SEX (or "Lets see how many people read this blog post because of its title")

Sexual innuendo makes me laugh, it's a crude form of humour and I sometimes pretend I am above such gimmicks but the truth is: I revel in it (when it has been done intelligently). Social taboos dictate the degree of entertainment that can be derived from an "off-colour" joke or reference.In South Africa adverts that feature a subtle hint of anything to do with the merging of ones nether regions with another is certain to garner a fair amount of attention and, of course, critique.This is, in my opinion, an indication of how sexually immature we are as a country.

Having lived in Spain for a while my eyes have been opened to a better (again, my opinion) way of living in terms of general frigidity. When one goes to the beach, the majority of female beach goers sunbathe, swim and walk around topless and men don't ogle them and make them feel objectified or vulnerable. Similarly the women aren't doing it to attract extra attention or to put on some display whereas if it was done in Cape Town (and I tested it) people cant help but stare and giggle, point and even move their families away from where you are sunbathing. This, to me, is ludicrous as it teaches children to be ashamed of their bodies and makes people feel that women's bodies are some sort of "forbidden fruit" that has been hidden away from them and desperately needs to be acquired.

Although men obviously appreciate the female form in Europe it is not the same as in South Africa. Here women who wear short skirts or even shorts and a spaghetti strap in the street have to be scared of unsavory attention from men and even rape, more so than any other place I have been in the world. I feel this is a direct consequence of how sexually inhibited we are and the only way to break this is to make sex part of our everyday lives in a way which is not harmful but beneficial, in a way that starts conversations with our children and doesn't make them feel ashamed for asking.

The old argument about whether parents should ban their children from drinking any alcohol until they are of legal age (18 in South Africa) as opposed to letting them have a drink with their meal when they are with their parents, reminds me of the point I am trying to make. In France the legal drinking age is 14 and it is socially accepted for french children to drink a glass of wine with their dinner which in turn gives them a more mature approach to alcohol, making them the country with the lowest statistics of teenage alcohol related incidences. In stark contrast, America has a legal drinking age of 21 and I  think we have all seen how mental they get when they are finally legal- the website www.textsfromlastnight.com (my favorite site to read when I need to feel better about myself by comparison) comes to mind. Point being, prohibition or at least a heavily conservative attitude on a certain subject does not breed maturity but usually has detrimental effects. 

The definition of conservative is "holding to traditional attitudes and values and being cautious about change or innovation". We CANNOT afford to subscribe to this outdated mindset as it holds us back in an age of rising numbers of sex related crimes, AIDS and children growing up a decade before the last generation- Today, innovation and change is our only hope for surviving to see tomorrow.

In South Africa our general attitude to sex is that it's something that can mainly cause death and unwanted life which is illustrated in our highly unimaginative AIDS adverts. In Europe they focus on how beautiful sex is and how, if you protect yourself, you can live long enough to find the right man/woman to share that with. I realise that there is a different target market in Europe and that I, as a white female from an upper middle class upbringing, do not fit into the target market that they are trying to cater to in this country as I am part of the minority.
  

Please don't get me wrong, I realise that this is not something that will easily change in South Africa or even that we should look to Europe for a solution. I know that huge factors such as culture, average income brackets and level of education come into it. I also know that the market is flooded with cheap, sexually charged sub-standard adverts that (in some peoples opinions) cheapen the sacredness of sex and in some cases, objectify women. I am not condoning those ads, in fact I loathe them. I am simply stating my opinion which I know is a bit controversial (remember what Neville Brody told us Wendy), but hell, if this blog starts a conversation then I know I have done my job

Today I will look at adverts that aim to promote safe sex from both Europe and South Africa and highlight the differences between them and why they are different.

Metro Fm Radio Station Against Aids MAN and WOMAN outdoor advert by Net#work BBDO, South Africa

Unfortunately living in South Africa has made ads like these lose their shock factor with me. I know I am looking at a woman and a man who have contracted the virus, are close to death and bound to a life of sickness and taking mass amounts of pills daily to survive. These people probably have mouths to feed and a lot of people who love them, never the less I fail to relate to this ad. It is not because I am so far away from the epidemic, I have watched someone close to me die from aids in my own house and it is devastating! Ads like this are aimed for the majority of the population here in South Africa (I don't fall under that category) which statistically are under educated black and coloured teenagers and young adults. This campaign uses fear to scare people into safe sex or even abstinence in order to not contract the disease which in turn can have negative consequences in terms of how people view sex. This can be extremely detrimental to an individual's development as Maslow's Hierachy places sex in the physiological needs category along with food and breathing- it is not just something we do for fun and an unhealthy/uneducated attitude toward sex can lead to psychological problems. This ad reminds me of the ads on the cigarette packs in Europe which show black lungs and cancer victims. They utilise sarcasm in their tagline "Increase your chances of contracting HIV/AIDS, don't wear a condom.". Obviously one would not want to contract HIV/AIDS so therefore they would wear a condom but "Be Wise, Condomise" or "Decrease your chance of HIV/AIDS, wear a condom" has been said over and over and over (and over) again that I think they had to find a way to say the same thing in a (slightly) different way.

Boy/Girl, Creative director: Eric Vervroegen, TBWA 2008, France

This ad falls on the other side of the spectrum. It is a beautiful illustrated ad made for the AIDES campaign in France and has won two Bronze Lions for Press and Outdoor Campaign. When you just glance at it for a second it looks like a gorgeous space and ocean scene respectively. When you get a closer look you see a man flying, protected by a condom, through a galaxy of labia, legs, buttocks, tongues, legs, lips and blow-up dolls. The second ad features a young woman protected by a condom swimming through a sea of penis and tongue shaped sea creatures (my favourite is the cocktopus). The tagline reads "Explore, just protect yourself". I LOVE this ad because it shows the beauty of exploring your sexuality yet at the same time it warns to protect yourself because it can be dangerous, as could ocean and deep space exploration. Personally I don't find this offensive in the slightest but South Africa as a whole would never accept this sort of advertising in mainstream media as it could be misconstrued as implying that you should have sex with multiple people and go crazy as long as you are protected which, in a conservative nation, is not OK. The explicit use of penis and vagina images would also not go down too smoothly as (and I could be wrong) it has never been featured in advertising here and people are not comfortable with such graphic displays of genitalia. The target market of this ad would include my personal demographic which I guess is why I gravitate so much to it.

During my research for this blog and conversations that it has sparked I have realised that the reason I don't like certain ads is because I don't fit into the target market that they are aimed for. If I am wanting to be a great (read frikkin awesome) copywriter I must break out of this way of thinking and start recognising certain ads merits for who they have been made for as opposed to how they work for me personally.

I know that the European way of using sex in advertising would not work here due to the differences of the two populations but I do think that in South Africa we need to move from being as conservative as we are in order to reach and educate people on sex and make us more mature in our sexuality as a nation. How? I am not too sure, but I will be aiming to figure that out as I break into the industry. I hope I can be part of the movement that sparks the change we so desperately need.

Lego is for LIFE (part two)

"All LEGO men are created equal (1.5625 inches tall). What they become is limited only by imagination."

 - Author unknown

My imagination is something that has helped me through many hard times and (trying, and failing not to sound just a tad arrogant) I feel it sets me apart from a lot of the "white sheep".

 I grew up an only child and had to improvise in terms of friends- therefore I created "children" out of papyrus plants, became a hair dresser- thanks to pencils with a blob of Prestik on the end, got stranded in the middle of the ocean on a boogie board (which I sat on for HOURS) in my living room and created soap operas and epic movies with my Lego. 

Free play is, in my opinion, low GI health food (albeit yummy health food) where as mindless TV and video games are the sugary junk food to childrens brains. Both of them will fill you up and keep you from dying (for how long, I am not sure) but only the first  nourishes you so that you develop properly.

This week I am continuing to review Lego ads and have saved some of my favorites for last. 

Brick Campaign by Pereira & O’Dell, Brazil
These four ads are placed consecutively in a publication elluding to it being in notebook format and ending off with the blank "yellow brick" ad. Usually Lego sticks to a powerful visual paired with minimal to no copy. In this case they have done the opposite but without detracting from their imagination stoking style. These ads show scenarios that create powerful visuals in the readers mind. The scenarios do not necessarily make sense but they definitely do stretch the imagination, and when you think about it, what game did you play as a kid that DID make perfect sense? It is a beautiful illustration of a kids mind and, as many of their ads do, pulls you back into the mindset of when you were that age. The last ad (the yellow brick) only has empty lines and ends off with the tagline “Every LEGO brick tells a story. Build yours.” this is in order to encourage people to partake, to make their own fabulous and crazy story because with Lego- the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Words puzzle campaign: Crocodile/Spaceship/Tractor by TBWA, Costa Rica.

I love it when a simple concept, like a word search, is turned on its head like what has been done in this campaign. These ad's draws a parallel to the situation a kid would find themselves in when they have a pile of random Lego pieces in front of them, you can hear the cogs turning as they deduce what can be made or even how the idea in their head can turn into reality with the blocks that they have at their disposal. It can also be noted that the objects that they are looking for in the "word search" are circled in crayon which could mean that even before one learns to read or write Lego is already teaching them critical thinking. The colours used are not really gender specific even though they do use a spot of pink here and there. This is my second favorite of the ads that I am covering due to its simple yet inciteful execution.

 Lego Star Wars by Students: Diego Mourau, Gustavo Dorietto, Lucas Mohallem , Advertising School: Escola Cuca, Sao Paolo

Star wars. Star wars is... The fact is, I can't explain the role Star Wars plays in my life without sounding a tad crazy. One day I will have a Star Wars wedding and I am toying with the idea of calling my children (in the far-off future) either Luke or Leia depending on their sex. I am currently day dreaming about how to make an Ewok onesie and often when I am feeling down I watch a marathon of the original movies with a glass (read bottle) of red wine. Suffice to say, this ad campaign spoke to me, and not only because of the subject matter but because of the execution. The ads features characters from Star Wars in uncharacteristic yet witty situations which show that whatever set from whichever movie you get, does not restrict your playing to that of the storyline which it is based on. The first ad refers to a scene where Obi-Wan (or Old Ben) gave Luke his lightsaber which he held very close to his head and if he had put it on he would have decapitated himself and the story would have been over- this is a bit of an inside joke for the fans. I LOVED the concepts used and I was thrilled to find out that it was made by advertising students- this gives me hope that some day soon I may too create such awesome ads.

Lego is for LIFE (part one)

As a first year copywriter at Red and Yellow we have to keep a weekly advertising blog- which is great except, well... I generally despise advertising. You may be thinking to yourself; "Well then why the hell is she paying an exorbitant amount of money that will cripple her financially for the next seven years, on ADVERTISING school?". The answer is simple my dear readers.

Gandhi said; "Be the change you want to see in the world" and I took that quite literally! I don’t watch TV, subscribe to brands or even follow them on Twitter because I HATE the clichéd, mindless punting of shit I don’t need in a manner that only really appeals to those with lesser brains- If I have to bare witness to one more perfume ad with a beautiful man or woman in a situation completely unrelated to the actual product (think Brad Pitt in the latest Chanel ad) I will kill a nursery full of baby pandas. I want to create intelligent ads that are AS interesting to read as actual articles and spark ideas that enrich people’s lives for brands that I believe in! I want to change what I hate into what I love and after researching ad campaign after ad campaign I have found that there are other people in the advertising world that share my ideals.

If I could pick one thing that has ever been invented in the history of recorded time to have invented myself (Nutella included), it would be Lego. Since that isn't really possible (or at least probable until time travel is sorted out) I will settle for becoming a part of their creative team who are behind some of the best ads I have yet to come across.

Lego's motto is "Det bedste er illcke for godt" which roughly translates to "Only the best is the best" is a concept that Red and Yellow taught me in our orientation week as "Good enough is not good enough"- which is most probably why they have been awarded the title of  "Toy of the Century"... twice. Their un-paralleled quality and originality coupled with their mission of expanding children's imagination through creativity, fun and learning makes Lego the brand I would whole-heartedly align myself with.

I still own Lego and will shamelessly admit that I still play with it, in fact the last time I bought a set was some time last year. The age recommendation is 6- 99, which I think is a genius way of conveying the spirit of Lego being a lifestyle and not just a passing fad such as "Bratz" or those creepy fashion dolls sporting human post-pubescent bodies with the head of a cat, which freaked me out quite significantly. I love that there are Lego sets to suite everyone! My best-loved sets are the movie based ones which include my all-time favorites such as: Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Star Wars.

For the more "grown up" group of Lego lovers there is a line of architectural wonders of the world such as the Empire State building, Rockefeller center, the Taj Mahal, the Pantheon and even Lego head quarters to name but a few. I think the magic of Lego lies in the limitlessness of what you can create. You are not bound by the picture on the box and many people take it to many levels above "the next level" by creating life sized versions of cars, characters, buildings and many other seemingly unfathomable things!

Lego's many advertising campaigns clearly demonstrate their brand values of imagination, creativity and fun. These ideals are most clearly demonstrated by the ads I have included in this blog that I will give a quick review of. I will post this in two parts since there are so many amazing campaigns to cover.

The Beginning by Ogilvy, Costa Rica. This ad clearly illustrates creativity and out of the proverbial box thinking. It implies that the bricks are the building blocks of the universe and every conceivable object was spawned from these humble beginnings, similarly almost anything can be made of Lego, entire worlds only confined to the limits of your imagination.

 Drugs/Sex/Violence  by Naga DDB/Rapp Malaysia.

I think this is an exemplary example of a thought provoking, evocative advert aimed at the parents who buy Lego for their children. It would not be in a publication that would frequented by children but instead somewhere where educated parents could ponder over it and its very real implications. This advert does not condone mindless TV watching and instead advocates the free play and creative thinking that Lego provides. I think this is an absolutely marvelously executed ad using the Lego bricks to censor the inappropriate topics on TV that children are exposed to, by pixelation.

Gold Lion Plane/Dinosaur/Boat/Tank by Blattler Brunner, Pittsburg. 

This simple, clean ad is very reminiscent of a time in my childhood where I made entire worlds out of nothing that even remotely resembled what was in my head, yet that made no difference because I saw the world through my own rainbow coloured glasses. I think this ads aim is to transport parents back into this frame of mind to motivate them to provide their children with the same magic they encountered all those years ago. I love how they have used  primary colours (and green) to compliment the theme of simplicity that is so prominent in this ad. The shadow is the splash of magic in this ad, hinting at the creativity driven worlds that exist in our heads and that of our children. It shows how one would have to exercise their imagination instead of being handed things on a platter (think already assembled toys that allow little room for invention and imagination), and thus promote the educational and mental stimulation aspects of the product.

I look forward to analysing the rest of the ads that I have selected next week in part two of Lego is for life.

I welcome your feedback and thank you for reading my ramblings.