Lest you wonder, that’s from research done on “monogamous albatrosses”- a subject that evidently some scientists consider worth studying. According to their findings, “the probability of divorce was directly affected by the environment, increasing in years with warm sea surface temperature anomalies.”
From Germany: a set of ads that make the case for supplemental dental insurance. What I found intriguing is that according to the creative team, the target audience is females in the age group of 25-40 and, hence, the ads are all centered on women who might need insurance. What’s more, at least one of the potential accidents portrayed in the ads is self-inflicted.
From an AP report:
A man in Germany has discovered the hard way that it’s best to get a driving license first before trying to use it.
Police in Bergheim, near Cologne, said Tuesday that the 37-year-old drove himself to his driving test, parking an Opel Zafira outside the test center in front of an astonished examiner.
They said he told police officers who were called to the scene on Monday that he had only driven because he wanted to make sure to get to the driving test on time.
His test was immediately called off. The man now faces an investigation for driving without a license. Police also opened an investigation of the car’s owner.
To quote British MP Nick Fletcher:
Everywhere, not at least within the cultural sphere, there seems to be a call from a tiny, yet very vocal minority, that every male character or good role model must have a female replacement.
One only needs to look at the discussions surrounding who will play the next James Bond. And it’s not just James Bond.
In recent years, we have seen Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Luke Skywalker, the Equaliser, all replaced by women, and men are left with the Krays and Tommy Shelby.
Is there any wonder we are seeing so many young men committing crime?
From a news report out of Yorkshire:
A court has imposed a restraining order to protect a retired racehorse from the unwanted attentions of a grandmother who refused to stop feeding him carrots.
In a ruling rarely - if ever - passed by a British court, the horse was afforded legal protection from over-feeding after prosecutors made the application to magistrates on his behalf.
Margaret Porter, 67, thought Nelson the chestnut gelding was “sad looking” and came to the view that he was under-fed so began giving him carrots despite being explicitly asked not to by his owner.
A new spot for premium potato brand, Albert Bartlett, features professional acrobats, an operatic score, and a glamorous visualisation of the potato picking line.
From South Africa: the latest campaign from fast food chain Chicken Licken offers sound advice, packaged in hilarious ‘what if’ scenarios.
Spot 1: iLotto
Spot 2: Loan shark
Spot 3: Neck Tattoo
That’s from a speech to the Confederation of British Industry, that left many people bewildered. I’ll let these excerpts from a report in The Guardian sum up the highlights:
The prime minister’s sprawling address to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) was accused of lacking seriousness and professionalism. Johnson lost his place during the speech and spent 20 seconds repeating “forgive me” as he shuffled the printed pages on his podium.
One of Johnson’s lengthier tangents was about his recent trip to Hampshire’s Peppa Pig World – an amusement park dedicated to a children’s cartoon character, which he opined on in an apparent dig at civil servants and the BBC.
Johnson also imitated the sound of an accelerating car with grunts that the official Downing Street release transcribed as “arum arum aaaaaaaaag”. He also compared himself to Moses over his plan to help business invest in tackling climate change.
From Turkey: Boji, the stray dog from Istanbul who, a few weeks ago, caught the attention of the global media for his fondness for travelling by public transport, is in the news once again- this time, for being framed for pooping on a tram. As explained in this report:
According to footage shared by Istanbul Municipality spokesperson Murat Ongun on Nov. 20, Boji the dog was framed by a man who placed the poop on public transportation on Nov. 19 after carrying it in his pocket. The man's identity currently remains unknown.
The municipality also revealed that Boji was in a shelter on Nov. 19, the day of the incident.
The footage was shared by the spokesperson in response to claims that Boji pooped on a tramway, which were circulated by social media accounts that were overwhelmingly seen to be supporting the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
“The Istanbul Municipality's dog Boji pooped on a tramway,” said Sağdan Haber, a pro-AKP Twitter account that often shares posts against the municipality due to it being run by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
The incident is the latest in the row between the CHP-led Istanbul Municipality and the AKP. Framing a dog, however, is a new low.
A promotional video for a London-based animation and illustration studio that not only showcases their brilliance, but lives up to their name- Kong Studio.
Great storytelling is at the heart of this splendidly-crafted spot for Heineken.
Some years ago, a Pittsburgh rapper-turned-lawyer made news for an over-the-top ad on YouTube in which he claimed the law to be “arbitrary” and bragged: “I may have a law degree but I think like a criminal”. This week, the said lawyer followed up on that claim, pleading guilty to actual criminal charges.
A 2 minute short that skewers the advertising industry over its obsession with awards.
A possum has been released without charge after it held a woman “hostage” at her home, New Zealand police say.
Officers received a call late on Sunday night from a distressed woman who said “a possum was holding her hostage” at her home in the South Island city of Dunedin.
“When she would exit her house and attempt to reach her car, the possum would charge at her and she would flee inside,” Snr Sgt Craig Dinnissen said.
When the police arrived and approached the front door, a juvenile possum came out of the dark and climbed an officer’s leg. Dinnissen suspected it was either an escaped pet or had recently been separated from its mother.
After apprehending the suspect, police delivered the possum up to nearby lookout spot Signal Hill and released it into the wild “to prevent further citizen harassment”. No harm came to the possum or the officer, Dinnessen said.
From Hong Kong: HSBC has unveiled a work of digital art, dubbed ‘The Art of Progress’, that changes based upon changes in the Hang Seng index. As explained in this report:
Every day when the market opens, ‘Art of Progress’ is recreated from scratch using the Hang Seng Index’s open-source market data. The artist’s proprietary algorithms then trigger updates throughout the day so that ‘Art of Progress’ is never the same from minute to minute, or from day to day.
An ad for Los Angeles-based furniture rental brand Fernish, as shared on Ad Age.
From Brazil: a print ad for agro-industrial co-operative Coopavel, as shared on Bestads.
Excerpts from a report out of South Korea:
A group of mothers has filed a complaint over “spicy meals” offered at some kindergartens, alleging that serving the same meal regardless of age amounts to a violation of human rights.
Political Mamas, a civic group largely made up of mothers, said on Tuesday that children (usually 5 to 7 years old) attending kindergartens attached to elementary schools have no choice but to eat spicy food along with elementary school students because they are offered the same diet regardless of their age.
“Spicy food tolerance depends on individual characteristics. Forcing kids to eat spicy meals against their will is a clear violation of human rights. For them, eating spicy food is tantamount to being forced to tolerate pain,” added the angry mothers.
From Australia: the term ‘food porn’ acquires a very specific meaning in a new, and reasonably SFW campaign launched by fast food chain Grill’d for its plant-based ‘Impossible’ burgers that is fronted by the comedy duo, The Inspired Unemployed (remember this?).
The timing is quite notable, coming a week after a recent ad for the company was found in breach of ad standards for sexuality. Might that have been a trigger for the present campaign and/or the choice of OnlyFans? According to a company spokesperson:
When most people think of plant-based meat they think of boring and lifeless, the new social content series was a fun way to show that our new Impossible range is just as juicy and saucy as the real thing.
Link to OnlyFans page (requires free subscription)
The tongue-in-cheek campaign video calls it “the world’s first payment option where customers can pay in animal noises”. I’ll let this Time Out London report explain things more clearly:
You’ve heard of singing for your supper, but how about neighing for your booze? Animal noises – or Pay By Neigh – will be the new currency at Brixton Brewery later this month when it launches its new beer.
Neither money nor a lovely song will get you far at Brixton Brewery’s taproom when its limited-edition beer Urban Animals launches on November 18. The company will be giving away free cans of the new beverage – but only to those who recreate the sounds of a farmyard animal.
The event – which will run from November 18 to 25 – is in partnership with Vauxhall City Farm. Urban Animals is made with hops grown on the farm site, and all proceeds from the beer will be donated to the community project, which nearly had to close for good after the pandemic hit.
This new spot for Dutch online store, Bol.com, has a twist that makes it one of the most audacious and standout ads of the holiday season.
From Sweden: horse racing and betting company, ATG, has released a new spot- its latest to feature singing horses as a “homage” to betting winners.
With Australia easing travel restrictions for its citizens and residents, Fiji Tourism has launched a quirky campaign, targeted at those, aching for a change of scenery.
From France: specially-crafted beer for those who lost their sense of smell in the after-effects of COVID-19.
Last week, apparel brand Untuckit released an ad that, on the surface, appeared to be pretty amusing. There was one problem. It mocked a funny sounding ‘syndrome’, perhaps without realizing that there is a serious congenital medical condition that goes by that very name. I’m guessing that a late awareness of that fact may be the reason that postings of this ad were pulled off many ad tracking websites. Here are a couple of links where the ad can still be accessed, as on date:
From Sweden: an Instagram video from oat milk brand Oatly takes self-referencing to a whole new level.
Last year, this beloved and keenly followed competition was rocked by voting fraud. This year, there was dismay in some quarters after the organisers included a native mammal- a bat- as a candidate. Well, this morning it was announced that the bat had won the stakes. To quote from a report in The Guardian:
In a huge upset to New Zealand birds, but a win for one of the country’s only native land mammals, a bat has swooped in “by a long way” to take out the annual bird of the year competition.
Forest and Bird, which runs the election, thew the bat among the pigeons as a surprise entry this year. The pekapeka-tou-roa, or long tailed bat, is one of two bats in the country and one of the rarest mammals in the world. It is as small as a thumb, and the size of a bumblebee when it is born.
One Twitter user summed up the situation thus:
There's really nothing more New Zealand than:
a) having a heated bird of the year comp every year
b) putting a bat in the comp, which is not a bird but does fly so close enough I guess
c) everyone voting for the not bird
Looking forward to next year when Tuatara takes the win— Cassie (@shortcasserole) October 31, 2021
