Strollerderby : ads

I Like Square Butts

SunnyChanel — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:33:00 GMT

I enjoy a rendition of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Baby Got Back as much as the next gal. But when pairing this ode to the gluteus maximus with a kid’s meal and a popular cartoon character my PC meter flies into the red.

Fast food behemoth Burger King debuted a new TV ad this week that pairs Spongebob Square Pants with Sir Mix-A-Lot in a version of Baby Got Back that declares “I like square butts.” The ad takes a song that is intrinsically sexual and markets it to children. The King, of burgers that is, sings about his love of square butts and how he wants to “get with” Spongebob. The once round female behinds have been enhanced with phone books stuffed into spandex outfits to give a more Spongebob Square pants allure, but as Sir Mix-A-Lot says at the end of the ad “Booty is booty.”

I am not alone in questioning the taste level of marketing square booties to the kids. The Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood has taken offense to the commercial as well. The CCFC director, Susan Linn, stated: "It's bad enough when companies use a beloved media character like SpongeBob to promote junk food to children, but it's utterly reprehensible when that character simultaneously promotes objectified, sexualized images of women."

The ad does totally bring the crazy. And yes, it’s amusing in it’s wild nature. Fortunately the long version of the ad is not the one being played on kid’s channels. The full length version aired during the NCAA men's basketball championship. But still using a song based on a sexual predilection and Spongebob does really begs the question ‘what were they thinking’.

Are you offended or amused by the ad?

Source

Would You Buy the Baby Mop?

SunnyChanel — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Baby Mop from Chris Milk on Vimeo.

Admit it, you’ve totally thought about it. At one point, you’ve wanted to turn your child into a household cleaning tool. My guess is that a large majority of parents out there have had that fleeting moment when they see their little baby squirming around the floor and thought, “I should turn my kid into a living mop”.

Now for those of you who haven’t flirted with this idea don’t get your panties in a bunch, the print ad for the “product” says:

"There's no child exploitation involved. The kid is doing what he does best anyway, crawling. But with Baby Mop he's also learning responsibility and a healthy work ethic."

But don’t try to rush out and buy one. There is no info on where and how to buy it, so maybe it’s just a joke/dream. Alas. Check out the hilarious ad above, which was directed by Chris Milk who directed a hit video for Gnarls Barkley.

If this product was available for purchase, would you buy one?

Barbie Teaches Kids About Obesity

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:30:00 GMT

A new ad campaign by an organization called the Active Life Movement is relying on the paragons of impossible beauty to teach kids about the perils of obesity. Since toys like Barbie really encourage healthy body images and lifestyles….

The goal of the Active Life Movement is laudable—to encourage kids to be active and healthy—but this ad campaign is certainly not serving that goal. As Jezebel points out, toys like Barbie and Superman hardly have body types that kids should be striving for. (Check out the superhero version of the ad here.)

And the ads’ tag line—“Keep obesity away from your child”—is unnecessarily harsh, making it sound as if being overweight is a contagious disease. Being healthy does not necessarily mean being thin, just as being thin does not necessarily mean being healthy. I would hope that the epidemic of eating disorders among increasingly young kids has taught us that by now.

This ad is the visual equivalent of shouting at kids, “Don’t be fat! Be beautiful! Or else everyone will hate you!” Active Life Movement, I suggest sending your creative directors back to the drawing board.

Photo: AdFreak.com

New Mom Jessica Alba Poses in Campari Calendar

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:30:00 GMT

To the right we have a skimpily clad Jessica Alba, posing with a cocktail just six months after the birth of her baby. You might be thinking, “What’s the big deal? Yet another celebrity with a personal trainer and a personal stylist looks like a model mere months after giving birth. Who cares?” You may have a point.

Or this photo shoot may be a little different—because when Campari’s photographer chose Alba for their 2009 calendar, he was not thinking about showing off her “post-baby bod.” He was simply looking for someone who could best, ah, embody Campari’s mission of bringing its customers “twelve months of pure Red Passion.”

Putting aside my personal feelings about Jessica Alba (and the absurdly liberal use of photoshop in these pictures), I found myself interested in the 2009 Campari calendar for its blatant sexualization of a new mother. I’m certainly no proponent of sexualizing new moms (or any young women) to sell a product, but I found myself wondering if there was something a tiny bit cool about the media’s willingness to view sexiness as independent of motherhood (inasmuch as any impossible-standards-of-beauty marketing can be cool).

Then again, no media outlet that has covered the story so far has refrained from oohing and ahhing over Alba’s amazingly slender, yet curvaceous “post-baby bod.”

What do you think: yet another example of making women feel that they should be both devoted mothers and fit, sexy women, or an example of a decidedly sleazy campaign widening, ever so slightly, the definitions of sexiness and motherhood?

Photo: Jezebel

Bad Baby Ads; Just What Are They Selling?

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:28:00 GMT

If I hadn't read the story over at Gawker -- or seen the logo flashed at the end of the commercial -- I would have guessed, oh, say, diapers. But no, they're selling jeans. Wranglers jeans.

When you think Wranglers, do you think crawling baby?

You tell me -- is this just odd?

Santa Claus says: Smoke More

Brett Singer — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:45:00 GMT

Well, that's what he used to say. Check out some of these vintage cigarette ads that were recently profiled in the New York Times.

Of the numerous cancer stick advertisements that now look completely ridiculous, my favorite are these two.

First, the baby:

Yes, I wish my kids would tell me to smoke more.

And of course, there's Santa Claus:

Clearly Santa's throat was scratchy from spending all that time in chimneys. Not the Pall Malls.

Source/images: NYTimes

iPhone app for nursing, diapers, wedding day

YOU say: I got fooled (update to "They USED to say: give babies cola")

Mom finds hairy Goldilocks in 2 year old's bed

More stuff my 3 year old broke

Enormous baby sculpture

Stuff my 3 year old broke

It all started when Mary needed a laxative

Brett Singer — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Old advertisements are the gift that keeps on giving.

Take this gem, posted on BoingBoing, found originally at the Learning 2 Share blog. A few favorite lines:

"It all started when Mary needed a laxative."
"I'd seen those laxative tantrums before."
"I asked [the school nurse] for advice. She knows so much more about children."
"All mothers should think more about the laxative they give their children…Forcing a child to take a bad-tasting laxative can shock her delicate nervous system."
And, once mom tries the product, Fletcher's Castoria:
"[Mary] hugged me and said I was the best mommy in the world!"

And of course, "it all started when Mary needed a laxative."

Because, you see, if you don't give your child a good tasting laxative, you are a crappy parent. No pun intended.

source: boingboing, via learning2share

5 ways to get revenge on your kids

5 things that would make parents' lives easier

Son stabs father over haircut

Is it ever OK to hit your kids?

Baby Penis Album only five bucks

Kids Stuff I like that my kids don't care about

More stuff YUPPIE parents like

The Dark Knight -- parents strongly cautioned (to go see it)

When playgrounds attack, the sequel

Man locks daughters in cage while he works

TV Marketers (Wisely) Turn to Mommy Bloggers

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 16 May 2007 16:37:00 GMT

Marketers have finally discovered the unique genius of appealing to the blogosphere. Mommy bloggers in particular. We're a virally communicatin' bunch. Plus, we're not afraid to show skin in support of a breastfeeding starlet or 10, or promote a TV show if it comes to that.

Yvonne Marie, author of Joy Unexpected and contributor to Babble's new blog (coming soon), was interviewed by the on-line Wall Street Journal recently about her involvement with promoting the TV show "New Adventures of Old Christine."

As media types get more savvy about the importance of word on the street and person-to-person marketing, blogging will become an increasingly important element in public outreach. It's only a matter of time until blogs become the go-to PR machine for all things fabulous and new and sparkly.

[Photo Credit: Wall Street Journal]