Comments on: Too sexy for my France, too sexy for my France, too sexy...

Too sexy for my France, too sexy for my France, too sexy...

psmealey — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 14:46:46 -0800

But nudity is part of our culture! In a rare move, a French advertising sector association has called on underwear manufacturer Triumph to withdraw a billboard campaign for its Sloggi range, which has been widely condemned as offensive to women. The fear among advertisers is that the ad with its explicit exposure of the models' buttocks will prompt the government to replace the existing system of industry self-regulation with laws on what can and cannot be portrayed in ads.

Some pretty good lines here:

"It's the strip-tease context which is the problem in the Sloggi ads. ... It is very damaging for the image of advertising," said Joseph Besnainou
"Since the 19th century, the dress code of prostitutes has tended to set the tone for women as a whole," feminist author Florence Montreynard told LCI television.
"These models are beautiful by some criteria, but their buttocks are those of adolescents rather than of real women. Are women supposed to get a complex about that?"
"But nudity will always be used in adverts in France," he said. "It's part of our culture."

The link to some of the ad creative in question. Caution: Flash required, as well as it being not necessarily safe for France, which means it's definitely NSFW in the English speaking world.

By: anathema

anathema — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 14:55:18 -0800

Cool bullet points.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 14:59:54 -0800

Any motion to rid the world of photos of people in thongs (or, in an ideal world, thongs themselves) is okay by me. How anyone can find them sexy is beyond me.

By: stevengarrity

stevengarrity — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 15:21:56 -0800

I know this if off topic, but I can't help it: using the word "creative" as a noun (as in "we have great creative") gives me the willies. Don't do it.

By: jmgorman

jmgorman — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 15:27:19 -0800

I don't see the problem. I've seen the same in French adverts before. There are just more thongs this time. on preview: here here stevengarrity, and they give Americans a hard time for butchering French.

By: spazzm

spazzm — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 15:55:36 -0800

I was unable to see the ad (the server seemed slow and unresponsive for some reason), but on general I'd say that people who want to regulate the dress (or lack thereof) of others are seldom happy, well-adjusted persons with the best of mankind in mind. They should be treated with mistrust. If you don't want to be naked - fine. If you don't want others to be naked - move to Greenland.

By: dg

dg — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 15:57:21 -0800

Why is something considered acceptable on the beach not considered acceptable anywhere else? Is it because these are underwear, rather than swimwear and therefore taboo? I understand that different dress standards apply for different situations, but would the uproar be as loud if they were ads for thong bikinis?

By: rushmc

rushmc — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 16:00:16 -0800

By: spazzm

spazzm — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 16:01:10 -0800

And I'm so tired of the "this advertising is making me feel inadequate"-meme. If you're a fat disgusting wretch, get some exercise, dammit! At least stop taking it out on those with more willpower and/or better genes than you.

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 16:04:40 -0800

[/bookmarks site] [/cancels Victoria Secret catalog] I live off the pool, this is nothing, try woman well beyond needing some support going topless;P Notice the thong works well for woman whom may be considered small bosom. Yet if you're big bosom, having more cover on top looks lame to an extent. but would the uproar be as loud if they were ads for thong bikinis? The adds are not just underwear/pants on the site, the topless ones are bikinis, the girls are turned just showing buttocks.

By: Hildegarde

Hildegarde — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 16:15:36 -0800

What do thongs have to do with boobs?

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 16:33:50 -0800

What do thongs have to do with boobs? sorry was reading out by the pool the other day, teens being sloppy dressed, showing their under garments off and their was woman in a thong and it all ran together in my head.

By: shoepal

shoepal — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 16:45:03 -0800

DG I totally concur. I was in Paris the other day and actually took a photo of a sloggi poster in the Latin Quarter because it seemed like a good example of the French/European advertising industry's unabashed (ab)use of the female form. Err... uh... yeah. That's exactly why I took the photo. (oh and for some reason this thread reminded me of this Sony ad [mpg])

By: shepd

shepd — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 16:51:44 -0800

Prostitutes look that good? And they wear g-strings in public in france? I wish I had bothered to learn french in high school now.

By: majick

majick — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:02:28 -0800

"...some of the ad creative in question." When did "creative" become a noun?

By: y6y6y6

y6y6y6 — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:31:14 -0800

"When did "creative" become a noun?" Try to keep up. It's been this way for decades. If you work in an ad agency you'll hear it 50 times a day.

By: fuzz

fuzz — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:33:19 -0800

These images are just as revealing as the ones Aubade (another French underwear maker) was putting up everywhere in the Metro 10 years ago. The difference is that the Aubade ones had ad copy that extolled the power that a woman gets from her sexuality -- the classic French idea of femininity. I'm not sure if it's the times that have changed or if the problem is that the Sloggi ads don't put women in a controlling role.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:53:52 -0800

The thongs aren't the offensive part of their advertising. It's the men's underwear ads, where the guys obviously have a kolbasa and two coconuts stuffed down their shorts. My god, you'd think it was a third bicep!

By: oog

oog — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:55:56 -0800

call me liberal or a horndog, but these ads are so non-provocative for me, i'd more than likely ignore them if seen in a public setting. i know where to go for t&a. sure, it might catch my eye for a second, but i certainly wouldn't be screaming about them being inappropriate. i've been to times square, after all.

By: poopy

poopy — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 18:03:32 -0800

fff, what generously endowed male doesn't have a kolbasa and two coconut sized appendages in their shorts? biceps have nothing to do with this! :)

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 19:30:57 -0800

but they're French!

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 19:35:08 -0800

Thongs aren't offensive advertising; broken self-resizing Flash detect windows are.

By: dg

dg — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 19:49:34 -0800

fivefreshfish, after checking in the mirror, those guys don't seem all that well endowed to me. YMMV, of course ;-)

By: poopy

poopy — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 19:50:32 -0800

fff, Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 21:11:03 -0800

I find people in polyester plaid clothing that's too small for their massive girth offensive. Maybe we should subpoena Wal-Mart.

By: AstroGuy

AstroGuy — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 22:50:44 -0800

Ummm, all I get is a blue screen that says "be yourself--be patient" then nothing.

By: damclean2

damclean2 — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 22:55:04 -0800

Try to keep up. It's been this way for decades. If you work in an ad agency you'll hear it 50 times a day. I second this motion. In fact, I was showing off some killer creative to a client just the other day. Took the results back to the Creative Director and he gathered a meeting of the creatives to go over the creative brief one more time. Ah... admavertising.

By: magikeye

magikeye — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 00:40:10 -0800

the little white ball is fun!

By: i_cola

i_cola — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 02:27:27 -0800

Re: Creative as noun. People who need to use creative as a noun should be encouraged to do so. It allows easy identification of those who need to be clubbed to death in the street like the dogs that they are. Example (from y6y6y6's first link): 'NOUNcreative is a San Diego based graphic design boutique...' C'mon! If you're going to have something as stupid as the death penalty in CA, at least use it constructively! Bill Hicks said it all...

By: Dick Paris

Dick Paris — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 02:28:50 -0800

poopy: fff, Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? Only with swallows.

By: walrus

walrus — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 02:52:51 -0800

It would have to be an African coconut though.

By: MintSauce

MintSauce — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 03:39:40 -0800

What dobbs said ... only the opposite.

By: pecus

pecus — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 05:47:34 -0800

French and Italians are alike then: here in Italy Roberta is showing a similar billboard advertising, and no signs of criticism: aren't we getting too politically correct?

These models are beautiful by some criteria, but their buttocks are those of adolescents rather than of real women. Are women supposed to get a complex about that?

Are women really getting a complex? Haven't we realized yet the real world is quite different from the one of advertising? If not, we deserve whatever puritan narrowminded regulation a government can come up with.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 06:15:16 -0800

I'd say that people who want to regulate the dress (or lack thereof) of others are seldom happy, well-adjusted persons with the best of mankind in mind. They should be treated with mistrust. Unless of course, we're talking about polyester leisure suits, trucker caps, and "rave wear." In which case, regulate away.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 06:17:35 -0800

I apologize for the use of the whole "creative as a noun" thing. Spent a couple of (very nasty) years in the ad biz a few years back, and somehow this bit of jargon snuck into my vernacular.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 07:25:44 -0800

Bill Hicks said it all...posted by i_cola Amen, my brother. For those of you unfamiliar with the prophet of existentialism, the exact quote is: "By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself. No, this is not a joke: kill yourself . . . I know what the marketing people are thinking now too: 'Oh. He's going for that anti-marketing dollar. That's a good market.' Oh man, I am not doing that, you fucking evil scumbags."

By: dabitch

dabitch — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 07:53:19 -0800

I'm in the adbiz right now and have never seen "creative" used like that. It's what we call them art directors and copywriters and designers who churn the creative work out around here. Bill Hicks is migty funny. He is, buy his CDs. You won't regret it. I adore him but won't be killing myself anytime soon. ;) As far as the Sloggi ads, they are the lamest thing around.

By: leapfrog

leapfrog — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 08:45:17 -0800

walrus, fff, poopy: (python) He could grip it by the husk!