What an A-hole looks like
I guess that’s pretty much what I take away from this new spot for Volkswagen.
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Arrested for having too many wildlife feeders
From a news report out of New York state:
Deputies arrested 71-year-old Donald Antal of Third Street in the Village of Sodus Point for Unlawfully Feeding Wildlife. The charges stem from numerous animal complaints where neighbors allege that Antal had in excess of twenty-two feeders on his property to feed wildlife in violation of the Village of Sodus Point local ordinance 57-6B(1).
If you are Banksy…
A few days ago, a local politician in Wales made global headlines after he resigned from public office for a very unusual reason. He was alleged to secretly be the mystery artist Banksy- an allegation that, he said, undermined his ability to do his job. Since then, he has launched a campaign to uncover the identity of Banksy, that centres around ‘I Am NOT Banksy’ badges. To quote from the campaign website:
If everyone who is NOT Banksy wears an I Am NOT Banksy badge and Banksy is the only person who is NOT wearing I Am NOT Banksy badge (because they ARE Banksy) then everyone will know that Banksy IS Banksy (because they are NOT wearing an I Am NOT Banksy badge) and, most importantly, Banksy will finally have found out who they are for him/her/them self(ves).
If you are NOT Banksy then please take a I Am NOT Banksy Badge and wear it everywhere you go.
If you ARE Banksy then please DO NOT take a I Am NOT Banksy Badge and DO NOT wear it everywhere you go.
What’s more, everyone being mailed the badge is also sent this request:
And please remember Banksy is NOT allowed to wear your badge so please do not lend it to him
Naturally Naked
Stella Artois has launched its premium Unfiltered lager with a campaign that spins the story of a town “where people live as naturally as the beer they drink.” To quote the creative agency behind the campaign:
The nudity of the inhabitants acts as a striking metaphor for the stripped back brewing process that allows the fresh flavors of Saaz and Mandarina Bavaria hops to burst through.
From the print campaign:
RIP Ray Liotta
Maybe the most delightfully watchable actor to have played so many ‘bad guy’ roles. To quote from his IMDb bio:
He specializes in psychopathic characters who hide behind a cultivated charm.
Unlawful Entry (1992)
-“Shit happens”
Cop Land (1997)
-“Don’t shut me out”
Killing Them Softly (2012)
-Markie gets beaten up
(from a comment on YouTube on this clip- “Watching Ray Liotta get beaten up without a fight is disturbing.” )
Burger King @ 911
A new promotion for Burger King’s service feedback program features two actual 911 calls requesting police assistance in connection with delayed/ messed-up burger orders.
Spot 1: Faster Food
Spot 2: Harmful Cheeseburger
In Praise of Vets
A new spot for Vets4Pets is both a tribute to the profession as well as a heart-warming, tearjerker for anyone who’s had a pet.
A Message to Politicians about ‘Lying’
From Australia: print ads from furniture and mattress brand Koala.
Man under investigation fabricates fake Trump Pardon
Excerpts from a news report out of Florida:
A man from the Pinellas beaches fabricated a fake pardon from former President Donald Trump as authorities investigated him in connection with a number of fraud cases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa reported this week.
Alexander Leszczynski, 22, of North Redington Beach, is facing charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.
After the launch of an investigation, the government seized $337,000 from one of Leszczynski’s accounts.
“When he discovered that the money had been frozen, he attempted to have it released by producing a fabricated pardon purportedly signed by former President Donald Trump,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Out-of-Office Emails… typed by horses
Iceland’s latest quirky promotion invites tourists to “Out-Horse” their emails.
Disconnect from work and let the horses of Iceland reply to your emails while you are on vacation. (Seriously)
This is how a news release explains it:
Using a large keyboard mat, Iceland’s Out Horse service sees the only horses in the world with five gaits walk, trot, canter, tölt and pace their way across the fields as they take on the role of out of office. From (horse message) to (horse message), travellers can request to get their very own emails written by Icelandic horses, so that they can go gallop-vanting around the country undisturbed.
What’s more, you can pick a horse of your choice:
Air ‘Bee and Bee’
Excerpts from a new listing on Airbnb in Southern Italy by the name of ‘Wonder Bee and Bee’:
Want to have a unique experience and sleep in an integrated apiary? Wonder Bee & Bee is the first place in the world to sleep wrapped in the buzz and scents of 1 million bees.
The micro-architecture, located in an olive grove between Grottole and Matera, will allow you to have a unique and unforgettable experience, experiencing the benefits of apiterapy.
Designed by designer Davide Tagliabue, the self-constructed structure by the community of Wonder Grottole is designed to welcome guests and offer them all the benefits of bees. In addition to the bees present in the nine special beehives around Wonder Bee & Bee, there is a special viewing horn within the living spaces.
Inside the lookout horn, a bee swamp is making a fairytale naturally without a blanket.
The nine beehives connected to the interior room - have a net - so as not to let the bees in but at the same time spread apisound and apisound to give a unique and relaxing experience in the midst of nature and in connection with the world of bees.
Wonder Bee & Bee is a 100% rural experience, so some of the standards you're used to can't be offered (wifi, running water, indoor shower). But we will offer you something unique, a direct and beneficial contact with bees .
The space has a private bathroom in a nearby cottage, powered by collection water. The shower - camping - hanging from an olive tree is located outdoors. In the morning toilet, there is a sink and a pitcher of water.
There's no electricity, but we'll provide LED lights that recharge in the sun. There is no fridge and we will provide you with a cooler bag with fresh water.
George W. Bush condemns Iraq invasion!
Whether you think of it as a Freudian slip or not- who would have thought we’d get to see this day?
In Memory of a Seagull-hater
From Wales: a pic of a plaque on a park bench, snapped and tweeted by a lecturer at Aberystwyth University, that has gone viral:
Seen it All
Spike Lee is in cracking form in this 5 minute spot to mark Nike’s 50th anniversary. Those who get the countless references will relish it a lot more, but even otherwise, there’s plenty to enjoy.
Vogue Takedown
It started when the publishers of Vogue magazine shot off a letter to a newly incorporated British company- Star Inn Vogue- expressing concern over the similarity of its name to the name of the magazine. What they didn’t realize was that the company in question was in fact, a pub in the Cornish village of Vogue, and had existed under that name as a partnership until its recent incorporation. More than that, the pub and the village had been in existence for much longer than the magazine.
According to a local news report, this is what one of the pub’s owners had to say:
When I opened the letter I thought some bugger in the village was having me on. Surely these people can’t be serious. In this modern day and age someone couldn’t be bothered to go onto Google and see that Vogue is a Cornish hamlet that’s been here for hundreds of years. It seems common sense has taken a backseat on this one.
And so the owners decided to write back with a meticulous and marvellously-worded letter that has gone viral. Excerpts:
Whilst I found your letter interesting on the one hand, I also found it hilariously funny. I presume your magazine bases its name on the dictionary term for being in fashion which is uncapitalised as used in the Oxford English Dictionary.
If a member of your staff had taken the time to investigate they would have discovered that our company, the Star Inn, is in the small village of Vogue, near St Day, Cornwall. Yes, that’s right, Vogue is the name of our village, which has been in existence for hundreds of years and in fact is a Cornish word, not English.
Therefore the name of our company was chosen on the joint name of the Pub and where it is located.
I note in your letter that you have only been in existence since 1916 and I presume that at the time when you chose the name Vogue in the capitalised version you didn’t seek permission from the villagers of the real Vogue. I also presume that Madonna did not seek your permission to use the word Vogue (again the capitalised version) for her 1990s song of the same name.
As a side note she did not seek our permission either.
Gollum Politics
From Australia: in the run-up to the Federal elections, comparisons with the creature Gollum are taking centre-stage. The two major parties appear keen to portray each other’s leaders as versions of the creepy character from The Lord of the Rings.
First, it was the Labor Party that tweeted a Gollum-like image of Prime Minister Scott Morrison while calling him “tricksy”. The Liberal Party shot back with a video titled ‘The Lord of the Flip-Flops’ showing a CGI animated version of opposition leader Anthony Albanese as Gollum.
‘Boris Baked Beans in Austerity Sauce’
That’s from the label on a tin spotted on a Tesco shelf in Brighton. It seems to be an artistic protest against a controversial comment by a British cabinet minister in which he implied that households seeking to contain the rising cost of living would do well to stick to value brands. The label also carries the assurance: ‘MISERY GUARANTEED’, a warning that the contents are “unfit for human consumption”, and a recommendation to not buy it and instead, donate the money to a list of charities that includes The British Red Cross.
Images of the tin, as shared in a local news report:
Calling a man ‘bald’ ruled as sexual harassment
Excerpts from a report in The Independent on a ruling by a UK tribunal:
Calling a man “bald” as an insult is sexual harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Hair loss is much more prevalent among men than women so using it to describe someone is a form of discrimination, a judge has concluded.
Commenting on a man’s baldness in the workplace is equivalent to remarking on the size of a woman’s breasts, they suggested.
The ruling - made by a panel of three men who in making their judgement bemoaned their own lack of hair - comes in a case between a veteran electrician and his manufacturing firm employers.
Tony Finn - who is now in line for compensation - had worked for the West Yorkshire-based British Bung Company for almost 24 years when he was fired in May last year.
He took them to the tribunal claiming, among other things, that he had been the victim of sex harassment following an incident with factory supervisor Jamie King.
Mr Finn alleged that during a shop floor row that almost erupted in violence in July 2019, Mr King had referred to him as a ‘bald c***’.
Mr Finn had not complained about the use of “industrial language” but was “particularly affronted” at being called bald, the panel said.
“This is strong language. Although, as we find, industrial language was commonplace on this West Yorkshire factory floor, in our judgment Mr King crossed the line by making remarks personal to the claimant about his appearance.”
“It is difficult to conclude other than that Mr King uttered those words with the purpose of violating [Mr Finn's] dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him,” the judgement found.
“In our judgment, there is a connection between the word ‘bald’ on the one hand and the protected characteristic of sex on the other.
“[The company’s lawyer] was right to submit that women as well as men may be bald. However, as all three members of the tribunal will vouchsafe, baldness is much more prevalent in men than women.
“We find it to be inherently related to sex.”
Killer dies of heart attack while burying victim
From an AP report:
A 60-year-old man who strangled his girlfriend died of a heart attack while burying her body in their South Carolina backyard, investigators said.
Deputies found Joseph Anthony McKinnon’s body Saturday after neighbors called and reported an unconscious man in a yard in Trenton, the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
As they investigated McKinnon’s death, deputies found a body wrapped in trash bags in a freshly dug hole and determined it was his girlfriend, Patricia Ruth Dent, 65, investigators said.
An autopsy on Dent determined she had been strangled and neighbors told officers they saw McKinnon digging a hole in his yard the day before, deputies said.
An autopsy on McKinnon determined he died of a heart attack. Deputies said it appeared he was nearly done filling the grave when he set the shovel down, walked away and collapsed.
easyJet Mavericks
A recruitment ad for easyJet reimagines scenes from Top Gun- with plenty of kids and lots to smile about.
Seniors, Sex, and Gardening
Research by UK-based relationships charity Relate suggests that over half of Britons over the age of 65 consider themselves to be “sexually adventurous”. Combined with data showing a rise in sexually transmitted infections in this age group, this has prompted Relate to launch a limited-edition collection of vegetable-themed condom packets targeted at seniors.
Why vegetables? It seems that research by the charity also showed that gardening is an activity that seniors thoroughly enjoy… topped only by having sex and seeing family. In keeping with that, the packaging mimics that of seed packets, and is available at a London nursery. Adding a dash of cheekiness, the collection is labelled ‘The Hornicultural Society’.
Billboards not to be seen, just meant to cool
That’s the idea behind a new campaign from Coors Light in which ‘chillboards’ were laid out on the roofs of 96 Miami homes to inexpensively lower the heat within. What’s more, they got Miami’s Chief Heat Officer (remember her?) to front the campaign video.
Car Owner Being Sued for Mechanic’s Death… at the hands of Another Mechanic
Excerpts from a news report out of Michigan:
When a man took his Jeep to Rochester Hills Chrysler Jeep Dodge on March 13, 2020, it was for a routine oil change. But an employee died after another employee - who couldn’t drive a stick shift - got behind the wheel to move the Jeep and hit and killed the first employee.
Two years later, an attorney for the man who died isn’t suing the other worker or the dealership; he’s suing the man who owned the Jeep. The man who was waiting in a lobby. The man who was just there for a routine oil change. As it turns out, this is the law and this story is about to get complicated.
In Michigan, an injured coworker cannot sue the boss because of the boss’ negligence.
So even though the boss was negligent is hiring someone who shouldn’t have been driving, the victim's family cannot hold the boss responsible.
Instead, the remedy for the victim’s family is to seek out worker’s compensation, which they have.
However, there are multiple wrinkles here. Because [the victim’s] death involved a car, there is a statute known as the owner’s liability statute that means the owner of the car is legally responsible.
If the owner gave permission to the driver to drive the car, the owner is negligent. When the Jeep driver gave his keys over to the employee who was driving, he gave permission to the employee to drive the car. This makes the owner legally responsible and is automatically liable for the driver's negligence.
Pregnancy Whopper
From Germany: Burger King has launched a version of its signature offering with some rather unusual combinations that include cucumber with jam, fish fingers with applesauce, and sausage with chocolate cream. The inspiration, we’re told, came from a survey of cravings among pregnant women.
Cup Noodles Makeup Collection
It’s a one-of-a-kind collaboration between ramen pioneer Nissin Foods and makeup brand HipDot. To quote:
Inspired by the warm tones of the beloved ramen noodle soup, fans can create the most delectable makeup looks that are just as easy as making Cup Noodles itself!
Hard Times for Comedy
This 2 minute spot for the forthcoming 24 Risas Por Segundo (24 laughs per second) comedy film festival, perfectly captures the challenge of being funny in these times of widespread wokeness.
Alligator Gate-crash
The headline and lead of a report in the Guardian:
Gator aid: Florida couple call for help after can-do alligator drinks Diet Cokes
A gregarious Florida alligator seemingly could not wait for a family’s birthday party to begin, so it slipped into a garage where supplies were being stored and chugged down a slab of Diet Coke.
The headline and lead of the original local news report:
Alligator gives Collier County couple a birthday surprise
A Collier County couple was met with quite the surprise when they found an alligator in their garage.Birthday surprises can be thrilling and fun, and in Florida, they can be wild. The Dobsons, who live in the Wyndemere community, got just that when they found a gator in their garage days ahead of a big birthday.
Karyn and her husband Jamie were watching TV on Wednesday night when they heard what they thought was a car accident.
“The crash was so big like wicked,” said Karyn.
“I open the garage door about a quarter way, peek my head in, and there’s the alligator,” said Jamie. “Quickly close the door, ‘Karyn, we have an alligator in our garage,’ something from the midwest I really haven’t experienced before.”
Lawsuit Threat from Fake Lawyer representing Fake Client
As explained in this report:
A Swedish photography magazine was recently contacted by lawyers who claimed that a photo it downloaded from the free photo service Pixabay violated a client’s copyright. But it turned out the law firm and the client were both fake, and the real photographer had never uploaded it to Pixabay either.
Middle Muddle
In a new spot, State Street Global Advisors finds an absurd way to make the case for mid cap stocks in investor portfolios.
Yoga… taught by horses
That’s right. American horse feed brand, Hallway Feeds is expanding into offering, what it calls a “horse wellness experience”: yoga classes that are “taught by horses and adapted for people”. All for the modest sum of $5000 + taxes. To quote from the website:
Hallway Feeds proudly introduces The Horse Yoga Retreat — a destination experience designed for the most adventurous yoga enthusiasts. This once-in-a-lifetime experience is led by expert horse yoga gurus, Swampy, Vanilla Ice and AppleJack.
Master poses like Downward Horse, Neighasana, Vajrahoove and many others, taught by horses and adapted for people. Goats could never do yoga, let alone teach a class. This is where the whole horse wellness experience comes full circle.