What are we teaching the next generation of creatives?

Student work that makes the blog rounds is very telling. On the one hand, it shows us what the next generation of creatives has to offer. On the other hand, student (and often junior) work tends to be an exaggerated reflection of what these impressionable young adpeople think is great.

This Maxim/Humane Society CSR spec from Miami Ad School, Brooklyn, is a prime example.

It's a digital campaign that asks men what type of woman they want to hook up with, and suggests a breed of dog to adopt to attract her. It also provides stereotype-specific pickup lines.

So, what are we teaching today's ad students?

Well, "sex sells" is a given. But wait!  There's more:

Lesson One: It's okay to sexually objectify women as long as it's for a cause 


Thank PETA for that one.

Lesson Two: Porn is reality

Is any Maxim reader going to meet women like this? No, because they do not exist. They are stereotypes ripped from the hand of a Letters to Penthouse reader, as portrayed by surgically and digitally enhanced models. Hey, look! The smart girl has glasses! (Don't worry, she's taking them off.) Note that most of them are white, and "Latina Princess" has no personality beyond her exotic ethnicity.

Lesson Three: Bitches are disposable commodities


What a great idea. Imagine if you could borrow a dog just long enough to attract a girl like this, just long enough to bed her. Then you can go back next week and get a chihuahua and maybe bang the Latin girl! Because attracting non-committed pet owners is what the Humane Society is all about. And tricking women into sex is what being a man is all about, big guy!

Lesson Four: You can insult people all you want, as long as it's a joke

If someone questions the appropriateness of your campaign, "Get the sand out of your vagina!" is a proper response. If the critic is a woman, this both reminds her that she is defined by her sexual parts, and outs her as a humourless prude. If the critic is male, it implies he is no man at all (and is probably gay) because he refused to fist bump a bro for putting the hos in their place. Also, he is probably gay.

Lesson Five: To get ahead in advertising, think like a man (with your penis)


If you have already seen this campaign (in I Believe in Advertising or elsewhere) you probably skipped straight to the comments to tell me what an idiot I am. The credits, you see, are "Art Director: Jennine Punzone
Copywriters: Jaclyn Shelton, Kaley Coon".

Young women. Trying to impress middle aged creative directors by selling out their own dignity.

They'll go far.

Is this student Victoria's Secret QR tease good targeting?

Ad students really do have all the fun, mostly because they don't have real marketing departments, focus groups or pesky old budgets to get in the way of single-minded creativity.

This one from Miami Ad School (via I Believe in Advertising) takes a nice angle on the basic promise of expensive lingerie: that it's actually sexier to wear a little bit of fashion than nothing at all. And then it uses QR codes on apparently naked models to sucker (presumably) men into spending time with the message.

As I said, I presume the target is men who will then be aroused into buying VC frilly underthings for their beloveds.

According to Wikipedia, "Victoria's Secret was started in San Francisco, California, in 1977 by Tufts University and Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus Roy Raymond, who felt embarrassed trying to purchase lingerie for his wife in a department store environment."

But that was the '70s. What about now? According to the She-conomy blog, 85% of branded purchases are made by women. And sales are up at VC. Are those increases still being driven by men who want their wives or girlfriends to look like underwear models?

A case study for an online campaign (found on Slideshare) implies that men are still the target. However, a couple of years ago VC also launched "PINK" — a line targeted directly at teen and pre-teen (!) girls.

This is where I will give the opinion that these student ads are off. Because while sexy print ads, catalogues and online fashion shows attract aspirational female consumers as well as horny dudes, how many straight women are going to publicly lift up their iPhone at a billboard in the hope of seeing another woman's bare tits and ass? It's a pretty exclusive appeal. And I'm betting that young women are the brand's future.

As a publicity stunt though, admittedly it would keep the brand in the headlines.

What do you think? Are men still buying most of the lingerie?

Big Tobacco bumps off a few more addicts

I'm old enough to remember what it was like when people smoked on airplanes. When it landed, as soon as the "no smoking" and "fasten seatbelts" signs went dim, half the passengers went for their pocket pack and lit a cigarette. Today, you can see the exact same coordinated gesture... but they reach for their smartphones.

With so much in common, it was only a matter of time before a tobacco company came up with an app for iPhone. And they have. Or at least the concept is there.

"Bum(p) a Smoke" is an app idea from Miami Ad School that lets casual smokers bum a virtual cigarette from heavier smokers via the built-in "bump" data transfer capability by which you tap iPhones to exchange info. The parasitic smoker can then redeem their bumps for real tobacco once they fill a digital pack.

What a brilliant idea. Because if there's one thing we need, it's to encourage those "I only smoke when I drink! Tee hee hee!" weasels. But don't worry, it's not real.

Via Ads of The World

With the size of my mouth, they'd better offer a Quadruple Mac

Duncan at The Inspiration Room posted this video of a McDonald's Facebook app that measures the size of your maw, then suggests the best size of burger to stuff in it. How lovely.



Burger Roulette is a project of Miami Ad School students Shahak Shapira and Edi Inderbitzin. And it could never, ever lead to any embarrassment or awkwardness.

Not in a Brazilian years...

Hmmmm... this somehow reminds me of another inappropriate fast food promotion...

Oh...

Don't try Burger Roulette at home, kids — it's "unpublished" spec student work.