These racists need a lesson in Copywriting

I'd probably be really upset at this billboard if I could figure out what it's trying to say. I get the "diversity means" setup, but the jump from that to "Chasing down the last white person" leaves me scratching my head.

I'll take a wild guess that the advertiser, League of the South, is trying to tell people that the real objective of a diverse society is to eliminate its majority population. But that doesn't seem to make much sense, does it? That's like saying the purpose of putting sugar in your coffee is to remove all traces of java in your cup.

Anyway, I suppose putting two sentences together to communicate a coherent thought is too much to ask of people who don't know how hashtags work.

Image via Gawker

Dove launches another powerful campaign about body image

Via Marketing

I've had mixed feelings about Dove's various "real beauty" campaigns, but this new one by Ogilvy Toronto is pretty solid. It's also very, very depressing.

Via Marketing

The campaign press release claims that "6 in 10 girls have quit sports and activities that can play a major role in their future development, because of how they felt about their looks."

It includes this quote from Dove V.P. of Marketing, Sharon MacLeod:

"Women across Canada have more power than they realize to shape a positive future for the girls in their lives. We want to help them realize that girls want them to play this role and to empower them by giving them the tools to start this dialogue today."

More bad atheist advertising

Via Free Thought Blogs

Angry atheist advertising continues to make other unbelievers look bad. In this case, they started with a valid insight, that some of the worst things ever done to other people used the Bible as justification.

From Wikipedia:

"[Slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God...it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation...it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts ."
- Jefferson Davis, President, Confederate States of America

In a detailed, educated argument, you could easily use the slavery case against Biblical literalists, including the modern-day oppressors who use it to justify war, sexism and homophobia. But the other side could easily retort that Christians were behind abolition of slavery as well. The religion wasn't the cause of the evil, it was simply used as a justification for it.

This ad brings us a terrible reminder about a crime against humanity — the enslavement of millions of Africans and their descendants to build the agrarian economy in the United States (and elsewhere, including Canada). While it's good to never forget past evils, the image must be terribly hurtful to African Americans of today, and its powerful emotional impact is being co-opted by people who just want to bash religion.

There is really no need for evangelical atheism. It is not an alternative to religion, it is just a lack of it. As I've pointed out many times before, atheist groups do themselves no favours with nasty anti-religion ad campaigns. If anything, they just seem to validate the victim complex of some religious groups, like the fundamentalist Christians who claim they are victims of hate.

source

Look, guys, we secularists don't need your help. Some of us don't see religious people as deluded bumpkins, but as people with a different point of view. As long as they're not imposing unscientific views in government communications and school curricula why fight faith. It's been around for a long time. Instead, join people of all beliefs in fighting human rights abuses from any source.

Thanks to my brother David for the tip.

CK QR AR FTW

My colleague Lynn sent around an interesting link yesterday. Apparently, Calvin Klein has revolutionized outdoor advertising by running a billboard in major US cities that is just one big QR code:


(Pic taken from Ottawa Citizen)

This 2-dimensional barcode, similar to the Mobio one we used on our iheartmom campaign, is read by camera phones (with the right apps) to unlock online content.

In the case of the Calvin Klein billboard, it was this "uncensored" content:



Not exactly shocking stuff, but I'm sure it will get people with the right technology to check it out. And in advertising, getting people to take the time to interact is everything these days.

As well, this mashup of two hot trends — QR and augmented reality (AR) — is newsworthy in itself. It doesn't matter if many of the people who view your ad don't have the time or hardware to view it properly. As viewers of Mad Men's new season opener are aware, innovation and guts in the marketplace generate its own PR rewards.