Kiss And Make Up...

WAAAAAAAH holy freakout people!! Men kissing, politicians, clothing stores, legal action, the world ending!?! (Last part's just for dramatic effect. Saw Melancholia a few days ago and it's still on my mind)

Why this massive hysteria? Let's get right to it peeps...

Yesterday, Benetton Group, a popular Italian-based clothing company, released this outdoor campaign, and let me tell you, the world is going bonkers. Take a look at the ads for yourselves:

Wow, right? But the one below is causing the most controversy out of all of them, and after only one day up it's already been taken down. Why? I'll let you take one wild guess: 

WHOA Pope!

The whole campaign was designed by 72andSunny to promote Benetton's Unhate Foundation, targeted to "contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, to combat hatred, building on Benetton's underpinning values." Based on the 1979 photo of East Germany leader Erich Honecker and Soviet Union leader Leonid Brezhnev, the company doctored photos of the leaders having a loving moment without permission by any them (which is a huge no-no, but seriously, there is no way in hell any of them would get permission. Just imagine them going to the Pope and saying, "Hi, yeah, would it be okay if we...") The ads were put up around Rome, Paris, New York, Milan, and Tel Aviv.

After these outdoor ads were released and everyone pretty much crapped their pants, Benetton Group SpA deputy chairman Alessandro Benetton told WSJ, "It means not hating. In a moment of darkness, with the financial crisis, what's going on in North Africa countries, in Athens, this is an attitude we can all embrace that can have positive energy." Their blog also has a full description about what this campaign is going for.

I have no idea where to start with the controversy of these ads. Yes, five out of six of these feature two men kissing, but the question I have is, are people upset by the fact two men are kissing or the fact of who is kissing whom? Right now, the one with the Pope kissing imam Ahmed el Tayyeb is getting the most attention, and understandably so. It's the only one that has been taken down, and Benetton has even apologized for the fact that "the image had so hurt the sensibilities of the faithful." So let's say the Pope ad was not a part of the mix and was never released, would the fact that two men were locking lips cause a ruckus?  I think so, but I'm not sure it would get the amount of worldwide attention it's getting now. The video they released with this campaign features same-sex couples, but it's only one of many factors to this amazing video. Check it out below:

 

Some people accuse Benetton of creating these ads just to cause this controversy to brand the company. Ummm...you're damn right that's what they're doing! I do think they're kinda pulling a MMS with these ads and just doing it for shock value, but at least now people are talking about it and have these thoughts and images in their heads to think about. This isn't the first time Benetton has come out with controversial ads, including the one below depicting a priest and a nun kissing:

Okay, this is one I HAVE to open the floor. What do you all think? Do you think it's an issue of same-sex kissing or who is featured in the ad? Do you think Benetton took it too far or people are overreacting? 

Also, shout out to my girls Nanda and Darya for their contributions!


UPDATE: Here's a clip from our girls at The View talking about their, well, views on this ad. It's a great depiction of the many different types of reactions this campaign is getting. 

Vodka Soaked PUN-kins for Halloween!

Ah Halloween...one of the greatest holidays in NYC where all the citizens of the land have an excuse to drink rum with a splash of apple cider while dressed as "scantily clad" versions of their favorite 1980's cartoon characters...AND for some gay-themed ads! Who knew?!

On Saturday, I was making bi-weekly trip to my boyfriend Trader Joe's house to pick up some gourmet-for-broke-people food (Side note: Go on a Saturday during the day. It's dead and the shelves are P-P-P-PACKED! Mama's now got enough frozen pesto pizzas to hibernate until June 2013) Anyway, right as I was about to walk in I found this ad below:

Hey Rokk Vodka! As you can see, this ad is to promote their orange flavored vodka for the Halloween season. Before we talk about this ad, we should note that for the past year Rokk has had a partnership with GLAAD, creating ads that promote both products at the same time. The one below is their main ad that also won a GLAAD Amplifier Award (obvi):

And here's a window display I found at a local liquor store in the West Village :

So now that we have that little tidbit of history, let's talk about the halloween ad. Here's the thing, mama loves a good pun (example: the title of this blog), but this ad just seems a little too puny. "Orange you GLAAD it's Halloween?" Eh? EH? Get it? Like, okay, whoa, slow down partner...

I think if a pun is done well, it can work and be creative. But I also think some advertisements in general take the easy way out with puns, and I don't think this ad is any different. Their previous headline "Filtering Out Inequality" I really enjoyed. Relates to the product as well as the cause...wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Not saying the Halloween ad doesn't, but it just seems a little obvious to me. What I do like about this ad are the rainbow rays behind each flavored bottle, which this is the first time I've seen Rokk do in their ads. Cool way to show the flavors while mixing in the rainbow/"we're here for the gays" theme.

Regardless of this wah-wah headline, I think it's great to partner with GLAAD and cross promote with these ads. Not only is it loud and proud about promoting to gays, but they're getting the word about GLAAD out there that GLAAD might not be able to do otherwise. Before, I questioned if their ads were just going for the gay dollar...BUUUUT with this ad they have a QR code to their Facebook page. If you like it, they'll donate a dollar to the GLAAD! Damn, okay Rokk, way to be!

So what does everyone think? Do you think their headline for the Halloween ad is cute or a little easy? Are you GLAAD they did it? (Sorry, I had to go with the theme) What do you think about the other ads?

And if you haven't seen this SNL skit about Sex And The City and puns, it's very fitting this post...

Goooooin To The Storage Unit, And We're...

Okay, here’s a fun story to share with you all. Well…perhaps the actual story isn’t fun, but know I’m listening to Beyonce while typing this, so I’m having fun. AAANYway, this summer I was walking to Chelsea Piers (for all the people that actually live outside of NYC, it’s the Mall of America of sports complexes) for some driving range action. Yes, driving range…I couldn’t believe it myself. Well, right as I was about to enter, I saw this ad:

Again, for those who are sane and don’t live in NYC, Manhattan Mini Storage is a popular storage company in the city where people can, well, store things. Got it? Amazballs…

The copy for the ad boldly reads, "If you don't like gay marriage, don't get gay married." Damn. Amen. Preach MMS. (that’s right, we’re on a abbreviation basis.)  

So, when I first read this, my initial reaction was, “Wow, what a great thing to say in an ad! Good for you MMS!” (Actually my first thought was that Whoopie Goldburg says this all the time on The View...) Then I thought, “Wait, what does gay marriage have anything to do with storage?” Finally, it got to, “Wow, way to just put something out there just to get the gay dollar.” So, all in all, I was confused.

For me, just looking at this ad it’s not very clear on what MMS was trying to do. I always feel that an ad should sell the product cause, I mean, that’s what they are made to do. I just don’t really see the connection with the gay marriage line and the actual product. MMS has always put out somewhat “controversial” copy in their ads and a few that deal with current issues, which I think is amazing, but the other ads bring it back to the product. Here are some samples below: 

However, they have also created other politically charged ads that don't talk about the product at all. Below is one about Michele Bachmann: 

After looking a little more into the gay marriage ad, I found this blurb on MMS’s website. The ad is part of a much larger marketing campaign that included MMS workers taking pictures and congratulating newlyweds at City Hall the day gay marriage became legal, handing out free storage to the couples (which is obviously on every gay couples registry), and posting videos and updates on both Facebook and Twitter throughout the day. Here are the videos that were posted:

So here’s what I have to say. Based on the ad alone, which is probably the only thing most people will see, does it sound like MMS is just making a bold statement to get the gay dollar? Yes. Put it with the whole campaign of “What Is Love” and their past support for the gay community does it seem like they’re only going for the gay dollar? No. Listen, anyone that puts an ad geared towards the LGBT community is putting it out there to get money. That’s what ads are for. But there are companies that do go above and beyond the advertising to show their support for the community, and I think that’s what MMS is doing. I think the ad would’ve been better if the tagline connected with the product more, or it made it a little clearer on MMS’s intention. But, I also think it’s just MMS’s way of putting it out there that they simply support gay marriage as a company, period.

So, let’s open it up. Do you think this ad is MMS’s way of ONLY getting the gay dollar or do you think it’s a bold political statement that more companies should be showing their support for?

Source, Source, aaaand Source