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OK, here's a rant for you -- does every issue of AdRants have to have some salacious image of semi-nude women with smirking, leering commentary? Or are you just trying to elevate AdRants in search engines by frequently using words like "ass"? I'm not naive about what sells -- but this doesn't really cut it for me as "insightful, informed, experiential" commentary as promised in your "About Us" page. Sounds more like conversation I'd overhear in a bar.

Steve, you are a shameless master of the screencap. You really should think about adding that talent to the About Us copy.

I've been slogging through the trenches dealing with toxic ads like Sloggi, and it doesn't surprise me that Catherine's great post above is the lone wolf here...the rest of us take it as a 'given' that Adrants will sophomorically dwell in the T&A realm, making a mockery of our industry, with zero regard for the women in it, or the children impacted by it.

Wanna see a real rant? Check out our POV on this campaign here: http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=373

All we do here is report what we see. We don't make the ads. Blame marketers for that. As for sophmoric dwelling, I'll cop to that. In terms of making a mockery of this biz, no way. I love advertising and think it's a great industry. It simply needs it's fat headed balloon popped from time to time.

And we're not all negative. We fawn all over stuff quite often. There's tons of great work out there and we love to celebrate it.

And if you think I disrespect women well then you simply do not know me my friend.

Shaping Youth, I agree with you completely that children are terribly impacted by this stuff though last I knew Adrants was a B to B site that's written for the ad industry. Not kids. I bring this stuff up because it's out there, so you can get outraged by it, write about it and perhaps have some impact in changing things. It's all a proper chain.

Now if we could just get rid of advertising's "dumd dads" and Chippendales, we'd be well on our way to ceasing the objectification of both sexes:-)

Oh, and if you haven't figured it out yet, yes, I do think Sloggi is a cheesy company that resorts to time-tested exploitation to sell its lingerie. It still makes for great copy though.

I'm glad to hear you 'get' the fact that this is impacting kids. And yes, as a B2B, Adrants is invaluable to our work...You do a fabulous job tipping me off to the drek, so we know where to land our counter-marketing efforts...Like you say, it' a proper chain, no gripe there.

I'm just not thrilled about the way you encourage, applaud, (ok, salivate) over this kind of thinking to folks in our industry who will no doubt pump up the opportunity to create more of the same.

Your personal preferences are your own, but as an industry rag, you should at least SHOW SOME BALANCE and shout out the reverb elsewhere. (like the trickle down impact on kids)

Awareness is a catalyst for positive change, and that's what Shaping Youth is all about.

Our colleagues need to learn to THINK beyond instant gratification of evercool edginess, shock value, CLIOS and cultural narcissism to get cognizant of the long term damage of what's being put out there.

After all, we're inside the industry too.

I sent this site to my CD because he'd just sent in his taxes and was walking with a bit of a limp. I figured this might cheer him up.

Later I asked if he'd played with any billboards lately. It took a few seconds but when the coin dropped he smiled and said that he had indeed.

TO SHAPING YOUTH: Would you feel better if Steve puts your site in his links? Best I can tell he doesn't hide his salivating. And he has brought on Angela, who appears less impressed by this kind of shenanigans.

I love Adrants, straight news, T&A, all of it.

Tom

Not sure you're getting my point here; it's not about links, nor overt vs. covert salacious drivel...

It's about applauding/perpetuating objectification at every turn without having the testicular fortitude to see the damage it's doing. It's about accountability, and responsibility for what we in the media put out there. (or do you think Imus was edgy/amusing because he didn't 'hide' his racist wink-wink 'ho' comments to the Rutgers team too?)

Angela, where are ya?

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