Mexican soft drink places undocumented migrants in America's great immigration story

In The Journey, Mexican soft drink brand Jarritos shows a group of Latin Americans walking determinedly through the desert, then follows it with a grand montage of how immigrants have made the United States what it is today.

I doubt anyone watching, whatever their views on immigration, would miss the implied message. The group on foot are making an undocumented crossing into the USA, but once there they will work hard and contribute the way all other groups of "your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" have done.

It's a bold statement, in the face of Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump's "Bad Hombres" rhetoric and armed, vigilante citizen "border patrols."

Latino Rebels asks, "Are you proud big brands are celebrating the immigrant legacy or is it just commercial exploitation to sell more soda?"

I'd say that it's doing both. Jarritos has a strong presence in the USA, especially among Latino communities. The iconic bottles make a cameo appearance around the 45 second mark:

Yes, it's here to sell. But I think the politics are pretty clear as well. Jarritos has made supporting Mexican immigrants, and appealing to other recent immigrant groups, an essential part of its brand DNA. And by taking sides, it will probably deepen its cultural connection with existing customers.

Watch the video here, in English and Spanish:

Weird juice bar campaign juxtaposes breastfeeding and sex

Weird, eh? It's a Lithuanian campaign for a juice bar by an agency called "New!" (You can see the original language version here.)

What's funny about these two is that one would presume that the woman was already being "pleased" by the remarkably similar oxytocin rushes of breastfeeding and orgasm. And they're saying that juice is better than that? Wow, that must be some drink!

The third execution is actually more puzzling, as it implies that a man gets no pleasure from comforting his upset partner:

Yeah, it's supposed to be lighthearted humour. I just don't think it's very clever.

Via Ads of The World

Are soft drinks now off limits for celebrity endorsement?

Design student spec work, via Behance

Pepsi has long had a close relationship with "pop" stars: David Bowie, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson (before his hair caught on fire)... and show can forget this conspicuous consumption of advertising budget?



It just seemed natural that musical celebrities would go for the big sponsorship money. But suddenly, things are changing.

Adweek reports that Katy Perry, she of the whipped cream bazooka boobs, is taking heat from health groups over a summer Pepsi promotion tied into the MTV Video Music Awards.

In an open letter to the singer, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and six partners compares today's soft drink celebrity endorsements to the cigarette ads of yore: "'Drink Pepsi and you can be cool like Katy Perry,' is the takeaway message for your young fans. 'Live for now' and worry about the health consequences later."

They also produced this video:



I'm no fan of pushing too much sugar on kids. But have these people ever seen a Katy Perry video?

"Drink more water" PSAs banned from local cinema

Two low-budget health department PSAs promoting water drinking have caused unexpected controversy in Ukiah, California:





According to Daily Journal News, the ads have been rejected for placement in the Regal Ukiah Stadium 6 cinema by its national media placement firm, which is named as National CineMedia — which also serves theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Cinemark Holdings, and others.

The reason? According to the agency that produced the ads, DG Creative Branding, "It conflicts with soda sales in the theater lobby and will upset management and the theater circuit"

As the agency's video points out, bottled water (marketed by Coke and Pepsi) is also sold at cinema concessions. So it seems strange that these PSAs were seen as such a threat. Especially considering their unassuming DYI stock-photo-slideshow style, and the fact that they were sponsored by the CDC.

I doubt there's any vast cola conspiracy here. My guess is that some poorly-trained individual at National CineMedia made a stupid call. The company could not be reached by Daily Journal News for comment.

Scottish soft drink parodies two competitors at once with "Fanny" cans

Via The Drum

Scottish soft drink brand Irn-Bru is known for its cheeky ads. So when a UK competitor launched a drink called "Pussy," I imagine they took it as a challenge.

With "Fanny" cans, Irn-Bru is also taking a shot at a European Coca-Cola campaign that puts popular first names on cans. (For those unaware, "Fanny" is UK slang for female genitals.)

Via NPR

Yeah, it's all a joke. There are no immediate plans to roll out the Fanny cans in retail. But it's a good bit of lighthearted meta-marketing online.

It's not even the first time Irn-Bru has made a Fanny gag. This spot is from last year:

Iggy sells out again, this time in Spain

My old (well, not that old!) friend Rachel, who lives in Spain, sent me this latest cynical commercialization of the Godfather of Punk:



It's sort of a Pulp Fiction-meets-Repo Man-meets-Iggy's own sense of self-deprecation thing. Not exactly epic, like his stunt withn Orcon Broadband, but at least not as embarrassing as his insurance ads.

But who am I to complain? The man needs his retirement fund. He can't go running around with the new Stooges lineup forever...

Can you drink your way out of Scottish nationalism?

This spot for Scotland's Irn Bru was named "Ad of The Day" by Scottish ad blog The Drum. Created by The Leith Agency in Edinburgh, it features a proud Scot trying to get through meeting his daughter's obnoxious English boyfriend.



I had assumed that this was an ad for beer. It's not. Irn Bru is actually a soft drink. With the day Dad's having, facing his worst ethnocentric fears, I might have recommended something a wee bit stronger...

White Rock's Psyche: A pioneer of boobies in advertising

White Rock was once one of the biggest mineral water bottlers in the United States. In the first half of the 20th century, they ran a series of ads featuring "Psyche, Goddess of Purity" as their mascot. And amazingly, for that prudish age, she appeared topless (and usually, nippless).

Intrigued, I rounded up a few examples of these ads from around the internet. They are weird and wild.

Via Flickr

Via Flickr

Via Mixer

Via Esquire

So, why was this type of nudity in ads okay? The fact that a topless woman was showing up in polite society was not exactly glossed over:

Via Today's Inspiration.

And in some cases, she was even anatomically correct:

Via Uncommon Citizen

Female sexuality used to advertise unrelated products is nothing new. But current White Rock President Larry Bodkin told NPR that there was nothing lewd or suggestive about that Psyche logo when it debuted around the turn of the 20th century: "In those days, a bare breast was like almost the ultimate sign of purity".

From their site:

The story of how Psyche came to represent the White Rock Company starts at the World’s Fair in Chicago. White Rock executives were awestruck by the beauty, youth and purity depicted in a painting titled “Psyche at Nature’s Mirror” by German artist Paul Thumann. They purchased the rights to the painting and adopted Psyche as their logo. 

Psyche was a mortal princess in Greek mythology and was an allegorical personification of the human soul. According to mythology she is mistaken for Venus because she is so beautiful. Venus gets jealous and has her son Eros (Cupid in Roman mythology) involved in a plot to make her life miserable. Eventually she marries Eros and becomes immortal but not before going through a lot of hardships.  

Psyche has the wings of a butterfly to depict immortality. Her story represents the pre-existence of the soul suffering in this life, going astray but remaining faithful to her ideals. She accepts her fate while showing courage and counting on love to lead her to life. 
Over the years, depictions of Psyche have changed slightly. The 1947 model was estimated to be 2 inches taller but 15 pounds lighter than the original model. The 1975 model added another 2 inches but dropped 7 pounds and now stands at 5 foot 8 inches with a weight of 118 pounds. 

Psyche continues to stand for the pure, vital refreshment of all White Rock products. 

Yep, White Rock is still around. And so is Psyche. Ironically, they covered her up in the swinging '70s:

But these days, they're attempting to crowdsource the mascot online.

Now, that could get interesting.

F'd Ad Fridays: How to keep sexed-up women out of your strawberry patch

No, that was not a euphemism. Russian ads are not known for their subtlety.



Not that being unsubtle helps this ad make any more sense.

Via Illegal Advertising

New anti-obesity ads pretty much ensure I'll never eat again

Look closer. It's shocking. It's gross. It's... veiny. And according to the BBC, these New York City Department of Health ads may be too disgusting to even make an impact:

"These images look so disgusting that it's a turn-off, you look away without taking the message in," said George Parker, an advertising expert and author of The Ubiquitous Persuaders.

It's apparently also triggering a backlash campaign by the Center for Consumer Freedom who are running ads that throw up statements like "You’re too stupid to make good personal decisions about foods and beverages" and “It’s your food. It’s your drink. It’s your freedom.”

The New York Department of Health ad is a hard-hitting one, if you take the time to stare at it and make the connection between unsightly fat and sugary drinks. If. But if you'll excuse me, I now feel like purging my healthy lunch.