TresSugar

Flashback: 1965 Ad For the "Tummy Television"

TresSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:30:00 -0700

This five-inch TV will stay flicker-free - "even if you jiggle when you laugh." Smaller tummy? Buy the four-inch set! Have a wife? Give her the free "earplug" Tummy Television provides. They really do think of everything.

Get the full text after the jump

1960s United Airlines Ad: Bring Your Wife, Get a Discount

TresSugar — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:00:00 -0700

Advertising from the '60s has a bad rap for always being targeted to men. Mad Men proved this last Sunday when Peggy says a beautiful woman throwing herself at a camera is not going to sell diet soda to its audience - women. Don replies, you know how this works: men want her, so women want to be her.

But this ad is really for the ladies! "Take me along - if you love me!" badgers the jingle while housewives magically change from dowdy house dresses to fun, stewardess-like ones. And it doesn't just sell a dream, it sells a discount. "If you take your wife along on United," the commercial says, "we'll give you up to one-third off her fare." It's like she's a child.

Three's a Crowd: Is the Vampire Diaries Ad Too Suggestive?

TresSugar — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:00:06 -0700

For a network known for teen-centric shows, the CW raises more than a few eyebrows with its decidedly adult ads. Last year, it was the OMFG Gossip Girl ads, and now there's hubbub over its campaign for The Vampire Diaries, a teen vampire drama that debuts Sept. 10.

Specifically, the above ad - with the strategically placed boys (let me guess, one's a vampire, the other's not?!) - suggests a ménage à trois. Love does suck! Has the CW gone too far, or is this just the blood a new show needs?

Flashback: 5 Shockingly Sexist Ads

TresSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:30:00 -0700

Wow, no matter how many we've seen, or how the years pass, these ads never get old. How could they? Not when they espouse such true and tried, stand-the-test-of-time messages like your husband will lock your doubtful, inhibited, ignorant self out if you don't wash your privates with Lysol. Timeless!

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Tampons and Maxi Pads: A Walk Down Memory Lane

TresSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:15:00 -0700

Whether you call it your Moon Time or the Curse, if you're a woman, you have to contend with a monthly period. Let's take a look at how advertising sold its pads and 'pons to women of yore. Whether it was through distraction (hey, look, a pretty dress!) or through the rhetoric of freedom, advertisers did their best to sell a product women have never really been thrilled to buy.

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Bank in Argentina Wants Your Money and Your Tolerance

TresSugar — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:00:32 -0700

Argentina's Banco Provincia wants you to know it treats all people the same. In this forward thinking ad the bank's acceptance of a transgender woman prompts an old man (who also uses the bank) to accept her, too. The final message that splashes across the screen translates as: "Your life changes when there's a bank disposed to change." It's a little cheesy, but I can't help but feel touched by this spot. That's pretty crazy, considering this is an ad for typically unemotional bank services!

Casting Call: Looking For Anti-Gay Fameballs, or Actors

CitizenSugar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:07:27 -0700

Remember those sad faces this morning, saying how people getting gay married were ruining their straight married lives? OK, lives may be hyperbolic - probably just acting careers. The Human Rights Campaign dug up audition reels from the National Organization for Marriage's new ad campaign opposing gay marriage, proving beliefs can be bought.

How many people can say "I'm a California doctor who has to decide between my faith and my job"? You're about to find out!

To see the second part, read more.

More in Misguided Obama Ads: Russia Gets It Wrong

CitizenSugar — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:30:17 -0700

Busy week on the unintentionally-racist-foreign-marketing beat! An ad agency in Russia unveiled the racially flavored ad of our week. But like Germany, Russia didn't mean it. It meant, a black is in the White House. Yay! Not, a black is in the white, oh, nevermind. Пизданутый!

Lighten Up! Indiana Casino Bets Obama Will Bring Gamblers

CitizenSugar — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:00:38 -0700

In honor of the Indiana Live! Casino's grand opening, advertisers created a TV ad featuring an endorsement by someone who sounds a lot like Barack Obama. The fake-Obama voiceover says: "Months ago we began the work of making sure that the Indiana! Live Casino is superior to anything that existed in Indiana. Years from now, you will say this was the place where Indiana remembered what it means to have fun."

You may not be able to watch this ad on TV anymore, since the Obama administration asked for the campaign to be pulled, but you can watch it here. Is it just me, or does the gambling Obama's voice sound a little bit like Bill Clinton's?

Briefing Book! NBC Rejects Obama/Abortion Super Bowl Ad

LibertySugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:30:20 -0800

Abortion: NBC rejects Obama/aboriton ad that claims unwanted babies can grow up to be president, just like Obama. CatholicVote was ready to spend $1.5 million to air it during Super Bowl. - Jezebel
Technology: "I'm sorry for any incontinence." How spell check wreaks havoc. - Good
Japan: The cash-based society. - J-List Side Blog
Alaska: State braces for volcanic eruption. - Huffington Post
Condi Rice: Condi's back! ex-secretary of state returns to Stanford to teach politics. - SFist