WTF!?!

Um... what the hell is this? Axe Seduction Spot. Right beneath the f***ing crack-square of Helsinki? Sadly enough I didn't get a shot of the spot when one of the many alcoholilc subway station-hangarounds we have around here stood there scratching his more private parts. Seductive, indeed.

But seriously. What the hell is the point with that particular spot? Yeah yeah I get the thing with all women falling for the axe man. Sure the Axe-ads are a bit sexist, but since they've been made with some humor before I think they've been ok (as you can actually pull off pretty much with a little but of self-sarcasm and a lot of humor). I'm not too sure about these chocolate ads though. Ok, the girls look kind of hot yes but I'm not sure about all this face-smeared-with chocolate and at the same time saying that if you (you the man that is) will be as irresistble as choclate with the new Axe. Girls are just going to want to smear themselves with you, ehrm?

Ok, I'll let those printed ads be without further analyzing them but I just can't let the seduction spot go.

Last year Idols had a similar ad as in an "idols-spot" infront of a poster with the judges saying "go ahead". The point was pretty clear there and I thought that kind of interaction in street advertisement was rather brilliant. But this one...I mean what, do they have some axe-pheromones secretly sipping out from somewhere around this spot? Or are you just supposed to stand there being all seducted by the chicks in the ad infront of you? Should you wait there for someone to seduce you or what -should a guy stand there and wait for the bitches to come, or is it ment to be the other way around? Will the Axe customer service be overfolated with letter a couple of years from now with happy couples thanking axe for their seduciton spot "now we have a house and volvo and a baby and a golden retriver toghether and even get jiggy with it a couple of times a week since the man in the house smells so damn seductive still"?

HEY GIRLS, ARE YOU THIRSTY?

Sometimes it makes me wonder how big companies, whose budgets for marketing are so huge it's hard to realize, still end up with so crappy commercials and printed ads. Sure, the aestethics of advertisements varies a bit between the continents and also between countries, but some ads are just very stupid, or very ygly. I've comt to noticed that a lot of these bad ads are the ones ment for women.

Here's what I see as a great example of a wtf!?-ad:


On the first glance there seems to be nothing badly wrong with it. Obivously, it's not great graphic design, but hey, it's only an ad for the most bought soda in the world, people are going to buy it anyway. But on a closer look, it's full of small annoying details. This ad is clearly made for the female soda drinkers - it's light. Guys only drink cocacola zero so they'll stay cool when they run in to their exes and get all the women around to turn in to hot strippers when they're breaking up with their soon-to-be exes.

But back to this ad for some close-ups:

"Message: Lunch". OK. So they want to tell you that cola light is great for when you're having lunch and want to drink something without sugar that's not water for example. Fine. But come on, why does it actually have to be in the ad that these ladies had to sms each other about having lunch. And what's up with all the small sms-icons flying around? Did they send many messages back and fort before they decied on where to go or what. See, these cool girls had so many options. Or maybe it just symbolizes the text message making its way through the, eh, mobile network or whatever.


But first of course, they went shopping. That's what all women want to do before lunch.


These awsome girls (drawn quite badly, like vectors from the nineties), are having a lot of fun while drinking their cokes and, once again, using their mobile phone for some more sms:ing or so. Notice yet another thing, apart from the shopping and the lispstick mark, that obviously is ment to be very typical for a woman: a masacara! Did they just buy one? Or are they talking about make up in general (always a hot topic in discussions between females)? Or does this ad just want to show that the cool urban coca cola light woman always wears mascara or what. Uh.

But now, to the grand finale:

What is this!? Really, what is this!

Well clearly, it's a man. With a tool belt, A construction worker of some sort. But what is he doing here, among all the giggling and make up and other things! WTF? Why.

OK, he might have been checking these hot babes out from across the street. Maybe even given them a wolf whistle. But no, not in this ad. You see, these are modern, inependent women. They are checking him out. See how the chick is sensually touching her cola can, while wathcing this smoking hot hunk? This is woman county, where the women are not being stared at by chauvinist men, no, this is the land where women can laugh and luch and shop and have what they want, all while zipping on an ice cold cola. Without calories.

I'm actually a bit thirsty now. I think I'll go get myself a Pepsi Max. Or on second thought, just a glass of cold water.