Sex sells
June 21, 2011 4:57 PM Subscribe
What is this ad announcing? (note: scroll down slowly!)
On my ID I checked "I hereby make and anatomican gift" and I've specified "Brain". True Story.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:01 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Ad hominem at 5:01 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
When are people going to figure out that sexism really doesn't make people do good things or motivate people to care about others?
posted by yeloson at 5:02 PM on June 21, 2011 [21 favorites]
posted by yeloson at 5:02 PM on June 21, 2011 [21 favorites]
I'll think I'll be cremated and get inside 'em all!
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:05 PM on June 21, 2011 [11 favorites]
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:05 PM on June 21, 2011 [11 favorites]
I guessed "organ donation" because it was the weirdest of the 3. The choices should have been "organ donation", "passport renewal", and "watch making/repair". It would have been harder to get.
Anyways, the ad serves no purpose but really just to insult anyone who reads it. WTF.
posted by King Bee at 5:06 PM on June 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
Anyways, the ad serves no purpose but really just to insult anyone who reads it. WTF.
posted by King Bee at 5:06 PM on June 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
Hm, indeed, I can nearly see her organs.
posted by segfault at 5:07 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by segfault at 5:07 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think that ad was meant to be titillating, but I just ended up picturing a strange, gory Being John Malkovich-style headfuck scenario. So win-win. Except for sexism
posted by naju at 5:07 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by naju at 5:07 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
I guessed it right because the answer stood out like a made-up, attractive woman in underwear and high heels.
I also guessed that it wasn't an American ad. Our sexism isn't usually so in your face these days.
posted by defenestration at 5:08 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I also guessed that it wasn't an American ad. Our sexism isn't usually so in your face these days.
posted by defenestration at 5:08 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
"When are people going to figure out that sexism really doesn't make people do good things or motivate people to care about others?"
I'm guessing it will be some time after that statement (in the form of a rhetorical question) becomes even remotely true.
posted by TomStampy at 5:08 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm guessing it will be some time after that statement (in the form of a rhetorical question) becomes even remotely true.
posted by TomStampy at 5:08 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
She actually looks pretty healthy to me. Why would she be in need of an eventual organ transplant? I think the better campaign is aimed at her, to encourage her to continue with a healthy lifestyle, so that she may live a long, healthy life that does not require any sort of organ transplant. A regimen of healthy and low-caloric eating (staying entirely away from processed foods), minimal ingestion of alcohol, forgoing all illegal drugs; continuing to exercise, preferably aerobic exercise. She should also consider, if she has not already, obtaining as much higher education as possible; and maybe moving to a place with good healthcare and a reputation for longevity (think Switzerland, or Japan).
posted by jabberjaw at 5:14 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by jabberjaw at 5:14 PM on June 21, 2011
“Becoming a donor is probably your only chance to get inside her.”
Or some overpriced margaritas and a few hours of pretending to be interested in her life story.
posted by jonmc at 5:14 PM on June 21, 2011 [13 favorites]
Or some overpriced margaritas and a few hours of pretending to be interested in her life story.
posted by jonmc at 5:14 PM on June 21, 2011 [13 favorites]
I might not donate my organ after seeing this ad, but I'd probably lend it to her for a few hours if you know what I mean.
posted by 2bucksplus at 5:17 PM on June 21, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by 2bucksplus at 5:17 PM on June 21, 2011 [7 favorites]
I busted a gut laughing and now have nothing left to donate.
posted by Hoopo at 5:17 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Hoopo at 5:17 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'd like to donate some of my body fat to her.....oh, but aging will take care of that.
posted by vitabellosi at 5:19 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by vitabellosi at 5:19 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Pretty clever.
I'm seeing this inspiring some sort of Smiths/emo style song. 'To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die'. Maybe a bit more perverse. Or maybe a short film.
Hmm....
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:21 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm seeing this inspiring some sort of Smiths/emo style song. 'To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die'. Maybe a bit more perverse. Or maybe a short film.
Hmm....
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:21 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think this could have worked if they used women who had received an organ transplant.
posted by stavrogin at 5:21 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by stavrogin at 5:21 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm seeing this inspiring some sort of Smiths/emo style song. 'To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die'.
This is enough of a reason to delete this thread right now.
MODS!!
posted by jonmc at 5:22 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
This is enough of a reason to delete this thread right now.
MODS!!
posted by jonmc at 5:22 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Wait? So, does she need a kidney?
posted by TwelveTwo at 5:25 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by TwelveTwo at 5:25 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I can almost guarantee the agency did this ad for free. Every time you see an offensive or totally off-base nonprofit ad, it was made for free by an ad agency, for the purpose of winning awards. A guy I know blogs a lot about this phenomenon.
posted by roll truck roll at 5:25 PM on June 21, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by roll truck roll at 5:25 PM on June 21, 2011 [8 favorites]
Wait? So, does she need a kidney?
Yes, and she'll think of you every time she uses it.
posted by jonmc at 5:26 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
Yes, and she'll think of you every time she uses it.
posted by jonmc at 5:26 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
I got my pancreas all up in there.
posted by stinkycheese at 5:31 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by stinkycheese at 5:31 PM on June 21, 2011
Alkaline Trio's Fine Without You is what I was thinking of. "I'd kill for you and eat the flesh.
Give you the heart and burn the rest."
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:31 PM on June 21, 2011
Give you the heart and burn the rest."
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:31 PM on June 21, 2011
I can almost guarantee the agency did this ad for free.
Or is a rejected campaign that was never meant to go before the public. Although this site actually shows it in a magazine (though it still looks like it could be a mock up), and dates it from 2008.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:38 PM on June 21, 2011
Or is a rejected campaign that was never meant to go before the public. Although this site actually shows it in a magazine (though it still looks like it could be a mock up), and dates it from 2008.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:38 PM on June 21, 2011
Okay, that's just lame.
On the other hand, if John Barrowman needed a kidney, I'd consider it.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 5:40 PM on June 21, 2011
On the other hand, if John Barrowman needed a kidney, I'd consider it.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 5:40 PM on June 21, 2011
Also now I've got fucking Born To Be Alive stuck in my head.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:41 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:41 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'd give her my organ.
posted by nathancaswell at 5:44 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by nathancaswell at 5:44 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
If they had put "the newest Carl's Jr. McDonald's hamburger" as one of the choices, I would've voted for totally hit that.
FTFY.
posted by dhartung at 5:50 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
FTFY.
posted by dhartung at 5:50 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
So does this thread basically exist as a repository of 'I'd hit it' jokes? Because bleugh.
posted by shakespeherian at 5:52 PM on June 21, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by shakespeherian at 5:52 PM on June 21, 2011 [7 favorites]
note: scroll down slowly!
Um, I'm at work. Had to do the opposite and scroll down quickly.
posted by zardoz at 5:56 PM on June 21, 2011
Um, I'm at work. Had to do the opposite and scroll down quickly.
posted by zardoz at 5:56 PM on June 21, 2011
That's OK, zardoz. It happens to all guys.
posted by ShutterBun at 5:58 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by ShutterBun at 5:58 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Bill Hicks discusses this type of advertising.
posted by gcbv at 5:59 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by gcbv at 5:59 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
I was hoping it was for Depends and the tagline would be "She's doesn't want to deal with your shit."
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:00 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:00 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm not sure I see the sexist angle here except that, well, there is sex involved. The lady does not seem diminished and the slogan reinforces that sense of control. I understand that any display of naked wimmin stands in a shameful and very much living tradition of reflexive sexism, but it seems to me that this ad recognizes that connotation and subverts it in a way that serves to undermine that tradition.
posted by eeeeeez at 6:05 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by eeeeeez at 6:05 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I can almost guarantee the agency did this ad for free.
And so the Adman, hitting save in photoshop for the upteenth time that night, attached the new print ad for the Belgian organ donation nonprofit to an email to be sent off to his boss. It had been a long, cold night. He had crossed many personal and professional lines in the creation of the ad, and in his reflection he pondered what kind of person he had become.
He remembered in his youth the days when he would study ads in magazines and point out how patently wrong they were, and avowed that if he would ever be in such a position to create something for mass consumption, it would be art and not a craven grab for attention, like the sexist examples that he studied.
And yet here he was, on his MacPro, staring at the "message sent" dialog wondering where it all went wrong. He wanted to be a company man, and that meant being a "yes" man. The words "organ donation" and "sexy" weren't supposed to go together, but by some awful creativity he had done so. He had shown the final to several of his co-workers, who assured him with a slap on the back that it would surly "win a few awards" and get the attention of the higher ups. But at what cost, he wondered.
And suddenly he realized he had become the monster he was fighting, and cried into the keyboard as the last shadow of his creative soul departed upward out of his body and into the night sky.
posted by hellojed at 6:07 PM on June 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
And so the Adman, hitting save in photoshop for the upteenth time that night, attached the new print ad for the Belgian organ donation nonprofit to an email to be sent off to his boss. It had been a long, cold night. He had crossed many personal and professional lines in the creation of the ad, and in his reflection he pondered what kind of person he had become.
He remembered in his youth the days when he would study ads in magazines and point out how patently wrong they were, and avowed that if he would ever be in such a position to create something for mass consumption, it would be art and not a craven grab for attention, like the sexist examples that he studied.
And yet here he was, on his MacPro, staring at the "message sent" dialog wondering where it all went wrong. He wanted to be a company man, and that meant being a "yes" man. The words "organ donation" and "sexy" weren't supposed to go together, but by some awful creativity he had done so. He had shown the final to several of his co-workers, who assured him with a slap on the back that it would surly "win a few awards" and get the attention of the higher ups. But at what cost, he wondered.
And suddenly he realized he had become the monster he was fighting, and cried into the keyboard as the last shadow of his creative soul departed upward out of his body and into the night sky.
posted by hellojed at 6:07 PM on June 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
It's sexist to men.
The message is: she's hot, you're a loser, now give us your damn liver!
posted by ShutterBun at 6:08 PM on June 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
The message is: she's hot, you're a loser, now give us your damn liver!
posted by ShutterBun at 6:08 PM on June 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
Europeans are just more sophisticated than we are.
posted by gallois at 6:10 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by gallois at 6:10 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
The message is: she's hot, you're a loser, now give us your damn liver!
She is hot, I am a loser, and I've done so much damage to my liver chasing after girls that she won't want it.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:11 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
She is hot, I am a loser, and I've done so much damage to my liver chasing after girls that she won't want it.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:11 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
I had never really considered the possibility of trans-gender organ transplants. I guess some ape part of me was thinking "WHAT I DON'T WANT NO GIRL KIDNEY"
posted by tehloki at 6:13 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by tehloki at 6:13 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
“Becoming a donor is probably your only chance to get inside her.”
If you're that repulsive that donating a body part is your 'only chance', she'll probably look at it and say something like: "Ewwww, not from youuuu ..."
posted by bwg at 6:13 PM on June 21, 2011
If you're that repulsive that donating a body part is your 'only chance', she'll probably look at it and say something like: "Ewwww, not from youuuu ..."
posted by bwg at 6:13 PM on June 21, 2011
I've done so much damage to my liver chasing after girls that she won't want it.
Except maybe fried up with bacon and onions.
posted by jonmc at 6:13 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Except maybe fried up with bacon and onions.
posted by jonmc at 6:13 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
I guess some ape part of me was thinking "WHAT I DON'T WANT NO GIRL KIDNEY"
The side effect would be that you'd be unable to pee in a public restroom without being accompanied by 3 friends.
posted by jonmc at 6:15 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
The side effect would be that you'd be unable to pee in a public restroom without being accompanied by 3 friends.
posted by jonmc at 6:15 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
From my Bouncer Fried: I'd ask to see everyone's ID and if they where an organ donor they got in instantly.
posted by The Whelk at 6:18 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 6:18 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
i wonder how much the agency charged to come up with that lazy misogynist crap
posted by liza at 6:30 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by liza at 6:30 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Hm, indeed, I can nearly see her organs.
posted by segfault at 8:07 PM on June 21 [1 favorite −] Favorite added! [!] No other comments.
"Well if you think that's offensive, check this out: I think you can see her kidneys!"
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:34 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by segfault at 8:07 PM on June 21 [1 favorite −] Favorite added! [!] No other comments.
"Well if you think that's offensive, check this out: I think you can see her kidneys!"
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:34 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think this could have worked if they used women who had received an organ transplant.
Nope, it would've still been equally as misogynist.
posted by cmgonzalez at 6:34 PM on June 21, 2011
Nope, it would've still been equally as misogynist.
posted by cmgonzalez at 6:34 PM on June 21, 2011
From my Bouncer Fried: I'd ask to see everyone's ID and if they where an organ donor they got in instantly.
Back when I lived in Wisconsin, our licenses had this sticker you put on the front for "organ donor". THe problem is, the damned thing would come off after about 6 months of sitting in my wallet in my back pocket. There was also something you could check off on the back, but try writing in any kind of pen on laminated plastic; it'll wear off after a while.
I actually had to go to the point of telling both of my parents that I wanted to be an organ donor, that if I were in some kind of wretched accident, and there was not a huge chance I'd pull through but that my organs were still good, that they needed to carve me up. It was at that moment I found out that parents don't really like to think of their children getting carved up. I think I could have been a little bit more tactful in my approach, I think.
posted by King Bee at 6:39 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Back when I lived in Wisconsin, our licenses had this sticker you put on the front for "organ donor". THe problem is, the damned thing would come off after about 6 months of sitting in my wallet in my back pocket. There was also something you could check off on the back, but try writing in any kind of pen on laminated plastic; it'll wear off after a while.
I actually had to go to the point of telling both of my parents that I wanted to be an organ donor, that if I were in some kind of wretched accident, and there was not a huge chance I'd pull through but that my organs were still good, that they needed to carve me up. It was at that moment I found out that parents don't really like to think of their children getting carved up. I think I could have been a little bit more tactful in my approach, I think.
posted by King Bee at 6:39 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wow I was right when I said the ad was advertising for mystery meat?
posted by Mitheral at 6:40 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by Mitheral at 6:40 PM on June 21, 2011
Hahahaha, let's discuss an ad that uses a woman's body to titillate, and joke about how it's not sexist. It's okay, cause it's about organ donation, a Good Cause.
Can I just say that a lot of women like men who are evolved.
posted by theora55 at 6:41 PM on June 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
Can I just say that a lot of women like men who are evolved.
posted by theora55 at 6:41 PM on June 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
let's discuss an ad that uses a woman's body to titillate, and joke about how it's not sexist.
Actually, this reminds me of The Simpsons episode when Bart runs for class president. One of his campaign signs reads, "SEX! Now that we have your attention, vote for Bart!" Funny, in the context of satire.
Not so funny when the ad insults both men and women, as the one in the FPP does.
posted by King Bee at 6:53 PM on June 21, 2011
Actually, this reminds me of The Simpsons episode when Bart runs for class president. One of his campaign signs reads, "SEX! Now that we have your attention, vote for Bart!" Funny, in the context of satire.
Not so funny when the ad insults both men and women, as the one in the FPP does.
posted by King Bee at 6:53 PM on June 21, 2011
Except maybe fried up with bacon and onions.
No, no, the line is "With some fava beans and a nice chianti." fafafafafafafafafaf
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:54 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
No, no, the line is "With some fava beans and a nice chianti." fafafafafafafafafaf
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:54 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
"With some fava beans and a nice chianti."
That line ruined fava beans and chianti for me until around age 28. They are quite wonderful things when not combined with human liver.
posted by sweetkid at 6:57 PM on June 21, 2011
That line ruined fava beans and chianti for me until around age 28. They are quite wonderful things when not combined with human liver.
posted by sweetkid at 6:57 PM on June 21, 2011
Hahahaha, let's discuss an ad that uses a woman's body to titillate, and joke about how it's not sexist. It's okay, cause it's about organ donation, a Good Cause.
I'm not sure. Was her body "used"? Is her consent meaningless? You scoff at the notion that there is a good cause involved here, but would it really not have mattered if this had been an ad for, say, a sex shop?
What this reminds me of most is the photographs of tumors and disease on cigarette packs. It's not sexy at all. In fact, the jarring disconnect between fantasy and reality is what makes it work.
posted by eeeeeez at 7:02 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure. Was her body "used"? Is her consent meaningless? You scoff at the notion that there is a good cause involved here, but would it really not have mattered if this had been an ad for, say, a sex shop?
What this reminds me of most is the photographs of tumors and disease on cigarette packs. It's not sexy at all. In fact, the jarring disconnect between fantasy and reality is what makes it work.
posted by eeeeeez at 7:02 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
That line ruined fava beans and chianti for me until around age 28. They are quite wonderful things when not combined with human liver.
Do you still use lotion?
posted by jonmc at 7:05 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Do you still use lotion?
posted by jonmc at 7:05 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't know, I think it's a good ad. In most typically sexist ads, the idea is that the product will help you get the girl. For this one to be like, "Ha ha, you can't get her, get over it and do something useful" seems to both point out the stupidity of the typically sexist ad and also be kind of funny.
posted by neuromodulator at 7:05 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by neuromodulator at 7:05 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
That line ruined fava beans and chianti for me until around age 28. They are quite wonderful things when not combined with human liver.
Do you still use lotion?
Oh dear, well, I *did.*
posted by sweetkid at 7:08 PM on June 21, 2011
Do you still use lotion?
Oh dear, well, I *did.*
posted by sweetkid at 7:08 PM on June 21, 2011
It might be "kind of funny" (not to me, for I am a Humorless Feminist), but it still has the idea of the woman as an object to serve as a reward.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:10 PM on June 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:10 PM on June 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
I don't know, I think it's a good ad. In most typically sexist ads, the idea is that the product will help you get the girl. For this one to be like, "Ha ha, you can't get her, get over it and do something useful" seems to both point out the stupidity of the typically sexist ad and also be kind of funny.
I see it not as 'getting over someone' but as the ultimate creepy act of devotion. You could get a whole Cronenberg movie out of this ad.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 7:11 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
The organ donor foundation effort was nice . . . but if you really want to offend someone, you have to go the extra mile. (Or should I say inch *duck*)
And then have the balls to justify your ad by publicly posting:
"Hi!
My name is Tomás Fliess and I'm the creative director in NNSS Visual Universes.
Yesterday we received a mail with a link to your site, they have told us something about us was posted in it.
We were surprised when we read the title of the article, and more surprised when we read what you wrote about our campaign.
We guess you misunderstood the whole idea. When we thought the campaign we did it on such an innocent way, that we never occur someone could think it was racist.
We could have picked any male gender person (black, white, yellow, brown, tall, short) indistinctivly. The choice was made because we wanted to emphasize the myth or fantasy the black people have a larger penis. We don't think having a larger male organ can be checked as racist.
Slave trading?
What we are saying is that for the price you can get a vibrator in Europe, in Argentina you can hire a stripper with a big dick. (again, the big dick can be white, black or whatever color you want).
The campaign had an excellent repercussion around the world.
After we posted the campaign on the design studio facebook, we got some comments from black people who loved the campaign. They even tagged their picture with the name of our character. I don't think they felt it was racist at all. I think they got the message.
Unfortunately sometimes when you try not to communicate in a literally way, you take a risk some people will not get the message. We are willing to take that risk because we believe consumers are intelligent people who are tired of plain advertising. CHECK!!
Greetings from Argentina!
Tomás Fliess"
Taken from the comments of a blogpost discussing atrocious nonprofit ads.
posted by ianhattwick at 7:13 PM on June 21, 2011
And then have the balls to justify your ad by publicly posting:
"Hi!
My name is Tomás Fliess and I'm the creative director in NNSS Visual Universes.
Yesterday we received a mail with a link to your site, they have told us something about us was posted in it.
We were surprised when we read the title of the article, and more surprised when we read what you wrote about our campaign.
We guess you misunderstood the whole idea. When we thought the campaign we did it on such an innocent way, that we never occur someone could think it was racist.
We could have picked any male gender person (black, white, yellow, brown, tall, short) indistinctivly. The choice was made because we wanted to emphasize the myth or fantasy the black people have a larger penis. We don't think having a larger male organ can be checked as racist.
Slave trading?
What we are saying is that for the price you can get a vibrator in Europe, in Argentina you can hire a stripper with a big dick. (again, the big dick can be white, black or whatever color you want).
The campaign had an excellent repercussion around the world.
After we posted the campaign on the design studio facebook, we got some comments from black people who loved the campaign. They even tagged their picture with the name of our character. I don't think they felt it was racist at all. I think they got the message.
Unfortunately sometimes when you try not to communicate in a literally way, you take a risk some people will not get the message. We are willing to take that risk because we believe consumers are intelligent people who are tired of plain advertising. CHECK!!
Greetings from Argentina!
Tomás Fliess"
Taken from the comments of a blogpost discussing atrocious nonprofit ads.
posted by ianhattwick at 7:13 PM on June 21, 2011
Lady Gaga feminism requires that this woman be placed sitting upon an oversize saucer in the middle of a fancy restaurant. Her make up is done asymmetrically and accentuate the features on her face which she dislikes the most. She is then to frown at an elephant off camera. This elephant is to stare back at her indifferently. There is a devil's tooth mushroom laying upon her crotch. It is in the center of the focus. As for attire, she is to be dressed in only oatmeal and a sombrero. One glove on her left hand. The text is in accordance with the visual, it reads: "You can't, only your organ can."
posted by TwelveTwo at 7:29 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by TwelveTwo at 7:29 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
This made my jaw actually drop. I think it's the kind of gross phrasing "get inside her"- it comes across to me as a creepy "She'll never have sex with you but you can still be creepily connected to her heh heh heh heh fuck those stuck up bitches."
posted by MadamM at 7:37 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by MadamM at 7:37 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
I'm perfectly willing to donate my organs, but only to the young and beautiful. Ugly sick people deserve to die.
posted by Naberius at 7:59 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 7:59 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm perfectly willing to donate my organs, but only to the young and beautiful. Ugly sick people deserve to die.
"Eugenics ain't pretty, but the results are."
posted by TwelveTwo at 8:01 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
"Eugenics ain't pretty, but the results are."
posted by TwelveTwo at 8:01 PM on June 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
Creepy ad. Predict minimal uptick in donor cards due to this. Chances are those who are going to donate were going to sign up anyway and those who respond to this ad will likely forget to sign up 10 mins after seeing it.
posted by arcticseal at 8:21 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by arcticseal at 8:21 PM on June 21, 2011
Reminds me of that Woody Allen joke, "The last time I was inside a woman was when I visited the Statue of Liberty." :)
posted by puny human at 8:35 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by puny human at 8:35 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
In the post from 3 days ago on Mr. Ghetto's wal-mart - the word sexist doesn't even appear until the last few of the 93 comments. Same website. Did the YouTube content wall stop people from watching or something? I do not get it. You have a number of commenters defending the video even though it is 10 times as bad as this ad.
posted by cashman at 9:06 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by cashman at 9:06 PM on June 21, 2011
Ick. It's the 'get inside her' that does it. Ick.
posted by Kwine at 10:15 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Kwine at 10:15 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'll think I'll be cremated and get inside 'em all!
Is it TMI to say that I carried around a relative's ashes in my purse this week? That is a statement I never thought I'd make.
posted by pinky at 10:27 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Is it TMI to say that I carried around a relative's ashes in my purse this week? That is a statement I never thought I'd make.
posted by pinky at 10:27 PM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
This reminds me of a recent videogame series reboot a magazine spoiled for me, but I won't mention the name here. It's pretty dumb though.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:34 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:34 PM on June 21, 2011
I never noticed it before, but once mippy mentioned it, I see that Bill Hicks rant everywhere.
posted by pinky at 10:35 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by pinky at 10:35 PM on June 21, 2011
It's possible for a woman to give consent to appear in an ad that is nevertheless misogynist. I don't see why that point was brought up.
For me, the squick factor was that the ad was essentially saying that the main reason to donate your organs is to have some sort of weird connection to women whose beauty you've otherwise objectified as being (unfairly) out of your reach and almost sacred.
Bleh.
I filled out my organ donor form when I got my health card renewed earlier this year and mentioned it to my (stoic, logical, biologist) mom. She was pretty shaken up at the idea of her child dying before she did, and then her having to make sure I was carved up into useful pieces. In a way, it was enlightening.
posted by Phire at 11:40 PM on June 21, 2011
For me, the squick factor was that the ad was essentially saying that the main reason to donate your organs is to have some sort of weird connection to women whose beauty you've otherwise objectified as being (unfairly) out of your reach and almost sacred.
Bleh.
I filled out my organ donor form when I got my health card renewed earlier this year and mentioned it to my (stoic, logical, biologist) mom. She was pretty shaken up at the idea of her child dying before she did, and then her having to make sure I was carved up into useful pieces. In a way, it was enlightening.
posted by Phire at 11:40 PM on June 21, 2011
Phire : For me, the squick factor was that the ad was essentially saying that the main reason to donate your organs is to have some sort of weird connection to women whose beauty you've otherwise objectified as being (unfairly) out of your reach and almost sacred.
As opposed to the much more noble reality that we've elevated the perpetuation of a single human life to the point that we'll cannibalize our dead just to gain a few more years on this ball of mud?
Sorry, the whole topic reeks of worshiping the container over the contents right from the start. Complaining that this ad happens to use an attractive container kinda overshoots the deeper pathology, IMO.
posted by pla at 5:23 AM on June 22, 2011
As opposed to the much more noble reality that we've elevated the perpetuation of a single human life to the point that we'll cannibalize our dead just to gain a few more years on this ball of mud?
Sorry, the whole topic reeks of worshiping the container over the contents right from the start. Complaining that this ad happens to use an attractive container kinda overshoots the deeper pathology, IMO.
posted by pla at 5:23 AM on June 22, 2011
I'll hand it to you, pla, you're trying your hardest.
posted by shakespeherian at 5:43 AM on June 22, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by shakespeherian at 5:43 AM on June 22, 2011 [5 favorites]
Not that I'm trying to make excuses for this ad (though I admit, I thought it was funny) - but it's Belgium. Pretty tame by European ad standards, really.
posted by antifuse at 5:53 AM on June 22, 2011
posted by antifuse at 5:53 AM on June 22, 2011
shakespeherian : I'll hand it to you, pla, you're trying your hardest.
Oh, come on! Frickin' joke, shakespherian.
I mean, yes, I meant it to poke fun at the "any depiction of a sexy female counts as sexism" crowd, but seriously, "worshiping the container over the content"? Could I possibly have boiled that any longer?
posted by pla at 6:06 AM on June 22, 2011
Oh, come on! Frickin' joke, shakespherian.
I mean, yes, I meant it to poke fun at the "any depiction of a sexy female counts as sexism" crowd, but seriously, "worshiping the container over the content"? Could I possibly have boiled that any longer?
posted by pla at 6:06 AM on June 22, 2011
Keep pulling!
posted by shakespeherian at 6:20 AM on June 22, 2011
posted by shakespeherian at 6:20 AM on June 22, 2011
Seems like it was intended for placement in "men's magazines". So it's promoting organ donation to an audience using the same type of imagery that they bought the magazine for in the first place.
As an ad campaign, it's a smart idea. The content matches the context.
posted by chundo at 7:52 AM on June 22, 2011
As an ad campaign, it's a smart idea. The content matches the context.
posted by chundo at 7:52 AM on June 22, 2011
Yeah, this ad seems kind of gross.
I think this has a wider appeal. It shocks without being icky.
Scroll down any speed you'd like!
posted by hot_monster at 8:30 AM on June 22, 2011
I think this has a wider appeal. It shocks without being icky.
Scroll down any speed you'd like!
posted by hot_monster at 8:30 AM on June 22, 2011
Inside her? Couldn't they have gone with something more tastefully worded, like "all up in her guts"?
posted by orme at 8:41 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by orme at 8:41 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
As an ad campaign, it's a smart idea.
I agree that many advertisers will see this ad and wish they'd thought of it first. I think that probably says something about those advertisers.
"She'll never want to fuck you...but come on, you wish you could fuck her anyway, right?" That's a great message. "Organ donation is like getting to fuck people you'd never get to fuck, and, best of all, they might even say yes this time! Because they don't want to die! You're so money!"
posted by Errant at 2:43 PM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
I agree that many advertisers will see this ad and wish they'd thought of it first. I think that probably says something about those advertisers.
"She'll never want to fuck you...but come on, you wish you could fuck her anyway, right?" That's a great message. "Organ donation is like getting to fuck people you'd never get to fuck, and, best of all, they might even say yes this time! Because they don't want to die! You're so money!"
posted by Errant at 2:43 PM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
No, I think the ad is really about a stupid play on words. It's a classic misdirection, making you think about one thing then replacing it with something completely different. It's not about associating fucking and organ donation other than the pun.
It's the same conceit as in the joke "When is a door not a door? When it's ajar." The point isn't to associate doors and jars any more than the association of the way the words sound.
The fact that fucking and organ donation can get conflated here has more to do with how crappy and not-well-thought-out the ad is than any explicit message that sticking your kidney in a pretty lady is just as erotic as sticking your dick in her.
But, from a literary standpoint, I totally appreciate the juxtaposition of the two things. I'm sure I have read a story where organ donation was a metaphor for sex. Possibly a something from Palahniuk.
posted by jabberjaw at 6:07 PM on June 22, 2011
It's the same conceit as in the joke "When is a door not a door? When it's ajar." The point isn't to associate doors and jars any more than the association of the way the words sound.
The fact that fucking and organ donation can get conflated here has more to do with how crappy and not-well-thought-out the ad is than any explicit message that sticking your kidney in a pretty lady is just as erotic as sticking your dick in her.
But, from a literary standpoint, I totally appreciate the juxtaposition of the two things. I'm sure I have read a story where organ donation was a metaphor for sex. Possibly a something from Palahniuk.
posted by jabberjaw at 6:07 PM on June 22, 2011
the "any depiction of a sexy female counts as sexism" crowd
Nice straw man you've got there!
posted by kagredon at 8:08 PM on June 26, 2011
Nice straw man you've got there!
posted by kagredon at 8:08 PM on June 26, 2011
kagredon : Nice straw man you've got there!
Link to a single depiction of a sexy female used for marketing purposes that you would not consider "objectification", totally non-sexist, and I'll retract that statement.
In any case, the "straw man" fallacy only applies to argument. One liners do not an argument make.
posted by pla at 3:27 AM on June 27, 2011
Link to a single depiction of a sexy female used for marketing purposes that you would not consider "objectification", totally non-sexist, and I'll retract that statement.
In any case, the "straw man" fallacy only applies to argument. One liners do not an argument make.
posted by pla at 3:27 AM on June 27, 2011
One liners do not an argument make.
Take my strawman, please!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:16 AM on June 27, 2011
Take my strawman, please!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:16 AM on June 27, 2011
pla: The straw man I was referring to was your implied argument that the people calling this ad objectification would say the same about any advertising featuring sexy women, which I'd say is a gross mischaracterization (not to mention irrelevant: even if it were true, that wouldn't necessarily mean that this particular ad is not objectifying.) If that's not what you intended, I apologize, but I'm guessing by your response that that's exactly what you intended.
For the record: I wouldn't consider this as objectification. Or this. Sure, there's an argument to be made that clothes models are being used as objects to show off the products in question, but I think that's an argument that misconstrues or ignores a lot of the language and convention of advertising. The women in the ads I linked are users of the product, they're there to be a proxy for potential buyers, to tell a story about who buys the product, what it could be like to buy it for yourself or your partner. The woman in the FPP ad isn't any of those. She's reduced to being someone you want to fuck, and if you can't do that, well, might as well give her a kidney? It doesn't even make any damn sense in the context of organ donation.
posted by kagredon at 1:02 PM on June 27, 2011
For the record: I wouldn't consider this as objectification. Or this. Sure, there's an argument to be made that clothes models are being used as objects to show off the products in question, but I think that's an argument that misconstrues or ignores a lot of the language and convention of advertising. The women in the ads I linked are users of the product, they're there to be a proxy for potential buyers, to tell a story about who buys the product, what it could be like to buy it for yourself or your partner. The woman in the FPP ad isn't any of those. She's reduced to being someone you want to fuck, and if you can't do that, well, might as well give her a kidney? It doesn't even make any damn sense in the context of organ donation.
posted by kagredon at 1:02 PM on June 27, 2011
kagredon : For the record: I wouldn't consider this as objectification. Or this. Sure, there's an argument to be made that clothes models are being used as objects to show off the products in question
While I would call those "tasteful", I must have missed some subtlety that makes them not objectification of the models.
The first has the tagline "Package your passion", and the second, "work your curves" and "bet you didn't notice the guy in the ape suit".
If we accept these as "edge" cases, I'd actually like to discuss what makes them more or less sexist than the one in TFA. If you take out the tagline, they look substantially similar (IMO), and it wouldn't surprise me to see any of them selling shoes or lingerie or even jewelry.
posted by pla at 5:11 AM on June 28, 2011
While I would call those "tasteful", I must have missed some subtlety that makes them not objectification of the models.
The first has the tagline "Package your passion", and the second, "work your curves" and "bet you didn't notice the guy in the ape suit".
If we accept these as "edge" cases, I'd actually like to discuss what makes them more or less sexist than the one in TFA. If you take out the tagline, they look substantially similar (IMO), and it wouldn't surprise me to see any of them selling shoes or lingerie or even jewelry.
posted by pla at 5:11 AM on June 28, 2011
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posted by 2bucksplus at 4:59 PM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]