Sexism in advertising

An article on AdAge this morning slams a new Heineken ad that features a sexy blond robot who serves beer from her (its?) abdomen. I watched the ad, and thought it was bizarre, mildly entertaining, slightly crude but memorable. From the title of the article, I expected a more obvious sexist joke, perhaps with the robot in a french maid’s outfit with a toilet scrubber in one hand and a beer on a tray in the other, and titles labeling the robot as the “perfect woman.”

We have come a long way from the days when tv ads featured perfectly coiffed women with 12-inch waists in heels and pearls selling soap and discussing ways of removing “ring around the collar” from their hard-working husbands’ shirts. I think these days we have swung pretty hard the other direction, with the typical family ad featuring the husband/father as a bumbling idiot who wouldn’t be able to tie his shoes without his patient and amused wife’s steady hand to untangle his fingers. So who’s being sexist to whom?

Once again, creativity in advertising has hit the PC barrier. To sell your brand, you want to appeal to your target audience without enraging the other folks. But there are so many groups of “other folks” out there who just want to be offended by anything that this can sometimes be a very tricky road to navigate. So here we have an example of an ad meant to appeal to young men of beer-swilling age, who appreciate technology, sexy girls and easy beer. This ad hits that right on the noggin. At the same time it makes the statement that it would be really great to have a sexy female robot serve you beer from her ice-cold chest cavity and then do a hot little dance for you with her clone bot girlfriends.

Ok, so what? They’re selling beer. Since when is that a politically correct product?

Let ads be ads. All those creatives out there will have a lot less headaches that way.

The Leaning Tower of Groom

Ralph Britten constructed this water tower to lean in order to catch the eyes of the tourists who would stop and ask questions.

While they were there, they’d spend money at the truck stop and restaurant nearby. Unfortunately, the restaurant burned a few years ago, but the tower remains as a great photo opportunity. As for why the tower says “Britten” instead of “Groom”, the Brittens are a large family that has lived in the area for a long time.

Balloon Buddies

Laura Buxton released a helium filled balloon during celebrations for her grandparents’ gold wedding anniversary in Blurton, Staffordshire, in June 2001. Attached to the balloon was her name and address and a note asking the finder to write back. Ten days later she received a reply. The balloon had been found by another Laura Buxton in the garden hedge of her home in Pewsey, Wiltshire, 140 miles away. Both Lauras were ages 10 and both had three year old black Labradors, a guinea pig, and a rabbit.

70-year-old with 15 inches waist

70-year-old with 15 inches waist

September 29, 2007 | Tags Bizzare and Weird, People, World Records

70-year-old Cathie Jung has the smallest waist in the world, which measures just 15in (38cm).

Cathie Jung the corset queen (Image courtesy of Xinhuanet)

The resident from Connecticut, USA, has been wearing tight fitting corset since 1983. She holds the Guinness World Records for “Smallest Waist on a Living Person” since 1999.

Hundreds ill after Peru meteor crash

Hundreds ill after Peru meteor crash

September 22, 2007 | Tags Astronomy and Space Exploration, Health and Medical

Hundreds of people have suffered headaches, nausea, and respiratory problems after a meteorite crashed in southern Peru. The meteorite landed in Carangas, Puno, southern Peru last weekend (Sep 16) and created a crater 65ft wide and 20ft deep.

Bizzare shop

Bizzare exists since 1996. We once begun as small store with a small collection in the rechtstraat in Maastricht. In our beginning years, we specialized in party clothing and special partywear. Later on we added also gothic, punk, cyber, fetish and streetwear to our collection. Currently we also have a nice collection New Rock shoes and boots. At this time, we sell via the internet and via our store in Maastricht. On the internet, we try to offer as many products as possible with really clear descriptions. If you are able to visit our Store you can of course see, feel and fit all of our clothes. If you want to buy tailor made clothes we strongly advise you to bring us a visit so we can make sure that the clothes are adjusted to your specific needs. The clothes from the labels, Paulien Berkelaar, Bizonder and our own label Bizzare, which contains a large collection of corsets, are all tailor made. Please keep a delivery period between 2 and 4 weeks in mind for tailor made clothing.

What we find very important! You, our customer. We are there for you and we would like all of our customers to be satisfied with our service and products. We are constantly trying to improve our service and find cool stuff to extend our collection. If you have any remarks, suggestions, questions or even complaints please feel free to contact us. You can reach us on the email-address info@bizzare.nl At Bizzare, we are trying to offer you a large collection of unique, original and out of the ordinary clothing in the following styles: Cyber, gothic, fettish, street, punk and stylish. We also have a collection of matching accessories you shouldn’t miss. Sunglasses, backpacks, purses, bracelets, collars, rings, etc. Furthermore we recently added New Rock shoes to our collection. Since we also have a 'real' store in Maastricht, many of the products in our webshop are in stock so we can process your order directly.

The quality of the products we sell is very important to us. We often get products offered that are very alike for a lower price. In most cases this also has consequences for the quality. We always choose for quality above price, so you can enjoy your clothing longer without having to worry about shrinking, discolor or even stuff that falls apart. As mentioned before, we do our uttermost best to provide a high service level. You are our customer and we would love to see you back in the future. Since we offer an in house tailor service, small changes can often be made the same day you bring a visit to our store. We do this free of charge!! Changing your product is always possible as long as the product hasn't been worn and is in perfect condition. Furthermore we also provide you with a honest advice. We would like you to look your best in our clothing. If you want to buy something in our webshop and are not certain which size to choose. Please send us an e-mail, we're happy to measure it up.

UFO Picture Taken in the United Kingdom in 1954 - Flying over the trees on a cool summer evening someone looked up and snaped this picture of a UFO. Notice the strange bottom of the UFO picture, it's unlike many we see high in the sky and appears to be some kind of landing gear.

miracle of sorts

Twin brothers Phil and Mick Cahalane found this family photo of their grandfather that they say is over 100 years old. The picture shows grandpa holding an amazing string of fish he had caught somewhere in Scotland. As the close-up in the above photo shows, however, there seems to be a figure on the man's left shoulder that some say resembles a saint. Some have even gone so far as to say it is St. Teresa of Avila.

There are many faithful who will, no doubt, say that this is a miracle of sorts. I think it's an amazing illusion.