The Bullshit Observer

Ads For Penny Arcade Game So Fan-Centric They're Mind Boggling

The name of the game is "On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness" and it's based on the popular, thrice-weekly webcomic named Penny Arcade. It's an interesting sub-culture, this Penny Arcade, where ...apparently.... saying the opposite of what you really think is considered funny and/or poignant. That's why these ads are talking about how horrible their new game is. Because they really think the game is awesome. It's an inside joke.

It makes sense to market the game to your base. But to the exclusion of everyone else?

Here's a little snippet of the game review from Jason O. at GameSpot:

Fans of the popular Web comic Penny Arcade know it to be many things: smart, vulgar, irreverent, vulgar, witty, vulgar, and so on. Those elements are certainly on display in Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode One, a graphical adventure game that features Gabe and Tycho from the comic strip, along with other characters. What’s not so familiar, though, is the setting, an alternate 1920s universe where suburbia, pre-Great Depression America, a lot of weirdness comes together. With the game due out in the second quarter of this year, we got a chance recently to watch an extensive play session that showed everything from character creation to combat to the first boss fight. What we saw will appeal to Penny Arcade fans, however its colorful style and even more colorful humor may strike a chord with those who haven’t read the strip.

Sounds like maybe a good game for anyone with a sense of humor.

If you're going to make an ad for a bidet

...this would be the one to make.

I think, as an advertising creative on the LooLoo, you'd have a hard time getting around the fact that water from the product is supposed to shoot into your privates and that it would have to feel good. The good feeling would have to be quasi-sexual and hence your product gives orgasms. That's just how advertising works. LooLoo automatically equals oooh yeah.

TV: It's Always Funny in Philadelphia

TV Show promos are traditionally pretty lame and uncreative. But this one for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia capture the spirit of the show in a fresh and interesting way: they turn human noises into beat music. I love how the personality of the characters come through without speaking a word (well, mostly). 

It kind of reminds me of this sound effects real by SF agency Ordinary Kids. These guys are milk-out-the-nose funny. 

Absolute Fuck-Up

Absolute Vodka's agency in Mexico  (TBWA) brazenly suggests with this ad that it would have been ideal had Mexico won the Mexican/American war of 1848 instead of America. Now, if you're Mexican, you no doubt would agree. But in a world where images move even more quickly than words around the globe, this was indeed a grande mistake. A mistake the size of, well, California and New Mexico put together. I'd even throw in Nevada.

The Absolut Vodka Company apologized for the ad campaign amid angry calls for a boycott by U.S. consumers and said that the ad was created for a Mexican sensibility and was not meant for the US market.

NO SHIT. Welcome to 2008 fellas.

The photo is among Yahoo!'s top most emailed photos in el mundo.

Bullshit Observer's 500th Post

I started this blog back in 2005 after slogging through five long years of Bush without a place to put my discontent. A sentient being can only withstand so much crap before they either crack, explode or begin to wither. This was, and still is, my way to rage against the machine and institute a small degree of sanity over in my own little tiny nook of the virtual universe.

In short, it's therapy.

As therapy, it has been a huge success. I feel good about these 500 posts. As legitimate opposition to the enormous and omnipresent bullshit producing machines in the world, I will say that it has probably had very little impact. I've only had something like 65,000 page views. But, as Kurt Vonnegut wrote in Slaughterhouse Five, "So it goes."

I am happy that it's out there and that's really all that matters. In fact, from what I've found, I would have had more media popularity if my name was something that media outlets could mention. But that's completely fine with me.

For this 500th post, I wanted to point out ten of my more meaningful (to me) posts.

The Movies Critics Are Raving About: Is about the Hollywood crap machine.

I want to be a little girl when I grow up: is about the female self-image.

God is killing us: is about religion.

Genders: Man-tradiction?: Is about the changing roles of men today.

I'll make you famous: Is about America's fascination with fame and the industries that it has spawned.

Parents Less Upwardly Mobile These Days: Is about the challenge of a modern workplace for people who put parenting first.

America Needs More Springfields: Is about suburban sprawl and the forces that spawn it.

Advertising Needs A New Agency: Is about how the traditional agency flops around in the digital world.

Meet Your Agency: Is a little insight for clients into how their agency really works.

Dear World, Sorry About That: Is my own personal apology to the world on behalf of America.

Enjoy.If you want to comment, feel free. It's nice to know there are people out there sometimes.  I'd be writing here either way though. As I said above, this blog is really more for my sanity than anything else.

Thanks for reading!

The Bullshit Observer

Does anybody care about the truth?

I'm teaching my five year old son about how lying is bad and I'm starting to wonder whether I should just let him do it. Society at large doesn't appear to care about that kind of thing anymore.

The Bush administration made apparently false and misleading statements in court about the White House e-mail controversy, according to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.

The US Army confirms that thousands of soldiers are cheating on online tests for promotions.

At an PR industry event in London, in a poll of the audience of over 260 PR executives, the majority (138) voted against the motion that "PR has a duty to tell the truth."

A new scanning program has identified 76 cases of outright plagiarism among professors (not students) of biomedicine.

Top PR firm, Edelman, was recently outted as having a media training course for execs that states, ""Sometimes, you just have to stand up there and lie.  Make the audience or the reporter believe that everything is ok."

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom noted that during the run up to the 2006 election, his blackberry buzzed almost daily with threat level notifications from the Department of Homeland Security. When the election was over, they stopped.

Maybe it's a result of having two equally passionate sides on both sides of the political spectrum for the past seven years. Or maybe it's because the educational system has broken down to such a degree that it's just too easy and tempting to manipulate the masses for our own gains. Whatever the reason, it seems that American culture has reached a worrying threshold where the constant whirring of our spin cycle completely drowns out the sober voices of truth.

If those voices are even speaking anymore. 

There used to be a time when truth mattered to people. It wasn't simply because of the sentimental notion that truth is honerable. No, it's because truth served a function. In fact, it was one of the lynchpins of our social structure. I would argue that if our society continues to see truth as quaint, or merely preferable to lies, then it will go into decline. Some might say that it's already happening.

It's as if our society has termites. The spin masters get into everything and, with every lie they tell, slowly eat away at the structure. It's gotten to the point where these pests are everywhere we turn. Every news outlet, every politician's speech, every commercial break, every single place you rest your eyeballs there is someone telling you something that ain't exactly true. I'd call an exterminator if I thought they could actually handle a problem of this magnitude.

Furthermore, it's really starting to get in the way of our ability to make decisions and navigate the world. For example, we needed truth in order to make the right decisions about Iraq. Instead we got lies and half-truths which led us to the incorrect decision. Let's invade! Whoops. Now America and Britain are stuck in a bog. Tons of people dead.

Truth iis also vital to our well-being as individuals.

We need to know what to eat, what to drink, where to live, how to dress for the weather, and how close they are to the nearest fault line. Without truth about these matters, we might be drinking water from contaminated springs, eating beef with mad cow disease, dressing for summer on a rainy day and living in a house that's about to slide down a mountain. Wherever there's a buck to be made, it seems, there's someone willing to lie their ass off in order to make it.

My point? Well, just that we, as a people, should care more about the truth. Really really care about it. Put it up on a pedestal and worship the truth. Celebrate the truth. Write songs about the truth.

We cannot survive without it.

With that in mind, we SIMPLY MUST hold the liars accountable for their transgressions. They are assaulting our sense of reality and hindering our ability to operate. Without this accountability, we will lose our bearings as a society and as individuals.

Maybe it's a result of having two equally passionate sides on both sides of the political spectrum for the past seven years. Or maybe it's because the educational system has broken down to such a degree that it's just too easy and tempting to manipulate the masses for our own gains. Whatever the reason, it seems that American culture has reached a worrying threshold where the constant whirring of our spin cycle completely drowns out the sober voices of truth.

If those voices are even speaking anymore. 

There used to be a time when truth mattered to people. It wasn't simply because of the sentimental notion that truth is honerable. No, it's because truth served a function. In fact, it was one of the lynchpins of our social structure. I would argue that if our society continues to see truth as quaint, or merely preferable to lies, then it will go into decline. Some might say that it's already happening.

It's as if our society has termites. The spin masters get into everything and, with every lie they tell, slowly eat away at the structure. It's gotten to the point where these pests are everywhere we turn. Every news outlet, every politician's speech, every commercial break, every single place you rest your eyeballs there is someone telling you something that ain't exactly true. I'd call an exterminator if I thought they could actually handle a problem of this magnitude.

Furthermore, it's really starting to get in the way of our ability to make decisions and navigate the world. For example, we needed truth in order to make the right decisions about Iraq. Instead we got lies and half-truths which led us to the incorrect decision. Let's invade! Whoops. Now America and Britain are stuck in a bog. Tons of people dead.

Truth iis also vital to our well-being as individuals.

We need to know what to eat, what to drink, where to live, how to dress for the weather, and how close they are to the nearest fault line. Without truth about these matters, we might be drinking water from contaminated springs, eating beef with mad cow disease, dressing for summer on a rainy day and living in a house that's about to slide down a mountain. Wherever there's a buck to be made, it seems, there's someone willing to lie their ass off in order to make it.

My point? Well, just that we, as a people, should care more about the truth. Really really care about it. Put it up on a pedestal and worship the truth. Celebrate the truth. Write songs about the truth.

We cannot survive without it.

With that in mind, we SIMPLY MUST hold the liars accountable for their transgressions. They are assaulting our sense of reality and hindering our ability to operate. Without this accountability, we will lose our bearings as a society and as individuals.

Advertising: You Got A Frickin' Problem With That?

(via so good)

According to Michael and Sheri Sucec of Harrisburg, PA where this billboard ran, the word "Frickin'" is a "euphemism for fornication. I assume they are referring to the the word "fucking" which is the verb form of "to fuck" which used to be an acronym meaning "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge," - AKA adultery AKA to have sex with someone who is married to someone else. As you can see, going from the word "Frickin" all the way to illegal fornication is quite a linguistic journey indeed. Not a journey for the faint of heart. No, one must be truly committed to one's over-sensitive moral sensibilities to embark on such a journey.

As you may have already guessed, Mr. Sucec is a bible thumping street preacher.

The PA-based gas station/convenience store chain Sheetz, whose ad agency created the billboard, has issued a blanket apology for it. One of the billboards was removed in Hazle Township, near Hazleton. So all you Hazelton folks are just going to have to go back to choking down your shitty frickin chicken from now on.

The Smart Car's New Ad Is, Well...

Smart car meets smart advertising. They playfully turn a huge negative - their cars have no backseat - into a humorous positive. No place for the guy who's going to kill you to hide. Just brilliant.

Jackie Moon's Un-official Superbowl Ad - Director's Cut

I love this comedic twist on the boring (no matter what you have them wear, do, or say) celebrity endorsement ads. The :30 that ran in the big game did not, and probably can not, do justice to this genre of parody. This longer version captures the brazen arrogance, under-developed intellect, and spoiled nature of celebrities.

Although one could argue that this is just another version of the George Bush impressions that Will Ferrel does for Saturday Night Live. But then again, if the shoe still fits...

What's so smart about this ad is not in the comedy, but the fact that they created an ad that works for Bud Light AND a new upcoming Will Ferrell movie called Semi-Pro. The movie is coming out February 29th (didn't know it was a leap year). Here's the synopsis.

Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the American Basketball Association's Flint Michigan Tropics, rallies his teammates to make their NBA dreams come true.

No comment.

Will Ferrell Bud Light Commercial - Watch more free videos

America runs on coffee & donuts? Maybe that's our problem.

I'll come right out and say it: I'm not a huge fan of Dunkin' Donuts' "America Runs on Dunkin'" campaign.

We know they're not being serious, and yet even joking about the fact that our country couldn't operate without their product just makes me feel queasy - kinda like I feel after eating two of their chocolate covered old fashions. It's just so self-absorbed. Which brings me to another point, and that's the implication that America couldn't operate, couldn't get anything done, without fried dough with sugar sprinkles and mass-produced coffee. I mean given how the human physiology reacts to these things the campaign kinda borders on the irrational.

Am I being too hard on Hill Holiday, the agency that created the campaign? Here's their take on the campaign:

The America that we’re talking about here are the everyday folks who get things done. They’re unpretentious, comfortable just being themselves, and like to order their coffee in small, medium or large, thank you very much. They’re busy people who use Dunkin’ to get fueled up for work or play. They don’t have time to linger, because they’ve got things to do. But they do like to have fun. This is their brand.

I get it. The anti-Starbucks. Not sure how they got to America runs on Dunkin from that though. It might be true that America needs its coffee and prefers it without a spoonful of pretense. However, it's quite a leap to say that the American people get their essential, daily fuel from from Dunkin Donuts and Dunkin Coffee. You know, given the food pyramid and all - and the fact that bear claws and large coffee doesn't appear anywhere on said pyramid. It's not a food group? 

And aren't donuts like the opposite of fuel?

Look at their nutritional information (oxymoron) if you dare. Twenty grams of fat and 2,000 calories, in some cases, per donut. Not to mention the fact that the ingredients list, in ten point type, is probably bigger than the donut it's referring to and contains few words that the average American would know.   

Look, I know it's easy to criticize and hard to create. I get that. But every now and then the creators and the clients and everyone else gets a little carried away with themselves. And I think it's got to be someone's job to point that out - for the good of the whole. They might say that the campaign has been wildly successful. Okay. If so, good for you. But that doesn't change the fact that it's been littering our landscape with bullshit for ten months now.