Archived Pages from 20th Century!!

Last Updated: May 6, 1996

�That gentleman will call the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
I think they're scared of him. They're merely
professional killers; he's in advertising!�
( Robert Ludlum, �The Road to Gandolfo� )

The Gallery of Advertising Parody

Did you ever have one of those days where you were sick of advertisements? Lame ads, dumb ads, ads that exploited everything from women to bald guys. Well, we did! [And we're in the business!].

So it was natural for us to say "Let's create a site on the Internet where everyone could take a potshot at the "Ads From Hell", the ads we all love to hate.

By the way, this is the very same Gallery of Advertising Parody that was featured, discussed and dissected in Tom Robertson's Consumer Behaviour class at Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada. He writes,

"Thanks so much for your very useful resources.
I have used your site quite successfully last
week in my Consumer Behaviour class. A number
of the ads generated considerable discussion!"

And they probably didn't even hit the jackpot! ("Oh God," she gasped, "could that be a cleverly disguised clue to even greater degradation and debauchery?")

Now, if that wasn't a thrilling testimonial, how about "Sleepless in Massachusetts" (aka Ed Margerum) who writes:

Another non-submission which popped into my head
from a misspent youth [follows]. Return with us now
to the days of yesteryear when there was a second-
rate radio show about a Native American hero called
Straight Arrow. It had a musical advertisement
rhythmically chanted to the beat of a TomTom.

N**A**B**I**S**C**O

Nabisco is the name to know

For a breakfast you can't beat

Try Nabisco Shedded Wheat

I fondly remember line three as "For a breakfast you
can't eat."

Your URL has certainly ruined a good night's sleep.
Aaaarrrrrggggh. I started to type Serutanly instead
of certainly. It's Nature spelled backwards. Hints of
evil potions perhaps. Can I be cured, Doctor?

[If not] I think that I'll go and blow my brains out
with the cereal shot from guns.

And let us not forget that Web Rats' Magazine has given the Gallery of Advertising Parody its coveted 5-star award and was "best of the best" in their 5 Star Site section in the Feb 20, 1996 issue with the following commentary:

"An absolute riot! Some of the most hilarious pages
on the Web. These folks have taken all your favorite
ads and�well, see for yourself. Nothing is sacred on
this page, not even the putrid yellow background".

We Want "Bad" Ads and Put-Ons

Here's the deal. If you're a graphic designer, or an art director, or someone with a scanner and a source of "put on" ads, then email [BinHex or MIME] them to us (in the form of a GIF or JPG file - approx. max. size 600x480x256 or 100K whichever comes first, but smaller preferred):

TO: [email protected]
FROM: [your email address]
SUBJECT: Advertising Parody Submission

Ideally, we'd like the original (i.e. "for real") ad, and your "parody version" of it. You may want to include the following information:

Where the ad was found (which magazine, newspaper, etc).
Date and page of advertisement.
A few sentences about "Why this ad pissed you off so much".

We'll post your image files here.

But before we do, would you like to take a look at Ad Age's 50 Best Commercials of all time?

Jim Munroe, Managing Editor of Adbusters cordially invites you to visit < A HREF="http://www.adbusters.org/adbusters">their online site. Several of the following ad parodies originate from this great magazine. If ya like ad parodies, ya otta subscribe to da mag.

The Ads: Some Real, Some Parody. But Which Is Which?

Madison Avenue wasn't built in a day. By this we mean that we've got a few ads, but could use more. The advertisements du jour include:

Absolut Vodka. So tasteful. So au courant. It makes a DUI almost worth it.
Cigarettes. A breath of fresh air. What more can we say?
Marlboro lives on. But the man died with his boots on.
A mechanical paste-up waxer you may be able to use with Quark.
Benson & Hedges proves they don't have good taste. Unless all the characters in this ad plan to jump -- then we're all for it.
IBM demonstrates that it's embarrassing to see old farts pretend they're hip and cool. Especially when they're all warped and twisted.
Comedy Central creates the ad that makes you want to vomit - on it, on them, whatever. C'mon. GenXers aren't that lame, are they?
They're so big, so soft, so ripe and so much fun to play with. You just want to squeeze them, because they're Florida tomatoes.
The top dog mounts an offensive offensive, but you can't blame him, because the bitches tail him relentlessly.
You might not think of a magazine cover as an advertisement, but much time is devoted to the creation of covers that will make the magazines fly off the news racks. Naturally, sex is a popular "pick-me-up" inducement as this Vanity Fair proves.
There are jeans and then there's Versace.
A personal lube job you'll never get from Quaker State; it requires magic fingers and the Midas touch.
This GAP will persuade you that not everyone is a fashion slave.
Ru Paul wasn't available for this version of the "Sex, Lies & Dumb Philosophy" tequila ad.
Interactive games must be for frenetic, design-impaired individuals as this ad, targeted at the sophisticated, upscale, and definitely-not-12-years-old readers of Wired seems to suggest.
The "Truth is Stranger than Fiction Award" goes to hot San Francisco ad agency Goldberg Moser O'Neill for a "Help Wanted" ad they ran in Adweek 7/24/95
First there was The Creature from the Black Lagoon, then Godzilla. Now, it's The Attack of the Cybercrud: The Mediocre Internet Movie(s) dangling from one thin thread of THE WEB. It is obviously a parody of THE NET with Sandra Bullock. You can see the full size image at Jim Thompson's website.

[NOTE: Most of the above ads are in JPG format and are under 100K]

In the meantime, you may want to see "The History of Sex In Advertising". But don't say we didn't warn you.

And if that's not enough, go see some European ads developed by Belgium ad agencies.

Animated
Icon for Design Police Site Jill Wohl, editor of DESIGN ONLINE suggests that you can become an honorary member of the Design Police. The design police exists to cite and solicit examples of poor design from concept to execution to fallout. If you ever thought, there oughta be a law against bad design, grab a powdered-sugar donut and write up a ticket. Current citations have been issued to McDonald's Happy Meals and FedEx.

Got a URL You Think Should Be Posted Here?

Information about WebSites and WebPages of interest to advertisers and marketers are welcome.
Click here for submission info.

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