Is this the most dangerous ad of all time?

We complain quite often about ads that reinforce stereotypes, sexually objectify people, and promote bad lifestyle choices. But if a conspiracy-minded blogger is to be believed, this Vodaphone ad from Egypt may be at a completely different plane of evil:



Aljazeera describes the ad scenario, starring starring well-known puppet Abla Fahita:

Fahita and her daughter Karkoura search for her deceased husband's sim card, while explaining to her friend over the phone about another character "Mama Touta." In the background, a radio anchor explains how to make "stuffed turkey'' for Christmas while sitting next to a cactus from which ball ornaments were dangling. 

She said she asked the building guards to get a sniffer dog of a shopping mall to search for missing things and gets money in return.

Weird idea for an ad anyway,  but it gets weirder.

A pro-Mubarak, blogger, Ahmed “Spider," reported to Egypt's prosecutor general that the ad contained a coded message from the Muslim Brotherhood, including details of an upcoming terror attack at an unspecified shopping mall:

Spider explained the alleged code on the Al-Tahrir network on Tuesday night: the mall and the dog refer to the planned site of the attack, and "Mama Touta" is the Brotherhood's secret name. 

"The dog, garage, guard, mall and next to us these are elements tell us that there will be a big mall and an explosion after a dog fails to find the bomb in a car," Spider said. 

... 

His lawyer told another TV network, el-Faraeen, that an ornament on the cactus refers to the bomb. The cactus has four branches referring to Muslim Brotherhood group's Rabaah sign, commemorating the victims of a deadly crackdown on a protest camp held next to Rabaah el-Adawiya mosque in eastern Cairo. Rabaah is Arabic for "fourth" and is also a name.

Vodaphone described the accusations as "irrational," telling the Associated Press, "The advertisement carries no other meaning and any other interpretation other than that is mere imagination or personal opinion of some of the audience."

Prosecutors are investigating the allegations. This could get interesting, or it could be nothing. But at least 2014 is starting with some interesting advertising news.

Femen take their protests to the next logical step

Uncensored version here.

Nude protest worlds are colliding. Ukrainian topless activists from Femen have joined forces with "Nude Photo Revolutionary" Aliaa Magda Elmahdy to protest the referendum on Egypt's new Islamist constitution and its poor stance on women's rights.

This time, however, they've gone full monty. And in wintry Stockholm, of all places.

(NUDITY IN VIDEO)



From their media release:

Today in the snowbound Stockholm the world has seen apocalyptic picture.  

International women's movement FEMEN and antiislamist Egyptian activist Alia al-Mahdi have called to say NO to Sharia constitution in Egypt! Before the decisive day of the referendum in Egypt activists came to the Embassy of Egypt in Stockholm to support Egyptian heroes who are resisting the sharia-dictatorial draft of the constitution of the president Morsi. FEMEN calls people  of Great Egypt to deny this religious bondage of newly appeared prophet Morsi and to give the chance for Egypt for the rightful democratic development. 

"Sharia is not a constitution" - it has been written on Alia's naked body. Her genitals have been covered by the poster shaped like Koran. The three posters in the hands of activists are the symbolic  religious books. In that way  FEMEN warns the world about the danger of the transformation secular constitution into religious. FEMEN warns muslim brother Morsi, if he gave an orders to shoot at his own people then his last resting will be the Nile with crocodiles, not the pyramids.  

Fuck off religious slavery! Viva freedom and human rights!

Both Femen and Ms. Elmahdy (the transcribed version of her name varies) have become polarizing figures in the women's movement. Some see them as shock tacticians who are exploiting their own sexuality for attention. Others (myself included) see them as activists who are acting out of desperation, using their bodies as weapons in their respective, extremely sexist, cultures. Their message is, "men think they own this — but it is mine to do with what I please."

Femen has been getting more extreme of late, lashing out against organized religion in their homeland. As a result of legal troubles, they recently moved some of their operations to Paris. I'm just happy to see them all somewhat safer in Western Europe.

Egyptian blogger exposes herself for freedom (nudity)

We are used to seeing all kinds of nudity in the West. But in the Muslim world, it is much different. Even fairly secular countries censor nudes in art as well as advertising.

20-year-old Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy wants to change that. Last month, she started a new Google blog, called "Nude Art" which features full-frontal nudes of herself and an unidentified male, as well as a cat and some artsy underwear and embrace shots.

They're not great art shots. They look like 1940s amateur pornography. But like that, what they do have is a certain authentic and defiant naïveté from someone who wants to own her own body in a culture than denies that freedom.  The most political of the pictures features self-censorship: “The yellow rectangles on my eyes, mouth and sex organ resemble the censoring of our knowledge, expression and sexuality,” she explained.

“I have the right to live freely in any place… I feel happy and self satisfied when I feel that I’m really free,” she said.

Nothing particularly shocking to jaded Western internet eyes. But in Egypt, where the post-Tahir atmosphere is one of increasingly conservative religious influence, this is practically treason.

The responses on the blog on Twitter (#nudephotorevolutionary) are in both English and Arabic. One negative comment is translated as “a desperate act of social political suicide by a young woman”. And another: “We are defending secularism from innuendos & then we get this #NudePhotoRevolutionary Stop shocking people to the point of repulsion.”

But the comments also show that there is a new generation, globally informed, who want more than an end to political oppression. They want total freedom. Said one English commenter:

"I'm very impressed and inspired by your courage. The revolution in Egypt needs to be a catalyst for greater freedom of expression. If somebody wants to wear a hijab they should be free to do so without facing discrimination but you must also be able to express yourself any way you choose without fear. It's your body and it's entirely up to you how you choose to express yourself."

Is this how a sexual revolution begins?

Link and Arabic translations via Almasri Ayoum
Tip via FEMEN

LG "massaging" ads give unintentional happy endings

Working on national accounts in an officially bilingual country, I deal with linguistic and cultural adaptation of ads every day. So I'm always annoyed when international agencies working on global accounts can't be bothered to check their English when they translate their ads for worldwide sharing and award consideration.

This gaffe, by Media Marquee in Cairo, is particularly hilarious to a filthy mind like mine.

The combination of the typo in the headline — "Massaging should be as fun as your friends" — with a talk bubble animation that looks like homuncular sperm makes me think that this phone gives happy endings.

Perhaps it just has one hell of a vibration mode...

(Campaign via I Believe in Advertising)