Random Things

Brands get the consumers they deserve. Treat consumers like morons and they act like morons. They don't really pay attention. They use their DVRs with a vengeance, and rip through what we have to offer them. When asked, they will say advertising is something crafted by idiots for idiots. When asked, they will say they can't really remember that Claritin spot. And this can't surprise us, because after all the ad shut them out. It created a cultural artifact so obvious and annoying that no one will waste a second on it.

But if we give the consumer a little credit, they reward us. They watch the ad. They dwell on the ad. They relate to the ad. And they relate to the brand. Give the consumer a little credit and that credit rebounds to the brand.

Adland has the scoop on what must be the year's stupidest ad controversy. A health clinic in Port St. Lucie, Fla., placed the ad shown on the left—with a boy kissing a woman's pregnant belly—in the local papers. Soon, bizarrely, the complaints started flooding in. "We were deluged," says a clinic rep. "Callers kept saying, 'You're disgusting! I can't believe you'd put that in the paper: a picture of a man mooning a child.' " Adds a second client rep: "This came out of nowhere. People were screaming at us about it, and none of us could fathom which ad they were talking about and what they were seeing."

For the iPod Nano

For the iPod Touch

Even if you speak German, you'll have a hard time figuring out what this ad is trying to tell you. The headline says, "Redundancy creates security," a reference to the "service" offered by German VPN/WAN access router manufacturer Viprinet.

via adweek.blogs.com

Scanning the code with your phone will open up a link to uncensored content. It's a great idea!

Unfortunately some people think that the actual ad linked to wasn't racy enough. And considering the amount of sex in advertising nowadays would you blame them?

*RIIIING*
Daughter: It's my phone.
Blonde: Is Tara there?
Mom: It's your wife!
Quentin: Gulp!
Blonde: Tara...
Quentin: This is Tara-chan, yes.
Blonde: GET THE HELL HOME!!
Quentin: yyyes!
Dog: Oi oi.