Pop go the world's problems

So, here's that Pepsi Max ad that made lots of people angry.

Why? Because it seems to imply that the problems of police violence, especially against people of colour, can be solved by a member of the Jenner/Kardashian clan with a cold beverage:

What a different time we live in than 46 years ago, when Coca-Cola quite successfully co-opted the hippie zeitgeist at its very end:

What's different?

Imagine if Coke's iconic "Hilltop"ad,  instead of showing a bunch of people singing on a hill (like in The Sound Of Music) instead showed them facing down armed National Guardsmen (like at Kent State in 1970):

Instead of killing four students and wounding nine, in this Coke ad in an alternative 1971, the Ohio National Guardsmen are stopped by a cold beverage. How would the friends and families of the dead and wounded students have felt about the trivialization of their tragedy?

That, I understand, is how many racialized people feel about this week's Pepsi ad in the context of Black Lives Matter.

Sexist Schick for Men campaign ends up crowdsourcing feminism

In May, Smart Company reported on a crowdsourced campaign gone awry, for Schick Australia.

It started with a two-part YouTube video, originally produced by Schick Singapore in March



The first ad clicks through to a second video in which the topless model is strategically blocked from every angle, Austin Powers style:



Cheesy and sexist enough, but the Schick for Men Australia Facebook Page also ran a contest for dudes to upload their faces on a model's chest::

The Schick models are then lined up like a menu:

And then you end up in the gallery, emblazoned on the shirt of a now-mostly-headless model:

A feminist group known as Collective Shout hijacked the campaign by creating and posting images in which the t-shirts featured slogans and flames against the campaign:

They're still on the Schick page, and have been preserved as well at Collective Shout.

They're better in context, though, especially with the guy on the top left.

Sure, it's a small protest. But it's another example of how organized, online activism can make a mess of the best laid marketing plans.

Subway location in France offers "straights only" Valentine's deal

Opposing Views reports:

A branch of the Subway chain in Angers, France was forced to close recently after a Valentine’s Day special was offered to heterosexual couples only. 

The store’s owner put up a poster advertising a meal deal for couples that included a footlong Subway sandwich, a drink and a dessert each for 14 Euros. Bracketed next to the word “couples” were the letters “H/F,” indicating a couple was defined as a man and woman only. 

Also on the poster was an asterisk that read: “Discrimination (?) No, the marriage for all law has advanced, but has yet to be ratified by the Senate. Until then, I’ll use my freedom of expression.”

The special offer was apparently made by a rogue franchisee, and spent Subway France spinning on Twitter and Facebook.

On Saturday, when the news had gone global, they even posted in English on their Facebook page:

As we stated in response to many posts yesterday: The SUBWAY ® brand is strongly committed to maintain the values ​​of diversity and inclusiveness in its restaurants around the world and does not endorse in any discrimination of any kind . , we apologize to all the people being offended by individual initiative to promote Valentine's Day a restaurant in Angers, France. All SUBWAY ® restaurants are owned by franchisees and are managed independently. We work with the owner of the restaurant in order to strengthen our values ​​and company policy.

The French National Assembly recently approved a law that would legalize same-sex marriage and give the same rights to all married couples to adopt children. Although the legislation has met with organized protest, a recent poll indicated that 63% of French citizens support equal marriage.

But not, apparently, that one rogue sandwich artist who caused his brand a massive embarrassment.

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.

Skin whitening ad in Senegal provokes anger

Via France 24

According to France 24, "The wolof expression 'Khess Petch' means 'all white.' It is also the name of a brand new skin whitening cream that has been advertised throughout Dakar in the past few days."

"All-white"? In Africa?

The writer continues:

Skin depigmentation is common in Africa, where the sale of skin whitening products is legal in many countries. People resort to using the creams out of aesthetic concerns based on the idea that fairer skin leads to greater social and economic success. Most of these cheap skin whitening products are made using corticosteroids and hydroquinone (illegal in the European Union), which are harmful and carcinogenic when applied in significant doses on skin. The regular use of these products leads to itching, varicose veins, and stains, but also to a strong dependence due to the product’s penetration into the bloodstream.

People aren't standing for it. A petition at Change.org to the Senegal Ministry of Health and Social Action states (in French), "we believe that the authorities health must seize the faster the issue of skin bleaching which is a public health problem in the same way as tobacco."

It has just over 1300 signatures.

Thanks to Osocio colleague Tatjana Vukic for the tip.

Related: Skin whitening ads from Hong Kong and vulva-bleaching campaign from India.

Femen furious with Fiat for filching their image

The infamous Ukrainian anarcho-feminist movement, known for protesting topless agains prostitution, corruption and misogyny, now have a new target: admen.

Via the Femen Faceboook page:

Fiat dishonestly uses image of femen activists in advertising campaign to promote their product at the Latin American market. Brazilian advertisers use recognizable attributes of the women's movement femen in their video without our consent. We believe such action against us is unfair.

Have a look for yourself (it's in Portuguese):



It sure seems "inspired" by Femen, who also have an active chapter in Brazil. In addition to co-opting their concept, the ad also wimps out on the nudity, then undermines their ideals by having them women gleefully jump into the man's car at the end.

This wouldn't be the first time a grassroots, anti-system movement was co-opted by the very "Man" they oppose. But note that Femen don't seem to be attempting any legal action, just social complaint.

What do you think of this?

FEMEN invite the women of Islam to get naked with them

FEMEN are in Paris, demonstrating for Muslim women around the world to demand sexual freedom and equal rights.

     Allah made me naked from FemenFrance on Vimeo.

The demonstration, themed "Allah created me naked" includes slogans such as "Muslim women let's get naked", "Nudity is freedom", "I am a woman, not an object", "Naked war" and "Naked truth". (They also hold signs in Ukrainian, French and Arabic.)

While their hearts are all in the right place, the show of solidarity also reminds me of this cartoon:

The question being whether sexual freedom depends on sexual display. I'm sure the women of FEMEN would agree that the choice of dress or undress is every person's individual choice — as long as they are not being coerced or brainwashed.

On the other hand, women from more oppressive religious Muslim societies who choose the route of nude expression, such as Golshifteh Farahani or Aliaa Magda Elmahdy (who is name-checked in body paint), face disapproval, banishment, and even physical harm.

What do you think of this message and tactic?

You can see and read more about the demonstration (in Ukranian) at FEMEN's Livejournal.

I'm sorry, but Banksy's ad rant is tiresome

My brother David shared this from This Isn't Happiness:

You can also see the text better here.

I can understand why people feel imposed upon by outdoor advertising, but it is hardly something new. Look at the sides of old buildings — in the late 1800s and early 1900s, advertisers posted their message on anything that didn't move.

Like many other modern consumers, I've learned to tune out the majority of advertising messages hurled at me from every corner, broadcast, and electronic interaction I happen upon. As an adman, I count on this numbness as I try to find new ways to get attention, gain permission, and inspire sharing among more sophisticated audiences.

But this anti-capitalism, anger and anarchy is tiresome to me. An ad is not "a rock someone just threw at your head" — in most cases it is just another piece of banal visual pollution in the urban environment. Somebody paid somebody else to create a message, then paid yet someone else to post it on their property. It's all within the law, as long as they follow guidelines for hate speech, etc.

If you want to see better standards for advertising, you need to take a more active role as a consumer — organizing to reward brands that contribute something positive to your life, and shutting out the ones that irk you. It sounds idealistic, but it's all we've got. That's why I spend so much time deconstructing and trashing what I see as irresponsible advertising on this blog. I think and expect that our industry can do much better.

You could also lobby local politicians to reduce the number of ad placement opportunities on public land. We already have that here in Ottawa. But I actually miss seeing some of the more interesting billboards that go up in Montreal and Toronto.

Revolutionaries are a necessary part of social change. And I know that offensive ads can and will get vandalized by Adbusters and their ilk (and sometimes I find it extremely funny!)

But there is a difference between taking an action that is civilly disobedient, being prepared for the legal consequences if you are caught, and claiming a moral right or even imperative to do so. The former is revolutionary. The latter, in my humble opinion, is just deluded and arrogant.

I still enjoy his art, though. As long as it's not on the side of my house.

Street-artist-turned-copywriter shouldn't quit his day job

Martin sent me an interesting link to an item about Scottish artist Robert Montgomery, who spends his evenings pasting over outdoor advertising with his anti-consumerist poetry.

Great idea, but I find the poetry kind of awful. It makes me think of an angry 19-year-old, who has just discovered anarchism, scrawling away in his notebook at Starbucks in the hope that the girl behind the counter will notice how deep and dark he is.

Too harsh? The other point against this work is that, while the artist admits he has vandalized billboards "without permission" before, these installations are authorized. (And even when he was doing it illegally, the police couldn't be bothered to arrest him.)

If you don't know me, you may assume I am trashing this stuff because I make my living in advertising. Not so. I love subversive shit. I just find this subversion forced, false and boring. If you're going to subject the public to copy like this, you might as well slap a logo on it and get paid.

FEMEN v. Millionaire Fair (Nudity)

FEMEN have made the jump to English, with this video against the Millionaire Fair, currently appearing in Amsterdam.


FEMEN Solidarity message to FEMEN Holland from FEMEN Holland on Vimeo.


According to the Millionaire Fair web site:

"In 2002, the organisers of the Millionaire Fair shook the little country of the Netherlands at its foundations by organising an event unparalleled in luxury and size. 'A fairytale for the affluent, a cornucopia for culinary fans and a feast of superlatives', louded the press. Initiator Yves Gijrath (CEO Gijrath Media Groep) and publisher of Miljonair Magazine, launched the idea for the Millionaire Fair on the basic theme of their magazine: 'The Luxury Lifestyle'.  

The Amsterdam launch paved the way for a great success. The next year, in 2003, the Fair quadrupled in terms of size and number of visitors. In 2005, the first international Millionaire Fair was held in Moscow. Since then, this glamorous spectacle has been conquering the world and the Millionaire Fair is known as the World's Leading Luxury Fair. A place where the top of the international luxury industry meet to present their most beautiful and exclusive products and services. In the past years the organisers received some very meaningful reactions by visitors, celebrities and exhibitors..."

Europe is in the middle of a financial crisis and, according to FEMEN, a women's rights one as well. Is there something inherently wrong with the rich carrying on like this at such a time? State your piece below.

Nude activism continues to take over the internet

First PETA. Then FEMEN. Then, last month, Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy posted naked pictures of herself online to protest sexist oppression.

Now it's Chinese supporters of dissident artist Ai Weiwei who are dropping trou for a cause.

According to Shanghaiist,  Ai Weiwei announced Friday that Beijing police were now investigating his assistant Zhao Zhao for "spreading pornography online" for posting a picture of the artist with four female models, all nude. (Link)

The site, "Listen, Chinese Government： Nudity is not Pornography" is packed with homemade nudes from both well-known outspoken Chinese cewebrities and well-wishers.

What I really love are the group shots censored with AWW faces:

There is no doubt that this will get attention. Naked people always seem to, no matter how many billions of artistic, scientific and erotic nude pictures are available at the stroke of a Google. But as the shock value diminishes with the increasing ordinariness of seeing other humans in their altogether, will the efficacy of the tactic also fade?

I guess we'll just have to see. But as long as places like Egypt and China (not to mention many Western democracies) continue to harshly fight the normalization of naked displays of the human body, there will still be someone to scandalize.

(Thanks to FEMEN for the tip)

FEMEN find a new home on Google+ (painted nudity)

Ukrainian topless activists FEMEN, who seem most at home on old fashioned Livejournal, have never really felt welcome on Facebook. Since their main protest tactic is to take their shirts off and fight with police, it's not surprising that the prudes at Facebook often delete their photos and even ban the group.

Well, now they're testing the waters on Google+. So far, the new social network (unlike Google property YouTube) has not been particularly censoring of content. It will be interesting to see how FEMEN make use of the freedom.

Although, since they update in Ukrainian, I may need Google Translate as well.

FEMEN take on the Pope (nudity)

Not quite as outrageous as Sinead's attack, but still newsworthy.



According to their Livejournal (via Google Translate):

"Alexandra Shevchenko, past the police and security services, made ​​her way into the center of the Vatican in St. Peter's Square and staged topless just share during Sunday Mass under the balcony of the Pope, deploying a banner reading 'Freedom for women.'

In this way, activists protested the papal patriarchal propaganda manipulated by the medieval idea of a woman's social and cultural mission. Condemnation of the use of contraceptives, the international ban on the abortion lobby, the correction of clothing and appearance of women, the ban on women in the ordained - a fetid belch a witch hunt. Sexist policies Vatican has its downside in the form of a wave of sexual crimes committed by clergy against children and women. The women's movement FEMEN favor of a free woman, devoid of prejudice, despising all forms of patriarchal slavery, blatant of which was and remains a church!  

FEMEN  caused panic among Vatican intelligence. Journalists were brutally dispersed, the Italian journalists dutifully adopted a ban on shooting, and were not only arrested the activist movement FEMEN, but also a journalist from Australia. The promoters of the movement had more than four hours in the Roman police, and only under pressure from the media escaped deportation."

 Originally from Ukraine, FEMEN are on a tour of Europe to promote women's rights and stick it to the man.

Is this the work of an agent provocateur?

No, I don't mean the people who do those awkwardly sexualized underwear ads. I mean this anti-pacifism screed that BoingBoing says is being circulated at Occupy Oakland.

I would say that the greatest threat to nonviolent protest is violence from within. Although I have seen those ninja-clad assholes who go to protests just to fight with cops before, part of me hopes this is just the work of an individual anarchist loonie. However, it could also easily be the work of a capitalist loonie who wants to discredit the protests. Either way, the Oakland people apparently weren't buying it.

Me neither. The copywriting is abominable.

F'd Ad Fridays: From "Power to the People" to "Beef Jerky"

Via Another Limited Rebellion

The only way those two statements should be together is if you're making a John Lennon mix tape. Otherwise, it's just really trite marketing exploitation of a volatile political climate.

Yeah, kind of like that.

F'd Ad Fridays: GM insults cyclists, gets its bumper handed to it

Copyranter posted this phenomenally dumb ad from GM, aimed at college students across the United States.

The culture wars between drivers and cyclists are not something the automotive giant wants to wade into. There are already fights in cities all around North America about new bike lanes on downtown streets.

Just this week, where I live, a cyclist was killed as a result of being doored by a careless parked driver, while the trial opened of a man accused of ploughing into five cyclists in his van in the suburbs two years ago.

And right now, social media networks are full of content like this:

I'm not going to say cars are evil. (My wife owns a car.) And I'm not going to beatify cyclists, because as a pedestrian I have been at the receiving end of near-misses by aggressive riders. But I will say that a goddamn car manufacturer — especially one accused of once trying to destroy public transit in the US — is really endangering its social licence by trying to convince young people that they should be embarrassed not to drive a car.

And now even GM agrees. In response to pressure from cycling advocates and lots of Twitter hate, they have pulled the ad.

You knew it was coming to this: PETA to launch porn site

The controversial ".XXX" top level domain is set to launch at year's end. And at the bottom of a Reuters article about how major brands are scrambling to lock down their claims against sexy squatters is this item:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also signed up. However, instead of blocking its name, said PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt, the organization will launch peta.xxx as a pornography site that draws attention to the plight of animals.

PETA has long used and abused sexuality (particularly female sexuality) to get its message across.

The fleshy outreach comes in two flavours: the tasteful celebrity nude and the naked dedication of an army of beautiful young nobodies around the world.

The question arises whether PETA is planning to put these earnest and trusting efforts into its "porn" enterprise. First of all, I doubt many of the actresses or volunteers want a career in porn. With, perhaps, some notable exceptions...

Second, why would anyone pay for what PETA gives away for free?

I realize this is just a publicity stunt. But it should also lead you to question what they're really willing to do for their cause.

Interview with FEMEN's founder, Anna Hutsol (reposted from Osocio)

Read the original post at Osocio.

A few weeks ago, I contacted Anna Hutsol, the founder and leader of Ukraine’s FEMEN movement, for an interview via Facebook. It proved difficult, as Anna is not only extremely busy but we speak different languages and required the services of a translator.

FEMEN have risen from being a local protest group in Kiev, known for their use of nudity and street theatre to protest Ukrainian sex tourism, to an international phenomenon tackling issues such a nuclear power and Saudi bans on women driving. The frank sexuality of their protests have gained them worldwide media attention, and they continue to build social media solidarity with other activist groups through FEMEN - International Support Team (FIST). They even, famously, bullied Mark Zuckerberg into reinstating their Facebook account after it was removed due to all the topless posts.

This morning, I finally received my answers in broken English. Anna did not address all my questions, but she did provide some insights into FEMEN’s origins, its mission, and its future.

OSOCIO: How was the idea of FEMEN first conceived?

Anna: It was not difficult, as everyone knows how many problems are here in Ukraine and as Ukrainian girls we feel that every day in our minds and bodies. So all we needed was to be brave enough to tell the world about it. That’s why we decided to show that women are protesting, and to use our bodies as weapon in the fight.

OSOCIO: Have your objectives changed since then?

Anna: Yes, we have added many objectives to our program. But like in the beginning we still demand to stop sex tourism and prostitution in Ukraine. We demand to let women develop themselves.

OSOCIO: How do you respond to critics who say that topless protest objectifies women?

Anna: As young, simple Ukrainian girls, we believe in what we are doing, and we know what we need to do to protect ourselves. FEMEN was trying different
ways of fighting and in our experience we understood that only radical things can change the situation. At this time, in this country, only radical women’s protest can shake the world of passive women.

OSOCIO: How do male supporters fit in to FEMEN?

Anna: We have many men who support us and even help in our work. Men who are ready to see women as strong people can help FEMEN girls. We have many supporters who help FEMEN with donations. Also we have photographers help us [by donating services] and even some men who come to our performances to protect the girls from police. So we are not against men, but we want to be independent from them.

OSOCIO: What will be the future of FEMEN in 5 years? In 10?

Anna: We want to create a new style of living for women that will mean to being active and developing themselves. For that we are planning to go to Europe to open branches in each European capital. We will teach all women to be free and always get all they need. Soon FEMEN will be an international movement.

More FEMEN on Work That Matters:

FEMEN do Julia
FEMEN go after Saudi Arabia
FEMEN fight the privatization of the Ukrainian uterus
FEMEN emasculates NZ men
Ethical nudity
From drive-time to human trafficking?
Protest in the raw

The YAHOO! logo meets its long-lost deadbeat father

BoingBoing has a cool post about the eerie similarity between the YAHOO! logo, launched in the digital neolithic period (1995) and the hand-drawn identity of the anti-establishment performance art movement known as the Youth International Party, or "YIPPIE!"

This is a 1960s YIP flyer secretly kept on file by the FBI of the time (recently released under the Freedom of Information Act):

Here's a side-by-side:

Whoa.

BoingBoing notes, "Yahoo's was designed by Organic, Inc. in 1995, and refined a few years later to use the Able typeface (also used in the Harry Potter franchise) Able, from foundry T26. The typeface was designed by Marcus Burlile, who was not born until the 1970s."

Now THERE's a conspiracy theory worth looking into, G-men...

FEMEN do Yulia

The protestors of FEMEN took parodic aim at former Ukrainian Prime Minister (and iconic hairdo) Yulia Tymoshenko with a protest against corruption outside the trial of Tymoshenko's late Minister of Internal Affairs, Yuriy Lutsenko.

Of course, FEMEN did this in what PRAVDA calls "its traditional way - bare breasted and clashes with police."

You've got to hand it to them, these women really understand the PR value of street theatre.