The 10 Weirdest Ad Stories of the Month
“Chav fighting,” Harrison Ford, and “Comfort Wipes.” It all happened in June, mostly via Saatchi & Saatchi for some reason.
Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority Probes “Chav Fighting” Ads
A small chain of London gyms advertised training for those who want to fight “chavs” — poor but brand-conscious white trash who are the target of much scorn in the U.K. The ASA thinks Gymbox may have stepped over the line with ads such as “Why hone your skills on punch bags and planks of wood when you can deck some Chavs?”- Harrison Ford Ad Pleads for Rights of Private Plane Owners
You know who is really suffering in this recession and the occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the unrest in Iran? That’s right — people who own private planes. President Obama wants to tax them, and Harrison Ford is putting his foot down. Because first they came for the private plane owners, and I did not speak up, for I was not a private plane owner, etc., etc. - Saatchi & Saatchi Accused of Posing Kids in Sexy Swimwear Ads
The agency and its client, Australia’s David Jones, have a record of using 9-year-olds with “come hither” looks. Consumers are repulsed. - Comfort Wipe Commercial
“For over 100 years we’ve been scrunching and folding toilet paper. Finally there’s a better way … the first improvement to toilet paper as we know it since the 1880s.” The horror, the horror. - TBWA Pride Ad: “There’s a Little Gay in Everyone”
CGI production and a faux Broadway song assert that a small animated drag queen lives inside all of us. - Lemonheads’ Evan Dando Sues GM Over Ad Jingle
Singer claims “It’s a Shame About Ray” used without his permission. In other news, whatever happened to the Lemonheads? - Hold the Front Page: Saatchi Wins Chinese Wig Account
CEO Charles Sampson: “The China market is ready for fashion wigs, especially for fashion-conscious ladies who go out for evening parties and corporate functions. They have nice evening dresses, so they may want a beautiful wig to match their look.” They may indeed. - Did BBDO Really Create a Newspaper for Dogs?
Yes, it did. - Forbes, in Desperate Bid for Readers, Curates “Porniest Ads of All Time”
Madison Avenue bigs –Puris, Kirshenbaum, etc. — trip over themselves to judge cynical top 10 list. - Saatchi Ad Warns Sharks Against Humans
Stickers on inside of aquariums warn endangered predators against even worse predators.
Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.
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