Is the Bible compatible with Western values?

Dutch YouTube series Dit Is Normaal recently conducted a social experiment that probably should be repeated throughout the West: They disguised a Christian Bible as The Holy Koran, and had people on the street read troubling passages within it:

The result is all kinds of troubling prejudice bubbling quickly to the surface:

What's compelling about this to me is that, as a Canadian, I've always felt an affinity for the Netherlands. (Perhaps that's how I ended up writing for a Dutch marketing blog!) Like Canadians, the Dutch pride themselves on being a tolerant and open-minded society. But I can imagine some of the same reactions happening on the streets of Ottawa.

The thing is, many of the world's religious texts were written in more violent and intolerant times. But as  L. P. Hartley wrote (in 1953) "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

To take almost any ancient holy text literally, as a whole, and consider it a guide for modern living is religious extremism. And that's what we really need to be afraid of.

DDB Amsterdam thinks 1:11 of slow-motion bouncing boobs will sell tech to runners

That's right — over a minute of blurry (?), slow-mo, mammary movement because someone thought up a bad pun.



According to the TomTom YouTube Page, which claims this ad was "banned," the subject (or rather, "object") is American model Alexandria Morgan. Ads of The World lists an all-male creative team with apparently zero interest in selling any TomTom Runner Cardio watches to women athletes.

Dutch suit brand brings "Blurred Lines" douchiness to retail

What does it take to sell a suit these days? Undressed women, of course!

Huffington Post's Alanna Vagianos quips, "While sex may sell, it's almost impossible to determine what SuitSupply is even attempting to sell here."

I won't go so far as that. Suit Supply, a Dutch retailer, is selling the "sizzle," which is that a well-dressed man is more attractive to — and sexually successful with — women. It's a facile view of masculinity embraced by many young men and the shitty media they consume. But it's hardly new or confusing. It's just intellectually demeaning to both the women and men portrayed.

Ironically, the "uncensored" version keeps the bikini bottoms on. The sexualization of this brand apparently has limits, and those limits involve genitalia.

But using topless women to accessorize douchey male models in suits is clearly just fine.

No, I'm not surprised by this. It's just one more example of brands cheapening sex and female sexuality to sell crap. What I'm really wondering is if the target audiences will ever get sick of being treated like idiots who think with their dorks.

Vogue Netherlands shoots Ymre Stiekema breastfeeding, internet howls "NSFW"!

Vogue via HuffPo

My only concern is whether or not this pic features her own baby. Ms. Stiekema gave birth to a baby girl last December, but the one in the picture looks rather young.

I don't know why I'd think that a mother deciding to objectify her own baby is better than objectifying someone else's. But the idea of breastfeeding portraits is quite well established, from the Virgin Mary to Kate Hansen. And I think they do a society good, no matter how pretentious. (I'm looking at you, Erwin Olaf.)

Nonetheless, The Huffington Post shared the pic with an "NSFW" (not safe for work) warning, and The Cut's headline was "Have You Seen Naked Breast-feeding Vogue Model Mom?"

The baby was unavailable for comment.

Awkward stereotypes sell border security in Dutch PSAs

From a purely digital marketing perspective, this campaign by JWTAmsterdam is brilliant. They use serial online video ads that track the user to create a highly-interruptive, running storyline:



The downside is that the stereotypes of the Asian and Arab merchant are pretty cringeworthy. Whether or not they are based on the creative/production teams' experiences abroad, they certainly take the ethnic clichés to a cartoonish level.

Could the campaign have worked without the send-up? I like to think so. While the stereotypes are played for laughs, the videos would have been just as interruptive and compelling with a little more subtlety (and respect) in the performance.

Tip via Ads of The World

Sex dolls recycled into wearable art

Vice recently featured works by Dutch artist Sander Reijgers, who "has created a number of wearable items – including jackets, gloves and hats – by mixing old, cut-up bits of sex dolls with other bits of clothing from big sportswear brands like Nike and Reebok, so you stay stylish while creeping people out."

Here is what he says the art represents:

"... the woman is a product nowadays – they must be attractive and seductive. For example, in advertising, a carton of milk has to be sold with a horny-looking or half naked woman. The woman is subordinate and the man is dominant. I use those roles and imagery in my work."

Those aren't pockets...

He says his mother helps him sew the designs.

This outfit shows a little too much skin... (nudity)

Not the open front. Breasts are no big deal. I'm talking about the bizarre, inflatable tubes and pockets of synthetic human skin.

I am at a loss for rational words. Here is how Suzanne Labarre at Co.Design describes it:

You know how some people’s temples pulse wildly when they’re mad or spooked or nervous? That’s more or less the idea behind Like Living Organisms, by Dutch fashion designers Cor Baauw and Leonie Baauw of Local Androids. A futuristic neckpiece (or dress, depending on whether you think boob coverage is a requirement for the latter), it’s made of freakishly life-like fake skin and has “veins” that beat visibly in the company of other people, then deflate when touched as a “sign of trust,” the designers say.

It was created for the Technosensual show, "where fashion meets technology".

And nightmares.

A much more clever cynical exploitation of breastfeeding to move product

That Oreo ad I posted last night is probably spec anyway, but on Ads of The World's (uncensored) Google+ posting of the campaign, Stefaan Galle shared this much more clever ad:

He describes it as an ad for online data back-up that reads, "Because nature also provides a backup."

Heh.

Strip Facebook

It's kind of like strip poker, but on Facebook. And only the woman strips. And it's a cynical and sexploitative marketing campaign.

Stussy is a Dutch fashion retailer that has found a whole new way to exploit its female models. Instead of presenting them nearly nude, it lets its potential Facebook fans undress a model wearing pretty much every stich of clothing in the store. For every so many new "Likes", she takes something off.

The Daily What reports:

“As you can imagine, the model must be suffocating under that many layers of clothing,” said Colin Lamberton, creative director for Arnold Amsterdam, the agency behind the ad. “It is almost a public duty to free her out of this misery, so we are expecting Facebook fans to help out here. Like and undress.”

Yes, Colin. You are such a fucking gentleman.

The trick is that you, oh horny Facebooker, do not get to see how much she has shed until you "like" it yourself. In the interest of science, I sacrificed by social media feminist dude cred. Here's what I got:

Thrilling. This is at 1,127 likes. I suppose she'll be defying Facebook's shockingly prudish anti-nudity rules at about three quarters of a million. (TDW also mentions a sticky little rule that states, "You must not use Facebook features or functionality, such as the Like button, as a voting mechanism for a promotion." Oops.)

Luckily, if you're curious you can "unlike" this lame stunt just as easily.

This post was mentioned on Adland.

Dutch model goes green for WWF. Literally.

"Nature. That's you."

Marc shared this lovely video, for WNF (Dutch World Wildlife Fund) on Osocio.

The model is the Netherlands' own Doutzen Kroes, a supermodel/actress who is one of the Victoria's Secret Angels. Marc added that the campaign, which is actually quite tasteful (even if it reminded me a little too much of "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" from Creepshow) generated tons of advance buzz because it was reported that Ms. Kroes did it in the nude.

With all the obsession these days about clear-cutting the bodily undergrowth, I suppose some of them might have been disappointed.

"Oh no! Not THERE!"

The ad is part of Dutch WWF's 50th anniversary campaign.

That's one powerful bra!

Marc shared a post from Adformatie, which showed this bus shelter campaign for push-up bras from HEMA, a Dutch retail chain:

Those of you who are very familiar with the weird and wild world of fashion are now exclaiming, "That's a man, man!!!"

And it is. Andrej Pejić is the androgynous European model of the moment.

Source

So, you see, the bra's so good, it made you ogle a dude's moob cleavage.


Credits:
Agency: Doom & Dickson
Concept: John de Vries, Rene Verbong
Art director: John de Vries
Account: Frieda Ulsamer de Waard, Karin van Dalen
Photographer: Wendelien Daan, Unit
Client: Rosa Arents, Caroline Turennout (HEMA)

Thanks to AdFreak and Copyranter for the linkbacks.

Some rock stars age better than others

The headline on this Dutch record fair campaign says "Discover just how great your old heroes still sound".

But I'm not so sure about that...

Dead since 1997

Dead since 1977

Half dead (and it was the good half, too)

Dead since 2009

Apparently retired

On tour

I get the concept. But the whole point of listening to those records is that they are frozen moments in time. On vinyl (or CD or MP3) Elvis is still The King. Bowie's whatever he was that year. The Beatles are both fab and gear. And they couple who do still play live are actually old, with thickened cocal cords and mellowed stage presence.

No, this campaign misses why records are so special. They are time machines. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Via AOTW

F'd ad Fridays: New dress turns invisible when you get excited

This high-tech dress by Studio Roosegaarde could bring a whole new meaning to "wardrobe malfunction".



Here's the explanation:

INTIMACY is a fashion project exploring the relation between intimacy and technology. Its high-tech garments entitled 'Intimacy White' and 'Intimacy Black' are made out of opaque smart e-foils that become increasingly transparent based on close and personal encounters with people. 

Social interactions determine the garmentsʼ level of transparency, creating a sensual play of disclosure. 

INTIMACY 2.0 features Studio Roosegaardeʼs new, wearable dresses composed of leather and smart e-foils which are perfect to wear on the red carpet. In response to the heartbeat of each person, INTIMACY 2.0 becomes more or less transparent. 

Currently Studio Roosegaarde is inviting haute couture designers to develop their own vision for the next INTIMACY. 

Specifications: 2010-2011. ʻBlackʼ and ʻWhiteʼ dresses, length 100cm, width 40 cm. Smart foils, wireless technologies, electronics, LEDs, copper and other media. 

Via Jezebel

F'd Ad Fridays: The perfect gift for your little van Leeuwenhoek

No, not really.

Ironically, I received this super geeky adult sex toy link as comment spam, and here I am posting about it.

From the product site:

"It might not be made by the space agency but the Nasa Scope is still pretty hi-tech, and a fantastic way to view your own sperm or any other juices you or your partner produce! Use the various lens to get a maximum magnification of 1200 times and REALLY get to know how your body works.

This set includes not only the powerful yet novice-friendly microscope, but also samples for you to test out your scientific skills before you get more personal. There are also slides, filters, a dropper and a spatula included. This has been especially produced for all those curious guys and gals out there, so don't feel squeamish or embarrassed about putting your intimate liquids right under the microscope!

The Nasa Scope features:

• Includes: samples (fat, sea salt, shrimp eggs, eosin), slides x 4, color filter, pin set, prepared slide x 2, dropper, spatula, surgical knife"

 Surgical knife? What kind of sick shenanigans are they getting up to in the bedrooms of Japan?

Although I do appreciate the historical appropriateness of examining intimate fluids. Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek, father of microbiology, famously fell afoul of church authorities for discovering sperm by examining semen under his early microscope.

"I have often observed the sperm of a healthy man without waiting for it to become corrupt or fluid/watery, five or six minutes after ejaculation. I have noticed that a large number of small animals, I think it must be more than a thousand, on an area no larger than a grain of sand."

 Maybe I should be more curious about what kind of shenanigans they're getting up to in the laboratories of The Netherlands.

The 'shock and ha!' Hyundai ad that you won't see on TV

Ads of The World shared this Dutch "shock and ha!" ad by Fitzroy, which was Hyundai apparently abandoned post-production because it is "'too shocking for our brand'.



At first it made me wince, but if you don't mind the cartoonish violence its parody of Final Destination is actually kind of amusing.

F'd Ad Fridays: The stupidest pregnancy test ad of all time

But she's... and he's... and it's...

Why, Dutch agency Etcetera? Why?

Via Ads of the World

F'd Ad Fridays: Jill(z)ing Off to Moist Mimbos

Admit it, guys, we deserved this. It's sexist commercial Karma:



Directed by Pink and Poodle's ECD Wencke van Amstel in cooperation with Paul Vos.

If cider is the "Lady's Pint", then I guess this is the "Ladies' Beer Ad".

Via Illegal Advertising.

What happens when you mix Axe advertising, Big Brother, and a bunch of Dutch Angels?

Heaven on Earth, Apparently. It's a new online promotion by Axe in Netherlands and Belgium, which claims to show its "angels" living in a house, interacting in real-time on multiple webcams.

When I first checked in, one angel is doing a photoshoot while Lady Gaga plays:

Later, I saw two responding to fan texts:

The thing is giving me all kinds of prompts to sign up and log in, and interact, but despite the fact that they're angels it's not all that thrilling to be a voyeur in heaven.

Especially after the somewhat-NSFW promo video:



Link via Illegal Advertising.

UPDATE: My favourite Dutchman, Marc from Osocio, sent me this Google translation of  an Adformatie online article to explain how it works. I'll just clean it up a bit:

Axe Heaven on Earth is the first concrete result of a multi-year strategy that Unilever and Mindshare Media Republic has developed. Unilever Axe is a leader in digital communication.
 
According to senior brand manager Arjan Baars, the strategy "provides content that people can share and which enables them to interact." An important part of the strategy is also a cross-platform approach — our own brand sites are the starting points and we drop content on more platforms. "
 
Axe Heaven on Earth is a live 24 / 7 online format. In creatively elaborates upon the concept of the TV commercial (as "Angels Will Fall "from BBH London) for the new Excite scent. The commercial shows that even angels have fallen for the new fragrance.  For the next chapter, three of them have moved into "Heaven on Earth," a luxury villa where they lack nothing — except for the ideal man. 

Boys who feel they might be that "man" can sign up at the Axe website .

Seven webcams track the angels throughout the house, except in the bathroom. Initially, the vistor can only see two of these. But the more time they spend on the site, the more cameras they can "unlock". Whoever succeeds in mastering the "robo-cam" can unlock the secret feeds that  "come to places a man can only dream of dream. "


It is also possible to shorten unlocking times by sharing content on Facebook or Hyves. "That way we create social media value for Axe," says executive creative producer Arnold Rossum of Media Republic.

The activation campaign is an important role for social media. The angels are getting to know their fans through Twitter and Netlog.  It is also possible to make Skype calls to them and even send snailmail. (The most original mailed pieces are hung on the wall of fame in the house.)
 
Every day, one lucky guy is invited to visit Heaven on Earth. During the visit he participated in a "spicy" truth-or-dare game, which other viewers can watch live and influence.


Axe Heaven on Earth is an initiative of the Benelux Brand Activation Group (BAG), a collaboration with the Belgian agency Media Republic Ubiquity.

Not creepy at all, is it?