Nonprofits
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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We’re not going to get into a PC vs. Mac debate with anyone. And it’s not just because of the “msn” part of the name of this site.
It’d be silly, though to not acknowledge that the iPod is about a ubiquitous as presidential debates. And, for the most part, about as pleasant.
Overpriced? Probably. Best-of-breed? Arguably. But dangerous … well, we never really thought of it until we saw this print ad for the New South Wales police department.
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| NSW police |
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We’re fond of the maxim “If at first you don’t succeed, lower your standards.” (Actually, we’re not really, boss, on the outside chance you’re reading this.)
It’s unfortunate, however, that in the current geopolitical climate, some elements of our armed forces are being forced to do just that to meet recruitment goals.
And while we endeavor not to be impolitic with Ads of the Weird, or even political at all, we were struck by a recent e-mail pointing out a recruitment ad for the Royal Dutch Army.
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| Royal Dutch Army |
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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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We here at Ads of the Weird like Bob Mould a lot, and as business writers and editors we also are partial to financial news. But we know better than to mix the two.
Apparently the folks at TIAA-CREF don’t agree. The financial services company has decided to use punk music icon Mould’s “See A Little Light” as the cornerstone of an ad campaign touting the benefits “dot-orgs” over “dot-coms.”
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| TIAA-CREF |
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It’s been nearly two years since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the surrounding area, destroying houses and lives and capturing the world’s attention.
By now, however, there’s no question that most people’s thoughts have moved on. The Katrina Foundation for Recovery is hoping to shock people into turning their attention back to the storm-ravaged region.
“Bin Laden would be smart to hide where the U.S. pays the least attention - New Orleans,” reads one of five advertisements prepared for the nonprofit, which raises money to supply clothing, shelter and other services in the area.
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| Katrina Foundation for Recovery |
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