More publicity for A Private Affair

"What are these things on my pants?"

If you live in Winnipeg, chances are you’ve seen this ad on billboards or in newspapers for the past month or so. – An initiative by the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba; there’s no denying that their intentions were good, but their execution has resulted in a campaign that conveys a message opposite to what I think was intended.

I’m not sure exactly what it is that bothers me about it the most, but I’ll list the problems in no particular order:

1) The font selection.

“Hey, is that arial?”

Yes, yes it is.

2) The obviously insistent usage of the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.

“I don’t care what’s in this ad, but the Las Vegas sign must be incorporated!”

“But sir, the font is cramped, there’s a large gap of white space at the bottom and the grammar resembles something that would come out of Tarzan’s mouth!”

“Clean out your desk, Johnson.”

3) The “Whoopsie-doodle!” look of ineptitude on the face of our handsome model. I mean, talk about trivializing an otherwise very serious problem. He might as well have a word balloon beside his mouth that features the word “Gorsh!”. The guy just spent all his rent money playing the one-armed bandit and all he can emote is something equivalent to an “Aw shucks!”?

Maybe if he thought about how his girlfriend is going to dump him and how he’s going to have to sleep in a Maytag box and whore himself out for a half-eaten sandwich he might be able to take the issue a little more seriously and thus express himself accordingly. As it stands, he’s just another flawed specimen in an ad campaign that misses the mark with its messaging and feels very “local” in its design.

For an example on how to properly gear a message such as this, look no further than the terrific ads recently released by Habitat for Humanity.

Check it out

That's a whole lotta kindling.

On the final topic of Archie comics, I might as well confess that although I do own a large collection of more mature and less embarrassing graphic novels and comics (some of which I’ll profile in later articles), I do own a sizable collection of Archie comics digests – amassed over years of casual purchasing and inheriting. Most of them are used, and feature crossword puzzles that have already been completed and names of the little girls who once owned them scribbled on the inside cover. In fact, I usually would go out of my way to find used, older Archie digest issues over newer ones as they often featured:

a) More detailed art.
b) More stories and less advertising.
c) Funnier, less PC content.
And
d) Sexism not seen anywhere in today’s issues.

However, never would I have thought that I would have to buy a NEW issue to find racism. Read the rest of this entry »

"Get in shape, wussy!"

The second ad is not so much art-related, but is worth sharing as it emphasizes how things have changed since 1978, which is when it was featured in an issue of “Archie’s TV Laugh-out”.

Upon first glance it seems harmless enough: mail away a coupon to the address provided and a balding, near-naked man who apparently has explosives in his biceps will send you a book on how to be less of a sissy. What caught my eye in the midst of his sales pitch was the following sentence:

“Face it, unless you do something about it, your body gets worse; day by day it gets uglier!”

Nothing like telling kids in the most awkward and insecure stages of their lives that they’re ugly and need to do something about it. Well… kids, and 30+-year-old men who still read Archie comics, that is.

"And you get smellier too!"

Next issue: "How to clean your navel"

I was at home the other day, doing what most people do when they get a moment of free time – reading Archie comics, when I came across a couple of advertising jems I thought I’d share.

You know how Archie is concerned about tooth decay and maintaining proper oral health, right? Oh yes, it’s his one of his many initiatives along with warning us how “drugs are UNcool!” and how to do the “Fruit Slush Mush”.

In this full-size 1986 issue of “Archie and Me”, Archie slips past security to get some batting tips from New York Yankee Dave Winfield, but gets a lesson on Oral Health by a botox-injected Eddie Murphy look-alike instead.

Seriously, could they not afford a photoshoot with the real Dave Winfield? Or even a copy of Sports Illustrated to reference? It looks like the artist just dug out his Eddie Murphy album “Boogie In Your Butt” and copied the cover art verbatum in every panel Dave is featured in.

"Hey, isn't that Dave Winfield?

They didn’t even compensate for facial expressions as every instance has Dave looking like someone dropped a squirrel down his pants. In real life, a similar situation might look something like this:

"Haha! This is almost as good as Family Circus!"