F'd Ad Fridays: Dirty Sign Language PSAs

It's well-known that the first thing anyone learns about a new language is how to curse.

I guess it's the same with American Sign Language. "Dirty Signs with Kristin" is a hilarious YouTube Channel in which the super cute hostess teaches us the ASL versions of phrases such as:











See the rest here.

Tip via Buzzfeed.

1 in 5 teenagers will experiment with art

An illustrator friend, Marc A., shared this on Facebook:

Hosted by the Philbrook Museum of Art

Considering how much dope gets smoked in art schools, though, the comparison may be a little too close for comfort.

William Shatner serves fried turkey with ham

In the decades since leaving Montreal for Hollywood, the Shat has traded in his smoked meat for southern fried turkey. (As well as an October Thanksgiving for a November one.)

And State Farm has hired him as the spokesman for a PSA to prevent turkey frying fires:



It's long, but it's worth it to get every morsel of Shat's signature over-the-top delivery.

Via Adfreak

F'd Ad Fridays: Senior citizens gone wild!

This was a PSA of The Day at The Daily What, who wrote:

"Lancashire Police are warning resident to be on the lookout for a band of menacing pensioners roaming the streets and wreaking havoc. 

The (mostly) tongue-in-cheek PSA attempts to convey the message that anti-social behavior of any sort would not be tolerated in Lancashire, irrespective of age."

It is a rather silly ad, using the overdone "old people acting like young people" trope that Pepsi used to rely so heavily on.

Plus, it's hard not to think about Monty Python the whole time...

F'd Ad Fridays: Abstinence makes the something grow somethinger...

This rather bombastic teen abstinence PSA is brought to you by faith-based NGO  Centerstone, who among their strategies for delaying sex suggest saying to a partner, "Let’s talk about some sexual activities that are OK for both of us".

Oh, that one's as old as the hills.

F'd Ad Fridays: A Public Service Announcement about deadly assassins

This bit of fun is from Greenstorm Film.



Hey, didn't that bald guy used to be in Smashing Pumpkins?

Via Buzzfeed

F'd Ad Fridays: Don't get distracted by the headlights behind you

And by headlights,  I of course mean "headlights" in the parlance of our times.



This British (?) distracted driving PSA was a related video to the Farrah one from my last post. But whoever put it on YouTube cut off the branding and call-to-action. Does anyone know its origin? It certainly looks real, and of fairly recent vintage.

The poster claims it was "banned", but they all say that. It actually makes some pretty good points about both the passengers' and the divers' responsibilities when it comes to preventing distracted driving.

What not to do in the back of a boy's car. (Not while he's driving, anyway.)

Have a safe weekend.

Not your average road safety PSA

Although it starts out that way. Watch to the end.



Via Buzzfeed

May the vaccinations be with you. Always.

When I was a kid, and Star Wars was still shiny and new, Lucasfilm lent out the cheaper characters for TV Public Service Announcements against drunk driving and smoking.

This doctor's office poster, however, just seen on Reddit, is new to me:

It's obviously an old one, but with the anti-vaccination movement and the renaissance of measles, perhaps it's time for a sequel.

A PSA on how to make tea from Brad Pitt's intoxicated, half-dressed, assistant

So this is bizarre.

Lara Marsden is Brad Pitt's personal assistant, and the trash press are having a field day speculating about what her duties may include.

Me, I just love watching people embarrass themselves in the name of internet fame.


How to make the perfect brew!!

Lara | Myspace Video

Video via Robby Nova's Pop World

Jamaica's fear of a gay island rears its ugly head in PSA ban

Jamaica has a problem with gay people. At least, that's what I've thought since Time Magazine called it "The Most Homophobic Place on Earth" in 2006 because of the shocking amount of violent hate crime committed against homosexual men and women there (and which, it claims, is often ignored by police).

Male homosexuality is still a crime in Jamaica, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Surprising, from the country that gave us Bob Marley's "One Love"? Ironically, some point to the new generation of Reggae performers as the problem:

Jamaica's popular culture has a strong tradition of music, particularly reggae and dancehall. As a consequence performers are high profile, either (depending on perspective) seen as influencing popular opinion or reflecting it. Artists such as Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel, Mavado, Elephant Man, Sizzla, Capleton, T.O.K., Anthony B and Shabba Ranks, write and perform songs that advocate attacking or killing gays and lesbians.

Apologists argue that these artists are simply championing Rastafarian values in contemporary reggae music by recording material which is concerned primarily with exploring Rastafarian themes, such as Babylon's corrupting influence, the disenfranchisement of ghetto youth, oppression of the black nation and their abiding faith in Jah and resistance against perceived agents of oppression. Homosexuality is enmeshed with these themes.

One of Beenie Man's songs contains the lyrics: "I'm a dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays." Lyrics from Sizzla's songs include: “Shot batty boy, my big gun boom” (Shoot queers, my big gun goes boom)."A Nuh Fi Wi Fault" by Elephant Man rants: "Battyman fi dead!/Please mark we word/Gimme tha tech-nine/Shoot dem like bird".

Wikipedia goes on to point out that The Canadian High Commission in Jamaica requires "performers who wish to tour in Canada to sign an Entertainer Declaration that states that they have read and fully understand excerpts from the Criminal Code of Canada, Charter of Rights and Human Rights Act and "will not engage in or advocate hatred against persons because of their... sexual orientation."

Yeah. It's that bad down there. And in that context, you will surely not be surprised that this ad by JFLAG, about acceptance, has been refused play on Jamaican television:



The Jamaica Observer reports (with the unfortunate headline "Blow to gay ad - TVJ rejects J-FLAG’s PSA"):

"The PSA, which features former Miss Jamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe Christine Straw and her gay brother Matthew Straw encouraging Jamaicans to show love to their family members and friends who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, was launched last month. J-FLAG was hoping to have the PSA aired on national TV this month.

However, Television Jamaica (TVJ), one of the island's major television stations, says it will not be carrying the PSA at this time, citing concerns about the structure of the announcement, among other things."

Broadcasters cited complaints from church groups. Associate pastor of the Tower Hill Missionary Church in Kingston, Mark Dawes, gives a typical comment:

"As innocuous and as innocent as that public service announcement might appear, it is part of a wider plan by militant homosexuals to gradually desensitise Jamaicans to homosexuality, so that homosexual behaviour and practice can become mainstream in Jamaica."

Fortunately, the internet is less afraid of catching the ghey than Mr. Dawes...

Tip via Joe My God.

The Jennifer Aniston Foundation

The Stiller Foundation (FB link) is a real charity, founded "to support children around the world by providing educational opportunities to help them realize their full potential."

The PSA, however, is just good old fashioned Stiller humour:



The URL is the best part, considering Aniston is one of the more modest and guarded blockbuster actresses out there. (Don't worry/get too excited, it just redirects to FB.)

Via Illegal Advertising