Consent activists hijack the Victoria's Secret brand

Jezebel reports that a promotional e-mail is circulating, claiming that a new Victoria's Secret line "promotes consent to fight rape in new panties."

"Victoria's Secret is using its nationally-recognized image to lead the country in the next sexual revolution: CONSENT. PINK loves CONSENT is a new line of styles that reminds customers and their sexual partners to practice consent. You can join the "CONSENT REVOLUTION" at pinklovesconsent.com."

The campaign web site  even has a Victoria's Secret copyright claim.

But once you get into it, it's obvious that the whole thing is a critique of Victoria's Secret:

Limited Brands, which owns VS, has denied any involvement. (They're probably contacting their lawyers.)

It's a sendup on Pink Nation, complete with branding.

The group behind the hoax provide links to their campaign Facebook Page and Twitter, on which they are running a consumer lobbying campaign aimed at Victoria's Secret. (They also have non-VS-branded Pinterest and Instagram presence for their "consent panties".

Who is behind this? Feminist duo FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture have claimed credit.

Yesterday, young facebook users hi-jacked the social media outlets of Victoria’s Secret to promote something very different from panties and push-up bras. Within ten hours, over 50,000 people visited PinkLovesConsent.com, where they saw Victoria’s Secret’s image “promoting consent to fight rape.” 

The satirical website was launched at noon on Monday, December 3. According to the site, “PINK loves CONSENT is our newest collection of flirty, sexy and powerful statements that remind people to practice CONSENT. CONSENT is a verbal agreement about how and when people are comfortable having sex.” 

Through Victoria’s Secret’s social media, the concept of consent was cropping up in some unexpected places. The Victoria’s Secret facebook pages were flooded with “I heart consent” posts, excited campus reps were retweeting pinklovesconsent.com, and the “pink hearts” at pinknation.com were declaring their love for “open sex talk.” One employee tweeted, “I am so happy to currently have a job for a company that stands for something so beautiful!! @LoveConsent #victoriassecret #loveconsent”  Highschool students were tweeting “I’m loving the new @LoveConsent! Victoria’s secret goes feminist!” At the outset, 100 young facebook users were in one the prank. It just went viral from there.  

Here is what they hope to achieve:

Will Victoria’s Secret take a nod from the customer fan mail and change their styles? Fighting rape would be a major shift for the brand. Though they are a woman-focused company, VS has never taken a stand on any women’s issue. In fact, their current designs seem to lean more toward rape culture than consent. Their PINK brand, marketed at high school and college-aged women, sports thongs with the slogan “SURE THING” printed right over the crotch. Young women across the country are wearing underwear with “SURE THING” literally printed over their vaginas. We can think of one circumstance where a vagina is treated like a “SURE THING”: rape. 

So if Victoria’s Secret clearly would NEVER promote consent why use their brand for a consent campaign? The organizers say, “We could write a pamphlet about consent.  In fact, we have written and distributed pamphlets about consent.  But how many people are reading pamphlets about sexual practices and how many people are reading facebook post about Victoria’s Secret? Consent needs to become a mainstream idea. Condoms became a mainstream idea in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Just like pausing to put on a condom prevents the spread of STDs, pausing to check in with you partner prevents unwanted sexual experiences. 

Social media is becoming a tool for social change. We have seen the role of social media in revolution in the Arab Spring, but change Victoria’s Secret? “Probably not,” says the organizers.  “We’re not about taking Victoria’s Secret down.  We are about changing the conversation. The sexiness that is being sold to women by Victoria’s Secret is not actually about sex. It is not how to have sex, relationships or orgasms. It in an IMAGE of what it is to be sexy. So while we are sold cleavage, white teeth, clear skin and perfect hair no one is asking us how our bodies feel and what we desire. Victoria’s Secret owns the image of female sexuality, instead of women owning their own sexuality.” 

As the project went viral, some saw right through the shenanigans. Many who knew it was a prank openly wished that it was real.  After a first incredulous look and some detective work, Jezebel blogger Katie J.M. Baker said, “If only Victoria’s Secret focused on empowering women rather than objectifying them!” Bloggers wrote about how the Pink Loves Consent project makes women look powerful and strong. Jezebel users commented on the “fiercely real” body types represented on the site. “Too bad they don’t use some models like her for their regular advertising. The girl’s gorgeous and it’s awesome to see a different body style once in awhile.” A frustrated Facebook user commented, “Damn, I wish these were real. I just got paid.”   And a savvy Victoria’s Secret customer tweeted, “So I guess the #loveconsent campaign isn’t actually affiliated with Victoria’s Secret but they SHOULD BE I WOULD BUY SO MUCH UNDERWEAR.” 

Why do so many women love something they know is not real? FORCE made something that people want, but that a company like Victoria’s Secret can never give them. Imagine how different our lives would be if we put as much time and thought into sharing ideas like consent as we do into selling underwear. 

FORCE apparently used to sell their consent panties on Etsy, but the store is currently empty.

A very effective way to get attention, if you ask me. I hope the PR turns into an attitude adjustment about sex and consent, if only for a few of the people who were hoaxed.

Boing Boing get hoaxed, reports Bill Nye calling GOP "retards"

It seemed too funny to be true, and it was.

Boing Boing's Jason Weisberger reported that Bill Nye, who has recently issued a video plea to American parents about science education, totally lost his shit.

Here's the copy:

Once again, super science instructor and amazing guy Bill Nye tells it like it is. This morning, on an interview with the Smithsonian Channel, Nye responded to US Congressman Todd Akin's ridiculous statement that a recent video on teaching science over creationism was responsible for Hurricane Issac. 

"Look, these people they're fucking retarded. Rape can't cause pregnancy? Breastmilk cures homosexuality? I caused a hurricane by challenging creationism? Who can possibly take these people seriously anymore?" 

Nye also challenged Akin to a debate. I would absolutely love to be in attendance for this one. 

"So Todd I got an offer for you. You and me. Any time. Any place. Debating science mano- a-mano. I'll bring the facts, and you bring the Vaseline. Because your ass is gonna fucking need it when I'm done whipping."

Yeah, I know. Reads like The Onion. I couldn't believe that such an intelligent and, well, nice man would ever call someone a "retard". And the last quote was completely out there.

But it was on Boing Boing, so I shared it. With a one-word comment: "whoa".

Pretty soon, my brother told me the link was dead. Luckily, Google cached it.

Also deleted, but cached, is the source article from the Daily Currant:

Bill Nye may still be The Science Guy, but he's no longer Mr. Nice Guy.

During a live interview this morning with the Smithsonian Channel, the mild mannered science educator unloaded on U.S. Congressman Todd Akin, calling him "a fucking idiot" for accusing Nye of personally provoking Hurricane Issac.

Last week Nye uploaded a video to Youtube urging parents not to teach their children creationism. At a town hall campaign event yesterday, Akin used the video as an example of immoral behavior driving god to punish America through extreme weather.
Although reporters reached out to Nye for a statement yesterday, his first discussion of the matter came this morning at Smithsonian's Washington D.C. headquarters. 

Nye Got a Feeling... 

The 56 year old star of the long-running "Bill Nye The Science Guy" was in the studio to promote his new documentary series focusing on the neuroscience of childhood development.
After briefly discussing his show, the Smithsonian anchors asked Nye about Akin's recent accusation. The normally genial Nye wasted no time venting his rage about the comments: 

"Look, these people they're fucking retarded. Rape can't cause pregnancy? Breastmilk cures homosexuality? I caused a hurricane by challenging creationism? Who can possibly take these people seriously anymore?" 

The slightly uncomfortable anchors then tried to change the subject, but Nye persisted:
"It used to be these Republicans didn't believe in global warming or evolution. That was bad enough. Now they don't even believe in egg + sperm = baby. Where does Todd Akin think babies come from? Does he think there are separate storks for people who were raped and people who weren't? " 

"Hey look over there! It's the rape stork. It drops off all its babies directly at the orphanage."
"He's a fucking idiot. Just a plain fucking idiot. I'm sorry - I don't say that word very often - but it happens to fit in this case. He's just a fucking idiot."

A Decent Proposal 

As the stunned anchors hurriedly tried to wind the conversation down and cut to commercial, Nye stared directly into the camera and issued a challenge to his new-found rival: 

"So Todd I got an offer for you. You and me. Any time. Any place. Debating science mano- a-mano. I'll bring the facts, and you bring the Vaseline. Because your ass is gonna fucking need it when I'm done whipping." 

Nye apologized once more for his language before ripping off his microphone and walking off the set. 

Representatives of the Smithsonian Channel say they have no comment on the incident.
Bill Nye could not be reached, but a since-deleted tweet on his Twiiter account posted shortly after the incident read: 

"@ToddAkin Never enter the eye of Hurricane NYE!" 

In case you missed it, The Daily Currant is a satire site. 

Related stories include:

• Todd Akin Blames Bill Nye for Hurricane
• Todd Akin Claims Breastmilk Cures Homosexuality
• Trump Announces Casino on Site of Obama’s ‘Kenyan Birthplace’

It's like all those times when conservative media took Onion stories about Harry Potter satanism and gay recruitment seriously; but this time it's the right wing that is having a good laugh at "the liberals'" expense. (It's usually the other way around.)

What surprises me about the gullibility of Boing Boing is the fact that Huffington Post covered another Currant-fuelled hoax just days ago.

This isn't Boing Boing's first hoaxing, though. Like almost everyone else on the internet, they believed the brilliant "Shellfail" video was real.

This kind of thing can happen to anyone. I get pulled in too, now and again. But the silence on this one is deafening. I would really love a comment from someone at Boing Boing.

The Daily Currant, by the way, is currently offline. Maybe they were the real victims of Hurricane Nye...

UPDATE: It's back.

Dell's latest campaign: fart photography

UPDATE: Not only is this now confirmed as a hoax, but Dell took it extremely well.

As quoted in MSN Money:

"This video is in no way affiliated with Dell, but it’s great to see creative professionals get inspiration from using our products," the tweet read.

"Our dell.com/takeyourownpath program is all about celebrating people who take their own professional path. Regarding this parody, we consider imitation to be the sincerest form of flattery."

Good for them!

When I saw this on Buzzfeed, I assumed it was fake. But it appears to be a real short film for Dell's "Visual Innovators" campaign, featuring photographer Clayton Sotos.


Clayton Sotos - Visual Innovators from Visual Innovators on Vimeo.


And this is apparently what Mr. Sotos does, "capturing the release of life bursts".

Yeah, it has to be a hoax. But what an elaborate one! The only sure proof of its fakeness I can find is that the Dell branded "visual innovators" Twitter account has been suspended.

Has McDonald's been forced to label its food carcinogenic?

There's a pic going around showing a "new" McDonald's warning label about cancer-causing ingredients. But here's the kicker: that shit is in most of what you eat.

If you've been paying attention, you've been hearing about acrylamide for years. It's naturally present in ripe olives, and dried plums (prunes) and pears. It's in your coffee. And it gets produced every time you brown many of your favourite foods (like meat, potatoes and bread) at high heat. In short, it's in everything you like.

This picture showed up on Buzzfeed today, but a web search seems to indicate that it is a hoax from 2009, based on conjecture about whether California's strict food safety laws would lead to fast foods being labelled the way cigarettes are. I can't find any evidence that that is actually happening.

Of course, that won't stop this image from going viral, again, with reactionary comments like this:

"It stands to reason that this is a legal/precautionary measure; after reports swirled about fast food wrappers containing cancer causing chemicals that have been found in the fecal matter, blood, and urine of tested subjects, McDonald’s likely placed these notices on their wrappers to save face. 

For us, this is a wake up call. Personally I wish I could throw up the Big Mac I ate last night (if it weren’t too digested) but since I can’t, I’m going to be forced to take a brief hiatus from my local Dirt Ronnies. Will you continue to eat McDonald’s without shame or concern, or is a warning like this big enough to scare you away?"

No, it does not "stand to reason". Even the faux label itself admits that the compound is naturally occurring, and that that the FDA has nothing against it. If McDonald's were forced to issue this warning, so would all those other cooked and prepared foods I listed above. It is simply not a "McDonald's issue."

My feeling is, if you're going to trash McDonald's for selling sugary, fatty, overprocessed and marginally nutritious food to kids and other vulnerable groups, then do that. McDonald's is not a nice company (although I do love an Egg McMuffin). But random and ill-informed anti-McDonald's panic is not helping the conversation about nutrition, culture or corporate ethics.

Related:

F'd Ad Fridays: Nude Coders Wanted

"I need staff who are practising naturists," writes Chris of UK web development company NudeHouse.com. "I am not looking for exhibitionists or swingers or voyeurs."

The Nude House site attempts to present itself as a serious nudist business:

"New applicants will be required to work in the nude from the time they arrive at work until they leave to go home. Nude means no clothes whatsoever and no shoes either. All new applicants will be naturists and could be males or females.

Material will be provided for you to sit on that you should use all the time and you get new clean versions whenever needed. You replace the material with the new and leave the soiled versions in the collection hamper which is dealt with each day.

Each of you - male or female - will behave decorously and with respect to all the others.

The work is very simple in that you contact, using the Internet or the phone, companies anywhere that can make use of the software we can provide. We provide you with examples that you can sell. We also employ some web coders, who work with us, and you can offer their services to customers to get their web pages suitable for free.

You do not need prior experience of selling - just an imagination and the desire to succeed.

You will gain income, in the form of commission, for every version of the software called the Move your Mouse system you sell to businesses. The normal sales price is £2,500 plus VAT of which £500 plus VAT is paid to the appropriate sales staff.

We expect a good salesperson, working full-time, to sell at least one system a day - so you can earn £10,000 a month but you can arrange to work only part-time, if you wish.

All the physical software is actually supplied by the central site direct to the customer and all payments are handled from the center.

Phone Chris now on 07739 259247"

And then it gets really creepy:

"I interview some applicants on the phone and, if they are successful in that, I then invite some to my flat for a nude interview. I can then see if they are really naturists and have the right attitudes."

Yeah, right. Because this whole thing doesn't look like it was concocted by a randy 13-year-old boy — right down to the site design:

Note the obsolete CRT monitors. (You didn't notice them at all, did you?)

There are even some semi-pornographic pictures on the "New Applicants" page.

And yet... parts of the story pan out. There really appears to be a "Nightingale Services" — the purported parent company — and a "move you mouse" linking software, although all the sites seem to be designed by the same hand. cnet's  Amanda Kooser went as far as to e-mail "Chris", who goes by the last name Taylor, and he insisted he is for real. Even though both of his London Craiglist ads have been removed.

Is this the weirdest recruitment site, or the single most elaborate attempt at getting laid... ever?