Putin-branded beer is "#NotForGays"

brewdog.com

In an amusing contribution to discussions about Russia's legalized homophobia and the Sochi Winter Olympics, a Scottish craft brewery has launched a beer that takes pot shots at the Russian President.

From their blog:

Hello, my name is Vladimir. I am a beer for uber hetero men who ride horses while topless and carrying knives. I am a beer to mark the 2014 Winter Olympics. But I am not for gays. Love wrestling burly men on the Judo mat or fishing in your Speedos? Then this is the beer for you!

brewdog.com

Complete with faux-Warhol portraits of Vladimir Putin, the campaign for the limited edition beer has taken to Twitter with the spoof hashtag #notforgays

@brewdog 10/10.
— Master of Malt (@MasterOfMalt) February 4, 2014

All report of subversion in bar are lie from homosexual media. Morale strong like President's bare torso. #NotForGays pic.twitter.com/fRb1E6KQC3
— BrewDog Camden (@BrewDogCamden) February 4, 2014

The Russian Consulate didn't want the beer I brought them so I just left it on their doorstep #NotForGays @brewdog pic.twitter.com/aDAjFk3iA2
— Calvin McDonald (@CalvinMcD) February 4, 2014

On a serious note, the brewery writes:

The sick, twisted legislation brought about in Russia that prevents people from living their true lives is something we didn't want to just sit back and not have an opinion on. Our core beliefs are freedom of expression, freedom of speech and a dogged (no pun intended) passion for doing what we love. Thus, we are donating 50% of the profits from this beer to charitable organisations that support like minded individuals wishing to express themselves freely without prejudice.

H/T The Drum

13 most popular posts of 2013

Since starting this bog, almost five years ago,  I've been working to find my niche among ad bloggers.

I'm still working on it. As you'll see from the list below, scandal still "sells" the most clicks online. While I don't purposely write for linkbait, I've learned my lesson about the SEO dangers of putting the words "teen," "sexting" and "nudity" in the same headline. I have a feeling I disappointed a few creeps with that one...


#13 This is how you do sex in advertising

I was a little worried at first, with the lesbian fetish cliché of the two women kissing, but when bethonged spokesman Brandon Allen gets in bed with the threesome, the ad achieves a kind of self-deprecating charm and irony.


#12 No, this is not a "real" Russian Tampax ad

This nasty little clip, which is making the viral rounds of HuffPo, LiveLeak, etc., is not a "Russian Tampax Ad". According to its own YouTube "about" section, it's a promotional video for the bizarre mess known as "Movie 43".


#11 Can this kind of teaser campaign still be effective?

It's like a combination of the fictional Gabbo! campaign from The Simpsons and early meme site Zombo.com.

So what is it for? I'm not that curious, really. I'm more interested in seeing if such an old-school teaser campaign can still work, without either being prematurely outed or simply forgotten about before it reaches critical mass.


#10 This push-up bra gag has been done before

Seem familiar? You might be thinking of a similar Dutch campaign, starring Andrej Pejić, from a couple of years ago.


#9 Travel campaign offers a brutal take on mob mentality — but is it for real?

To me, this is another example of belief in the stupid old adage that there's "no such thing as bad publicity".  There is... for brands. It's the creative teams and agencies that really benefit from these "edgy" campaigns, as the ad community congratulates them for convincing someone else to pay for another self-serving attempt at notoriety.

#8 Billboard celebrating "remarkable women" shows only men

The men are all donors to the campaign. Which is great. And the campaign itself is a good one. But the paternalism of the billboard, even if unintentional, is baffling.

#7 This could be the worst Facebook ad of all time

If you don't recognize the face in the ad, that's Rehtaeh Parsons, a Canadian teen who committed suicide last April after being raped at a party while too intoxicated to consent, and experiencing extreme online sexual harassment and abuse when photos of the crime were circulated among her peers.

Whether the company used the photo accidentally or on purpose is unknown. The web site the ad directs to is no longer online.

#6 Advertising rape culture in anti-rape campaigns

Victim-blaming. It's ugly, it's hurtful, and it's doing nothing to stop people from raping other people.

In the aftermath of the Steubenville rape trial, in which two teenage men were convicted of raping and humiliating an unconscious teenage woman, it's time we had another look at what these supposedly-helpful ads are saying. 

#5 Pussy Riot appropriated again, this time by Vanessa Hudgens

I've written before, both here and on Osocio, about the appropriation of anarcho-feminist group Pussy Riot's knitted balaclava brand. Here's the latest sighting, from former Disney star Vanessa Hudgens'  '$$$ex' Teaser Video.

#4 Low-fat cheese brand makes fun of diet industry clichés aimed at women 

More and more brands are realizing that the best way to reach women is to make fun of the way everyone else tries to reach women.

The menstruation products industry has been doing this for years. Fashion, too. So low-cal foods might as well get into the action. And who knows cheese better than a cheese manufacturer?

#3 This vintage ad illustration makes photoshopped ads look realistic by comparison

Portraying unrealistic body types in ads and fashion is nothing new.

#2 "You're not the first" to do this awful, sexist concept, either

Aston Martin says in their blog that the ad is fake. But it's been done for real, several times.

#1 Parenting magazine shock advertises with "teen" sexting image (partial nudity)

Don't panic — it's an ad. The models are obviously adults. But is using a titillating image a good idea, even if it's saying "we're against that sort of thing"? It's as if the all-male creative team at Jung von Matt were a little too into this one. As a result, in my opinion, they just end up contributing to the problem of adults fetishizing teen sexuality.

Well, that's it for 2013. Happy New Year, and thanks for reading.

No, this is not a "real" Russian Tampax ad

This nasty little clip, which is making the viral rounds of HuffPo, LiveLeak, etc., is not a "Russian Tampax Ad". According to its own YouTube "about" section, it's a promotional video for the bizarre mess known as "Movie 43".

Not to say that admen are above using the "shark week" gag for a Tampax ad:

Leo Burnett France, circa 2007 (via AOTW)

Jennifer Lawrence on her Photoshopped self: "people don’t look like that"

Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence may be selling out for fashion, but at least she's honest:

"Oh my god, I haven’t seen this. That doesn’t look like me at all. I love Photoshop more than anything in the world. Of course it’s Photoshop, people don’t look like that." 

Images via Huffpo

Jennifer Lawrence is the new face of Dior handbags. And now the star of this popular fake Dior ad:

About the fall, Ms. Lawrence told reporters, "What went through my mind when I fell down? A bad word that I can't say that starts with 'F'"

So, she's celebrated for being great at what she does, and yet she's self-effacingly funny. That's pretty cool.

F'd Ad Fridays: Real ad spoofs parodies

With so many commercial spoofs going viral, is it any surprise that real advertisers are wrapping their ads in faux parody?

Here's a prime example:



Blade Buddy is a real product, apparently direct marketed. And this is just an attempt to break out of infomercial hell? Will it work? Your call.


Via Buzzfeed

F'd Ad Fridays: The Tug Toner

Jimmy Kimmel takes "jerkout" fitness technology to its logical conclusion:



Hilarious.

The Terminator is on your Twitter, seeking out Sarah Connor

The T-800 is approaching every Sarah on Twitter, looking for Sarah Connor.

He will never find her, though. He spells her name wrong.

He also Tweets in Binary, presumably to other robot assassins from the future.

And when he encounters human resistance?

F'd Ad Fridays: E-Trade Baby spoof is a decent PSA

Watch it while you can (although it's been up since April):