Fishing lodge asks that you not give booze to the "Native Guides"

My Brother-In-Law, David Finkle, is a musician and traditional craftsperson here in Ottawa. He is also a part of Canada's First Nations communities. He sent me this bit of old-timey racism that is circulating from the guidebook of a Manitoba fishing lodge:

The backlash has been swift and severe.

Chief Arlen Dumas, of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (the "Indian guides" referenced) told the CBC, “The statements are so outrageous. Not only does he offend the very people that provide him his livelihood … he insults all indigenous people in North America.”

Chief Dumas wrote an open letter to the owners of the lodge, which operates on traditional Mathias Colomb Cree territory. They have yet to respond.

Meanwhile the lodge's Facebook page has become the target of a massive (and justified) airing of grievances:

"Unbelievable that in this day and age there exists such ignorance and overt racism. I grew up in the times of 'no dogs or Indians allowed' signs and thought it was at least fading, but this shows that sadly, it is not," wrote Robin Maracle. 

"Bravo, you have completely alienated your workforce, your community and an entire nation," wrote Cynthia Mandeville. 

"The best thing to do would be to turn this into an opportunity to educate yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. The right thing to do is to apologize and move toward making things better," wrote Karen SC.

Many cited a post by âpihtawikosisân, a Montreal Métis blogger who addressed the "drunken Indian" stereotype and myths with stats and references. It's worth a read.

Literal "Food Porn" promotes Guide des Restos 2014

My oh my! Reader Cassandria sent me this naughty foodie campaign by Publicis  for a Quebec restaurant guide, shot by Leda & St. Jacques.

ufunk explains (translated) that it's "a rather naughty and risqué poster campaign playing on the ambiguity of the" 18 + "for its 18th edition."

I have no idea why my social media friends would think of me when they saw this...

The only problem is see is that some of them are rather contrived. The concept has been done before, without so much awkward manipulation required. Hell, I would have loaned them this heirloom carrot if they'd asked.

More weird European condom ads

My French isn't good enough to catch all the nuances of this series of short ads for Intimy condoms. But I think I caught the broad strokes.



It's all about dick jokes, right? And disembodied parts. Apparently, it's being shown so much on TV that French teens despise it.

The last one is the strangest: "Is that a glowworm? No, it's Michel's phosphorescent penis flopping around in the woods at night!" (Or something like that.)

Better translations welcomed, in the comments below.

H/T Cassandria for the tip.

Awkward contextual ad on VIA terror plot news

Today, the RCMP announced the arrest of two men in connection with an "al-Qaeda-supported" plan to attack a VIA Rail passenger train in Canada. And this ad appeared above it.

This kind of thing actually happens all the time, from awkward grizzlies to PETA hamburgers. It's pretty much unavoidable in a major internet campaign.

A friend shared this unfortunate screenshot of a VIA ad above the CBC story. I can't seem to reproduce the combination through multiple refreshes, so I'll assume that VIA's media people caught it early. But not before someone else caught it for posterity.

TD Bank features same-sex couples in "mainstream" ads

The ad above was shared by my favourite Sicilian-Canadian reader, Jackie Di Caro. It appears in the Toronto Star.

Looking for background, I found that the "lifestyle" section of TD's web site also features a video with two men on the page about "becoming a couple".

What's cool about this isn't the fact that a major brand is targeting gay consumers. With their stereotyped double-income-no-kids lifestyle, committed same-sex couples are a marketer's dream. But instead of running a niche campaign in "gay" media, TD is simply adding same-sex couples to the rotation of its depictions of families. And it's not even a recent development. TD has  participated in, and sponsored, Pride parades for several years. The bank recently produced its own had-hitting It Gets Better video. And it walks the walk — it is recognized as one of "The Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality".

Via This Gay Relationship

What will all this gay-positiveness do to one of Canada's largest banks, and to society as a whole?

From a 2011 post in the blog "This Gay Relationship":

...if TD doesn't stop presenting all of these positive images in their newspaper ads, I might just get the idea being a gay male couple is as normal and natural in Canada in 2011 as has been the case for straight couples since the beginning of time (or at least since TD began advertising in big city newspapers). I'm not sure what would happen if the general population started to get that idea. Who knows where that could lead us. 

This is all awesome, from a progressiveness point-of-view, but it is also a great example of how traditional organizations are adapting to a changing social climate. In 2012, TD reported it had $1.6 billion of net income in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for year ended Oct. 31 to $6.47 billion.

Poster design clichés clichéed

Reader @mrapier  sent me a link to this Tumblr. 

Let this be a lesson to you art directors:

"Ici, c'est Pepsi"

Here, it's Pepsi!

Vincent just sent me this funny Pepsi ad from Quebec, in which a gang of French Canadian stereotypes attack an American tourist stereotype for daring to drink Coke.



Pepsi has long played the market in Quebec very differently than the "rest of Canada" because the soft drink has a special relationship with the province. It far outsells Coke there now, due to a its dedication to homegrown Quebec-only campaigns that celebrate their unique culture and sense of humour. This relationship is so tight and well-known that, when I was a kid, "Pepsi" was also a derogatory term for our francophone neighbours to the east and north.

The new ad is pretty funny even to this anglo. Anyone have credits?

F'd Ad Fridays: Not an ad for boots (or cats) but it should be

Kerry sent me this cool short video:



Admit it, you danced a little while watching that, didn't you? Maybe just twitched your shoulders while sitting at your desk?

F'd Ad Fridays: Effing awesome intermission film

Casey sent me this awesomeness by the British show Look Around You. They had a screening of their best shorts from the past ten years screened at the British Film Institute, and they made this special intermission film for the occasion: