Health care
A new commercial for the migraine medicine Treximet starts out in relatively humdrum fashion, with a close-up shot of a woman’s face as she discusses the gripping pain of a headache.
Then the ad cuts away to its surreal horror movie moment – the woman in question is actually literally holding her head in her hand, and her body is decapitated.
Or, at least it would seem at face value to be a horror movie moment. But instead, the commercial treats this development as if it is nothing special. Creepiest of all, the woman in question is standing in front of a school bus, one arm cradling her head and another arm draped over the shoulders of her young son.
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| treximet.com |
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Say the name Dr. Scholl’s and most people think of sensible shoes, somewhat embarrassing foot ailments and other not-so-sexy connotations. That’s a hard reputation to beat, but evoking table dancing may be taking things too far.
A recent ad for the foot comfort company shows model Yaya DaCosta, a contestant from "America’s Next Top Model," doing what appears to be some sort of sexy dance (although it may be the chicken dance gone awry) on something that looks like a cross between a desk and a stage.
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| Dr. Scholl’s |
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In an age when teens are inundated with images of sex and violence, one has to wonder, is anything shocking anymore?
The makers of the “truth” anti-smoking ads, who for years have been trying to scare would-be smokers straight with startling images such as masses of body bags and people posing as “dead” smokers, think they have hit on something: shocking the kids by not being so shocking at all.
The American Legacy Foundation’s latest anti-smoking campaign juxtaposes joyful cartoon characters and upbeat musical numbers with troubling anecdotes about smoking, in the hopes that a little sardonic humor will keep the attention of famously fickle 12- to 17-year-olds.
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| American Legacy Foundation |
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Dove’s “Campaign For Real Beauty” has been the source of good advertising with a good (if a tad bit Oprah-ized) message for a few years now.
The message: Women should be comfortable with their bodies and own beauty. Hopefully it has made some people feel better, more respected and respectful.
Certainly, though, women are still hit with contrary messages at every turn. The company’s new “short film” (or is that “long ad?”) is especially striking.
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| Unilever |
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From the “there is no such thing as bad publicity” file: The Canterbury Institute, a New Jersey-based business that offers “medical treatments for addiction” took out a full-page ad in the New York Post with the screaming headline “Don’t Die Lindsay.”
(At this point we’d interject that the type treatment makes us think of our younger days and “Frankie Says Relax” or “Choose Life” T-shirts, but that just makes us look old, and we’re not that old. No. Really.)
Before you wonder what part-time actress and full-time train wreck Lindsay Lohan has to say about this, an Institute spokesman has some words of caution.
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| Canterbury Institute |
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In general, offers that begin with a “Have you ever wondered?” or “Have you ever wanted to?” make us immediately go “no” and move on.
But we were more than a little intrigued with an ad we stumbled over on the Web asking, “Trying to catch hepatitis C? Not sure where to start?” Not particularly. Wait -- what?
The animated spot features a little doodle of a guy, who evidently is named Dennis. An onscreen narrator asks the question (at the time Dennis -- obviously highly-motivated -- is licking the jagged rim of a tin can) and offers some ... er ... helpful information on ways he could have already caught it. These include, but are not limited to, sharing a razor, getting a tattoo and spending a holiday doing drugs and listening to techno music. (We pause at this point to remind all our readers that if you or someone you care about listens to techno, get help immediately).
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| hepatitisday.info |
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Everyone knows that kids love potty humor, but how well does it go over with adults?
Kellogg Co. is testing that notion with a new ad for All-Bran, a cereal touted more for its fiber than its flavor.
The commercial, targeted at consumers ages 45 to 75, features a burly construction worker strolling around a job site boasting about how All-Bran has helped make him regular. Just like the recent ad featuring a group of men jamming about the wonders of Viagra, the first question that comes to mind is, “Do guys really hang around talking about this stuff?”
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The setting is a folksy bar off a dusty highway. The scene: a group of guys who have gotten together for a jam session, to sing about ... the wonders of erectile dysfunction medication.
The new commercial for Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra is striking for a few reasons.
For one thing, there are no women in it -- this is a commercial all about guys bonding with other guys over the good times this medication has brought them, not sharing an intimate moment with their female partner. And secondly, some of the guys here strike the viewer as pretty young for erectile dysfunction.
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The image of a teenage boy beating up his own mother so he can steal money from her purse will not quickly fade from memory. Nor will the scene in which a young woman has sex in exchange for drugs -- which her boyfriend collects -- while she says, in a voiceover: “I love my boyfriend. We’ve been together since like eighth grade. He’s my best friend. He takes care of me.”
The Montana Meth Project isn’t aiming for subtle in the third wave of a TV, radio and print campaign designed to keep teens from even trying methamphetamines. After graphically showing kids what the addictive, destructive drug can do to their bodies, the campaign has turned its attention to how meth can lead you to abuse and exploit the people you care about.
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| Www.montanameth.org |
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