What if boys got pregnant:? A concept as old as I am

That's the question implied by Chicago's new anti-teen-pregnancy campaign.

“The point was to get people’s attention and get conversation started about teen pregnancy and teen births, and how they really affect a community,” Chicago Department of Health spokesperson Brian Richardson told the Daily News.

The ads are running on transit and near high schools with high rates of teen pregnancy.

While attention-getting, I'm not sure the ads really get the full value of the message across. I'm not sure any ad campaign can get boys to be more responsible, but imagine targeting these to girls and saying "If it was him who could get pregnant, don't you think he'd want to use a condom?" or something like that.

But at least these ads, while presenting teen pregnancy as an unwanted consequence of teen sex, don't try to heap shame on teen parents the way New York City did with their campaign. Even if the concept behind the Chicago campaign is as old as I am:

Yep, that's the famous "pregnant man" ad by Jeremy Sinclair of Cramer Saatchi (Predecessor of Saatchi & Saatchi) circa 1970 (via Creative Review). If you're going to borrow creative ideas, they might as well be this classic.

Cute Cheerios ad incites racist flamewar

There was a time, a few years ago, when it was common casting procedure on our Canadian government ads to cast families of different ethnic backgrounds. This was an easy way to show population diversity even when the action took place in a single household. The challenge was always to avoid making it look forced, or turning it into a cliché. We just wanted to show families that more people could identify with, and not feel excluded by.

So it was interesting for me to open up Gawker and read about the controversy surrounding a new Cheerios spot from the United States:



Apparently, Cheerios had to shut down the comments thread in its YouTube post of the ad was flooded with racist hate speech. I can't give you a firsthand account, but AdFreak Editor Tim Nudd describes it as "devolved into an endless flame war, with references to Nazis, 'troglodytes' and 'racial genocide'."

But almost as surprising, to me, is what a huge (positive) deal people on Cheerios' Facebook Page are making, as if depicting families that don't all have the same complexion is some kind of marketing revolution.

I guess both the bad and the good show how far American culture has to go when it comes to getting over its obsession with "race" (whatever that means). When everyone can look at an ad like this and just see a family, then we'll know there's been progress.

By the way, to circle back to my first point, congratulations to Saatchi & Saatchi NYC for achieving an effortless realism in what was apparently a very momentous casting choice.

Air conditioning ad promises to keep the psycho killers indoors

At first, this reminded me of our old elder abuse awareness campaign. (I also had to remind myself that it's summer in Argentina.) Then it got weird.



At least this thing is memorable. Even if I feel a little scarred now.


Ad by Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires. Found on Illegal Advertising.

2013 Toyota Corolla drives cat to suicide

And it's not really recommended for cat lovers:



The ad is by Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand, for Toyota. Man, they do some wild work down there.

The product benefits are straightforward, while the concept is rather unexpected. It could work. But are you bothered by the cartoon violence? Is it responsible advertising?

I'll leave that up to you. But you have to admit, funny cats are a surefire hit on the internet.

Via I Believe in  Advertising

Ford to minivan drivers: "You suck"

Can anyone really tell the difference between SUVs and Minivans anymore? In 2012, Car and Driver announced the 2012 Ford C-Max as "Ford’s latest attempt at a minivan." Two years later, it's a "car" in the United States, and a "compact minivan" in Israel.

And apparently, Ford is willing to completely turn its back on the minivan market (in Israel, anyway) with this anti-SUV campaign by BBR Saatchi & Saatchi.

See the other two, totally redundant, ads in the campaign at Ads of The World.

Every family's worst nightmare: Dads in briefs

You know, as a "needs to get in shape" middle-aged man, I have no problem whatsoever with the double standards in what would be considered ageism, sexism and body shaming if this was an ad about women.

It's just one of those times when we need to accept the payback.

Flash only (for now):



Ad by Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Beunos Aires

Via Creativity Online

The kettle for people who hate their coworkers

Don't you hate that awkward moment when you find yourself stuck in the office kitchen, having to listen to a colleague dare to speak to you, while you're waiting for the kettle to boil?

Well, fear not. This ultrafast kettle will cut the awkwardness short in faux Dilbert style.

What a relief.

Ad by BBR Saatchi & Saatchi, Tel Aviv, Israel
Via I Believe in Advertising

F'd Ad Fridays: When the idea overpowers the brand

It's actually a really cool piece of weird video:



And even the messaging strategy, posted on YouTube, is single-minded:

Not long ago, there was one model of Prius for everyone to share. But now that one Prius has become a family: There's one for everyone. There's the original one, the bigger one, the smaller one and the one that plugs in. They're all a little different, just like us. The Prius Family is growing: Which family member is your favorite? Visit http://www.toyota.com/priusfamily to meet the Prius Family from Toyota.

But when I went back to Ads of The World, to get the video for posting, I had to stop and ponder to recall what brand it was for. I remembered "the one that plugs in". Leaf? Volt? ...Prius! And then I searched "Toyota".

That's always the problem, isn't it? Me, I have an interest in connecting brands with their campaigns. The average consumer does not. And this commercial, like many other high-budget creative orgasms, is memorable for its concept, not its product. Even the messaging strategy of "there are many Priuses (sp?) because there are many types of people" fails to communicate anything of real value about the car itself to a motivated car buyer.

Saatchi & Saatchi LA, though, will get well-deserved props and PR for the creative and production quality. So at least someone wins.