F'd Ad Fridays: Selling drugs on campus

What a very, very bad idea:

Red Bull's back-to-school campaign promotes itself with this line:

In my parents' day, many students popped "diet pills" to improve academic performance. Everyone knows they drink lots of coffee and Coke. But is it really ethical to promote your stimulant-laden drink (not to mention all that sugar) to students as a way to have more fun in school?

Using stimulants to pull all-nighters is a bad idea. Mixing Red Bull with vodka to party all night is also a bad idea. Yes, students commonly do both of these things. But using their stupid susceptibility to high-risk behaviours as a way to market an energy drink is really, really evil.

Stealing faces for ads in the pre-Facebook era

There was a lot of kerfuffle earlier this year about the prospect of facebook advertisers stealing your profile picture for "sponsored stories" ads.  But according to a new Cracked article, it's nothing new.

6 People Who Had No Clue Their Faces Were World-Famous mentions the famous cases of the unaware models for such iconic images as Rosie The Riveter, the Woodstock couple in the blanket, and the revolutionary screaming man. It's worth a read.

But there was one that was a complete surprise to me: The Taster's Choice Guy.


Turns out the bad-coffee-huffer is a kindergarten teacher (and former model) named Russell Christoff, who had posed for an aborted Taster's Choice shoot in Canada in 1986, was given his $250 session fee, and sent on his way to marketing obscurity. Or so he thought.

Because Russell is not really an instant coffee drinker (I feel so betrayed!), he didn't notice that someone in the US marketing department had later "borrowed" his image without paying residuals until 2002.

What followed was a lengthy legal battle in which he first demanded and won $15.6 Million in 2005, which was later overturned on appeal. Nestlé offered him a $10,000 buyout, and he demanded $8.5 million. They turned him down again.

Now they have a new guy.

STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!

The moral of the story? Don't steal anyone's image. Unless you are a major corporation, in which case go for it!

Scare 'Em, Hair 'Em

I often look for blog ideas by searching social media press releases for public service announcements. However, it soon becomes obvious that the occasional self-styled "PSA" is actually serving someone else entirely.

Case-in-point:

"Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) April 20, 2010 -- HairLoss.com, the Internet's most comprehensive resource for unbiased consumer information and education concerning hair loss solutions and conditions, has released the second of a series of animated, one-minute-long public service announcements titled "Hair is Important".

According to Michael Garcia, spokesman for HairLoss.com, this second video release "aims to illustrate to the public that men and women who are trying to restore their hair are really trying to restore much more than just their hair."

The video states that hair is so important that is gives people the confidence to project who they are, allowing them to accomplish great things, while a montage of noted historical figures with notable hair, from politicians to entertainers, is shown."

Here's the "PSA":



Now, let me state for the record that I still have all my hair. Hell, I even have hair in places that are no longer fashionable. But if I were ever to start balding noticeably, I'd do what my female friends refer to as "doing the honourable thing" and crop it down, Captain Picard style.



And what's wrong with that? The HairLoss.com video would have me think that a head full of hair is necessary to project "who we are" and "what we believe in".



It's apparently needed to lead... (for good or evil)





to make an impression...



to express a viewpoint...



and to entertain.



Yeah — baldness is for losers, and fake hair is for winners.

People for the Unethical Treatment of Advertising

You've got to hand it to PETA. For every step they take towards mainstreaming their cause, they take a giant leap backwards:



Now, for those of you saying "but it's true! Psychopaths do tend to start on animals!", you're absolutely right.

But allow me to fill you in on the local context:

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) not to re-run a billboard campaign featuring Steven Barker, the man who tortured 17-month-old Peter Connelly and was subsequently found guilty of "causing or allowing" the infant's death.

The ASA received one complaint that the ad was "offensive and distressing, used unnecessary shock tactics and exploited the death of Baby P", and "was also located in the area where Baby P lived and died" (Haringey, North London), and therefore "particularly offensive and distressing to residents of that area".

The Baby P tragedy was a horrific story of child sexual and physical abuse— as well as the total failure of medical and social workers to recognize and stop it.

This is not the first time PETA has exploited human tragedy to get attention for its animal welfare cause. Last year, they ran a billboard in Berlin that juxtaposed pictures of Jews in concentration camp bunks and chickens in a factory farm with the headline (in English, to ensure international press) "To animals, all people are Nazis". It was ordered taken down.

And they've been doing it for years. In 2001, after a series of shark attacks in the U.S. left two people dead (including an 8-year-old child) they ran a billboard that said “Would You Give Your Right Arm To Know Why Sharks Attack? Could it Be Revenge?".

And then there was this:



Look, PUTA. I don't lose sleep over the fact that you sexually exploit willing women worse than American Apparel. I merely snort in disbelief when you tell me I'm abusing my child by feeding him meat. And I was kind of amused when you decided it was in your best interests to make fun of fat people.

But leave the victims of tragedy alone. Engage in cruelty-free advertising.