"Bro Cruelty" parodies Sarah McLachlan's sappy animal welfare PSA

BuzzFeed posted this pretty good parody of Sarah McLachlan's animal welfare PSA by Socially Awkward:



The original:

This Katherine Heigl PSA is completely nuts

I've already profiled this hilarious ad on Osocio last night, but I wanted to share it here for the morning crew.

Former Grey's Anatomy actress Katherine Heigl stars in this video promoting the spaying and neutering of pets. But she says that it isn't about the animals for her — she just really hates balls.

Katherine Heigl Hates Balls from Katherine Heigl      

It's a fantastic performance. Funniest PSA of the year, easily. And, following Snooki's perfume debut on the site, this video establishes Funny or Die as a viable advertainment medium.

The ihateballs.com site is also worth checking out, if only for the merch.

Well, now that's awkward...

Many snakes were harmed in the making of this fashion spread

Apparently snakeskin is a thing in fashion this year. I'm not morally opposed to the wearing of animal skin, but I find this spread by Giampaolo Sgura in Antidote unsetting. The wild harvest of pythons just for their skins seems wasteful and irresponsible to me. And naked Ashley Smith letting a live one slither over her sultry nude form as she wears the hides of its brethren is also a little ick.

Via Animal NY, where you can see the rest of the pics.

F'd Ad Fridays: Turkeydogs against American Thanksgiving

The obvious answer is "because I'm not emotionally invested in a turkey I've never met and besides those freaky things look like some kind of mutant dinosaur that would eat me given half the chance."

Luckily, my Thanksgiving was last month so we slipped under the PETA radar.

Via AdFreak

F'd Ad Fridays: PETA is against human fur, too

I think this partnership must have been the idea of a horny male Art Director who spends too much time dreaming up euphemisms for vulvas and submitting them to Urban Dictionary.

Or he's a big fan of Etsy.

Pic via Copyranter

Laura Vandervoort goes "V" for PETA

No, it's not "vegan" this time. The Canadian actress, known for her portrayal of reptillian alien in the remake of "V" (video in new window), has gotten herself undressed and herped up once again, but this time it's for a cause:

That's right, it's PETA. But at least her ads have some cultural context beyond "hey! look! I'm naked over here!", plus the slaughter of exotic reptiles in the wild for shoes and handbags is pretty unconscionable. (Yes, I know there are also farms...)

What are we teaching the next generation of creatives?

Student work that makes the blog rounds is very telling. On the one hand, it shows us what the next generation of creatives has to offer. On the other hand, student (and often junior) work tends to be an exaggerated reflection of what these impressionable young adpeople think is great.

This Maxim/Humane Society CSR spec from Miami Ad School, Brooklyn, is a prime example.

It's a digital campaign that asks men what type of woman they want to hook up with, and suggests a breed of dog to adopt to attract her. It also provides stereotype-specific pickup lines.

So, what are we teaching today's ad students?

Well, "sex sells" is a given. But wait!  There's more:

Lesson One: It's okay to sexually objectify women as long as it's for a cause 


Thank PETA for that one.

Lesson Two: Porn is reality

Is any Maxim reader going to meet women like this? No, because they do not exist. They are stereotypes ripped from the hand of a Letters to Penthouse reader, as portrayed by surgically and digitally enhanced models. Hey, look! The smart girl has glasses! (Don't worry, she's taking them off.) Note that most of them are white, and "Latina Princess" has no personality beyond her exotic ethnicity.

Lesson Three: Bitches are disposable commodities


What a great idea. Imagine if you could borrow a dog just long enough to attract a girl like this, just long enough to bed her. Then you can go back next week and get a chihuahua and maybe bang the Latin girl! Because attracting non-committed pet owners is what the Humane Society is all about. And tricking women into sex is what being a man is all about, big guy!

Lesson Four: You can insult people all you want, as long as it's a joke

If someone questions the appropriateness of your campaign, "Get the sand out of your vagina!" is a proper response. If the critic is a woman, this both reminds her that she is defined by her sexual parts, and outs her as a humourless prude. If the critic is male, it implies he is no man at all (and is probably gay) because he refused to fist bump a bro for putting the hos in their place. Also, he is probably gay.

Lesson Five: To get ahead in advertising, think like a man (with your penis)


If you have already seen this campaign (in I Believe in Advertising or elsewhere) you probably skipped straight to the comments to tell me what an idiot I am. The credits, you see, are "Art Director: Jennine Punzone
Copywriters: Jaclyn Shelton, Kaley Coon".

Young women. Trying to impress middle aged creative directors by selling out their own dignity.

They'll go far.

The cheesiest ad you will see today

AdFreak shared this new provocation by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:

It's going to be placed along the highway in De Pere, Wisconsin, where Green Bay Packers cheeseheads will see it on the way to Lambeau Field on Oct. 2 for a game against the Denver Broncos.

That's right, they want Wisconsinites to give up cheese.

From PCRM's release:

"Foods served at Lambeau Field’s eateries are typically loaded with cheese and other high-fat dairy products. Offerings include Hall of Fame Curds, which are deep-fried Wisconsin cheese curds; Cheesehead Beer Cheese Soup, made with cheddar cheese, beer, and then topped with more cheese; and nachos piled with cheddar cheese and sour cream. Americans today eat three times as much cheese as they did in 1970—almost 33 pounds per person in a single year.

'Our greatest concern is for children who are fed cheese products by their well-meaning parents,' says PCRM nutrition education director Susan Levin, M.S., R.D. “Cheese is loaded with fat, cholesterol, sodium—and calories. It ought to come with a warning label so consumers understand the health risk."

Oh, really?

In case you aren't familiar with these guys, they are actually an animal welfare organization in disguise. I have long considered them another front for PETA, although the relationship is arm's length, with PETA only providing them some funding.

There is no doubt that too much cheese is bad for your health. And Wisconsinites are overweight. But that's not really why PCRM wants people to stop eating cheese.

From Quackwatch:

"The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a nonprofit association that claims to promote "optimal diet for prevention of disease," says there is evidence that humans don't have a specific requirement for protein, and teaches that "too much dietary protein from animal sources is detrimental to health."  PCRM's reference to "animal sources" is key to understanding its true purpose. Its leader, Neal Barnard, MD, has been identified as medical adviser to the radical animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and PCRM may be substantially funded by it."

Which is certainly their prerogative. But why not be more honest about their motives? Because a billboard that says "the dairy industry is cruel to cows" does not appeal to people's self interest. Instead, PCRM goes after the consumption of animal-based foods with dire warnings about health consequences.

Personally, I am much more concerned about cruelty to humans than cruelty to animals. What would you think if I went on a rant about inhumane child labour in the cultivation of chocolate, coffee or bananas, but then I suddenly told you that I wanted you to stop buying those things because I'm worried for your health? You'd question my motives. (And probably ask me why I didn't consider Fairtrade tropical goods.)

Anything is bad for you in excess. Factory farming is disgusting and cruel. And PCRM is not a very "responsible" advertiser, IMHO.

F'd Ad Fridays: Inside the mind of a zoophiliac

These two shorts from Zoochosis, "a place to view short films, documentaries, articles and visual art, all about to the plight of animals like yourself living in modern society."




Zoochosis: Bears from Zoochosis on Vimeo.


The word "zoochosis" is a term for the psychological problems experiences by captive animals. But as these shorts show, we ourselves are suffering from it.


Thanks to BurnRed for the tip. Ding! Ding!