Ehtfal = Celebration

Kha'an = Traitor

Hob = Love

Salam = Peace

Aman = Safety

Inshallah = God willing

Masry / Masri = Egyptian

Fakhour = Proud

Bousa = Kiss

Yalla = let's go, in a very passionate way, or here we go, or literally oh god

Yasqut = Down with, as in down with mubarak, yasqut mubarak

Yalla yalla yasqut Quddafi! = Let's go, let's go, down with Quiddafi!

Kefaya! = enough!

Fahimtukum = I understood you

Hurreya / Houriyyah = Freedom

Irhal = Leave

vatil = invalid

Thawra = Revolution

Khalas = Enough

Majnoon = Crazy

Selmeyya = Peaceful

Howa yemshi, mesh hanemshi = He leaves, we won't leave.

Toz = Fuck off or Go to hell

"Toz, toz fel Gaddafi = Go to hell, Gaddafi"

Karama / Karamah = Dignity

Shaheed = Martyr (Arabic and Persian)

Shohada = Martyrs

Mesh Hntatay = We won't bow down

Harami = Criminal / Thief

Rooh ballit al bahr! = Go bail out the ocean! (get lost!)

Gazma = Shoe / Tool raised in contempt at dictator

Intifadah = Uprising, Resistance, Rebellion; literally, 'shaking off'

to wage a "jihad" for "Horiyah" = to "struggle" for "freedom"

Tahrir = Liberation

Balady / Bilaady = My country

Watan / Vatan = Homeland (Arabic and Persian)

Amal / Umeed = Hope

Degage = Get out

Shabab = Youth

Ashaab yurid escaat anzam = the people want the regime to fall down

Allah yir7amhom = May god have mercy on them, something like may they rest in peace

Watany 7abiby el watan el akbar = My great country (home); the biggest country(home); it's a name of an old song about the arabian countries

Istihbaal / Estehbal = Idiocy; Playing stupid or Playing dumb; In California-speak, "he's trippin"

Matestahbelsh (variation of estehbal) = Don't play dumb

Khobz wa ma, Ben Ali la' = Bread and water yes, Ben Ali no /  Yes to bread and water, no to Ben Ali

Ya Mubarak Ya gaban, 7'alee il sha3b yi 3eesh fi aman = Mubarak U coward,let the people live in peace

Adala = Justice

Irhal yaany imshy, yemken ma byefhamshy' = Leave means depart, maybe he doesn't understand

Baltagia = A part-time thug for hire (Government thugs who disperse protests on camels)

Go ballit el bahar = go put tiles on the sea: busy yourself with insane task, go fuck a duck

Erfaa rasak foa', enta masry = Hold your head up high, you're Egyptian

Ya Gamal oul li abouk, el musreen be ikhrahook = Gamal, tell your father, the egyptian people hate him.

Sahaafi = Journalist

Batal = Hero

Khayen = Traitor

Mogrim = Criminal

Ana hurr = I am free (masculine) Ana hurra= I am free (feminine)

Fassad = Corruption

Saffah = Murderer

Ameel = Agent

Khayen = Traitor

Haramy = Thief

Tesbahu Ala Khayr = Good night said to more than 2 people

Sarik / Sarrak / 7arami / Harami = Thief

Moataqal (m.) / Moataqala (f.) = Detainee

Masageen (n.pl) = Prisoners

Salam = Peace

Al salam alyakoom = Peace be unto you

Shokran = Thank you

Shokran jazeelan = Thank you very much

Jihad = Struggle

Demoqratiyyah = Democracy

Amal = Hope

Sabr = patience

Shuja'a = Courage

Irada = Will

Tahya Masr = Long Live Egypt

Irahal = Leave = Dégage

Dustoor = Constitution

Dawlah Madaniyah = Civil State

Qanoon = Law

Haq = Right

Dameer = Conscience

Sijn = Prison

Ghaz Miseel Lildemua' = Tear Gas

Resas = Bullets

Hokoma = Government

Neezam = Regime

Shoghl = work

Khobz = Bread

Ma/Mayya = Water

Hathr Tajawwol = Curfew

Damm = Blood

Get your non Arabic friends together and try mixing and matching the words above to make your own surprisingly authentic Arabic revolutionary slogans. Feel free to add words where appropriate. For example, here in Canada we might use one of the following:

Manjoon Harper Yalla !!

or

Khalas Manjoon Harper Irhal !!

SRW


Many thanks to Tallulah and her site here which provided many of the examples
and for further reading of info, look at these sites.

http://www.shariahprogram.ca/Arabic-alphabet2.shtml
http://wahiduddin.net/words/99_pages/app_a_pronunciation.htm