American audiences are not quite ready for Santa's other helper

No, not Zwarte Piet — although he's not welcome either in the New World.

This is Krampus, an Alpine demon who "finds a particularly naughty child, it stuffs the child in its sack and carries the frightened thing away to its lair, presumably to devour for its Christmas dinner."



What can I say? Those mountain volk are hardcore.

The specific Krampus tale in question is a stop-motion animation (the old-school technique used in the Rudolph Christmas classic) of the Krampmeister showing up at the home of some naughty kinder, licking them with his foot-long tongue,  thrashing the scheiße out of them and carrying them off. Doesn't it just warm your heart?



The short was produced for the holiday edition of Anthony Bourdain's Travel Channel show, No Reservations. According to Gawker, following news of the horrific Penn State child rapes and wide-ranging repercussions, the network felt it was just not the right time to lay this trip on America's parents and pulled it.

F'd Ad Fridays: NutLiquor was named that way on purpose

Never, ever, put a 12-year-old boy in charge of your brand.

Its site claims it tastes "like the center of a peanut butter cup, with no harsh aftertaste".

It's produced By Pandora Spirits L.L.C. in Temperance, Michigan USA. (Yes, "temperance")

Via Gawker

Starbucks falsely accused of racism?

This poster, via Gawker, appeared recently in Starbucks locations in France to remind customers to watch their valuables. A group called SOS Racisme complained that it was racist, because they saw the man portrayed as a brown-skinned  stereotype of a pickpocket. Starbucks took them down.


A simple case of successful activism?


Depends how you look at it. And whether or not you have seen the other poster in the series:

Do you read this illustration of a smiling woman as a portrayal of a criminal? Or do you see her as a potential victim?


Here's the problem. France, like many other once-homogeneous nations becoming increasingly multicultural, has a serious racism problem. It's so bad that apparently groups who specialize in speaking out against it see even an innocent portrayal of a brown person through a racist lens.


These people are both, obviously, supposed to be customers. The man is presumably a student or a young worker, with his casual attire, backpack, smartphone, wallet and laptop. The woman is perhaps a little older, carrying a purse (although that may be my prejudice peeking through).


There is nothing to see here, really. In context, it is clear that the illustrator, agency and client were just trying to reflect France's modern diversity in positive portrayals of customers. And it backfired horribly.


Should Starbucks have tried to defend itself? Or is this kind of discussion best avoided by PR-vulnerable brands?

F'd Ad Fridays: 1990s Scientology musical propaganda video

Here's something that'll put you off your lunch:



By the way, when they say "no turning back" they really effing mean it!

Via Gawker