Not being a fan of the overrated Louis Vuitton line of luxury handbags and luggage (and in general), this is another reason for me to take my dislike up a notch.

Louis Vuitton is suing a design student (Nadia Plesner) working with a Darfur fundraiser because their recent campaign called, “Simple Living” shows a refugee with a little chihuahua and expensive LV-ish handbag. Sound or Look familiar? As most of us sadly know, this combination of images only leads to one person: Paris Hilton. The raison d’etre of this design illustrates that people like Hilton get all of the media attention (and why?!), while much more attention-worthy important causes are being ignored.

All of the proceeds of the t-shirts and posters of this campaign are going to charity.

Buy a t-shirt now and support Nadia and Save Darfur

[via]

Do you get this ad? It might have worked if they added a short tagline (though that would have been a bit tricky)… Here’s a hint: Manix (King Size) sells extra large condoms…

There are three new public service announcement videos just released by the Ministry of Employment that are pretty creepy, albeit effective. They’re aiming to encourage people to take care of health problems like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other repetitive strain injuries related to work before they become debilitating.

All three start with an agonizingly LONG and PAINFUL, moan. Then you see why. EW!

Here’s what the PSA’s say:

Au travail il y a des petites douleurs qui deviennent insupportables.
At work, there are little aches that become unbearable.

Troubles Musculo-squelettiques.
Muscular Skeletal Pain

Parlons en pour les faire reculer.
Let’s talk about it to make it better.

Watch the videos here

This is a recent television spot (commercial) that cracked me up a little but I won’t spoil it by telling you what it’s advertising. Watch it here (only 20 seconds). It’s not as funny as this one, though.

More television commercials I featured:

My mom said I could!
Become a replacement smoker
Road Safety Campaign 1
Road Safety Campaign 2
Fun AIDS Awareness Commercials
Funny Ad from Renault
Orangina’s Animal Orgy
Deceptive Commercial in France
Setting bad examples on French television commercials
Keep your spit for tonight
French ads including posters

Here’s the ad that’s gotten Sarkozy’s undies all tied up in knots. The bubble above Carla Bruni’s head says, “With Ryanair, my whole family can come to my wedding.” [Source: Daily Motion]

On a lighter note, here’s a goofy, silly fun online holiday greeting card from Rail Europe. This is what our turkey friend here looks like if you go to France. You can choose your destination and your turkey will dress accordingly.

Check out that turkey now.

[via]

More snarky ads this time coming from the ad agency, Euro RSCG Prague for the school Belecole in Prague, a French language school. Is THAT supposed to be charming and funny? I wonder if it really inspires people to WANT to learn French. If anything, it makes me think about learning English grammar, punctuation and spelling…

[via]

You might have noticed that someone has painted the town pink. At least the Velib seats, anyway.

“Operation Act Up” has hit Velibs across Paris with a simple message: “et vous, vous faites quoi pour vous protéger?” - What are YOU doing to protect yourself?

Prevent the spread of AIDS by using condoms. Here’s a video at dailymotion.

[via]

Alhough I’m not very fond of this French milk commercial set to a remixed version of “Staying Alive,” I thought I’d share it anyway for it’s creepy value.

Basically, it’s a bunch of baby bones dancing around cow udders. Need I say more? I think I prefer the “got milk?” campaign…

Watch the video

I kind of like those shoes. But French authorities don’t!

Un faux pas qui vous coûtera cher. En France la loi prévoit jusqu’a 300,000 euros d’amende et 3 ans d’emprisonnement. La contrefaçon est un vrai fléau.

Translation: Stepping out of line will cost you a lot. In France by law, you risk paying up to 300,000 euros ($438,780) and 3 years in prison. Counterfeiting is a real plague.

Latest TV spot from Orangina. It’s naturally juicy! Watch it on YouTube.

Funny Metro spot from the 70s (looks like from the 70s, anyway) - probably not being sung today…

Link to YouTube Video

[via Damien de Blignières]

Following the Canadian ad, I’m thinking that snark must be la tendance en publicité (the advertising trend) with France dishing it out to England (so what else is new) this time around. The Eurostar is the fast train from Paris to cities north (Calais, Ashford, London and Lille).

“Londres sur un coup de tête” means (Go to) London on the spur of the moment, but it also means (Go to) London for a head-butt.

That silliness aside, it says that a one-way ticket is 35 euros, but you also have to pay additionally for a reservation when you take the Eurostar AND when you come back. Lastly! The retour (return) ticket is not always the same price as the aller.

And they say that Canadians are sooooooooooo nice. This ad’s from a French restaurant in Toronto, and with a tagline like: “French Food without the attitude,” I just wondered what that’s all aboot.

Rude, eh?

Their tagline: “Make your own mix.”

This idea is not new but I like it anyway. See 2nd Hand Record’s Campaign called, “Complete Your Collection” or Christian Marclay’s “Body Mix” or remotely like some of David Hockney’s photo montages (photo collages).

Advertising Agency: Agence V., Paris, France, Creative Director: Christian Vince, Art Director: Romain Guillon, Copywriter: Pierre Riess, Art Director Assistant: Nicolas Martinie, Photographer: Adolfo Fiori

From Adrants:

If you live in France and happen to have found a baby in the frozen food section of your local grocer, fear not. This isn’t the latest baby dumping stunt by a distraught teenager; it’s just a home-grown campaign to promote France’s national child abuse phone number, 119. Another clue this isn’t one of those baby-in-a-trash-barrel things: the babies here are tiny, plastic and wrapped in bags like toys.

It’s not a sanctioned campaign but a one-off from a group of people who think the cause needs greater promotion. We’re not sure what we’d do if we found a frozen baby while reaching for a bag of frozen peas but we sure like the approach these guys took to call attention to the issue. Watch the video.

The Sécurité Routière, France’s Department of Road Safety has released this year’s television spots that will again send shivers down your spine just like last year’s. The TV spots focus on the concept of “just,” i.e., “You’re driving just a little too close” or “You just forgot to signal that you were turning” or “You just ran a red light” or “You just killed someone.” The French Sécurité Routière doesn’t mess around! But these spots effectively show the catastrophic consequences of a driver’s small actions.

Watch these ads here and here.

france road safety accidents in france driving in france

Funny TV ad spot. I don’t want to mention the product because it might give away the ending. (Click on the picture above to see the video)

Toxic Corp is recruiting replacement smokers. Apply now!

This spot has been running on TV recently and is well worth a mention for its tongue-in-cheekiness juxtaposed with a soberingly unhumorous message. Produced by the INPES (Institut national de prévention et d’éducation pour la santé / Nat’l Health Inst. of Education and Prevention) and the Alliance contre le tabac (Alliance against tobacco), the two organizations have been working to inculcate the dangerous consequences of smoking in young people - who are the prime targets for tobacco companies. (Yes! Tobacco companies really ARE looking for Replacement Smokers!)

The Ugly Statistics in France

* Tobacco is the prime cause of avoidable death in France, and the prime cause of cancer. (66,000 deaths per year)
* 42% of 15 to 24 year olds are smokers versus 29% of 25 to 75 year olds.
* There’s a strong increase in the number of smokers with age: from 34% of smokers between 15 and 19 years old, to 51% between 20 and 24 years old.
* On the other hand, only 54% of smokers from ages 15 to 24 want to quit versus 62% of smokers ages 25 to 75.

Here’s what they’re saying on this PSA and a translation. (Click on the photo above to see the video.)

Vous êtes jeune, en bonne sante.
Rejoignez Toxic Corp et devenez “Replacement smokers” !
Votre naiveté et votre inexpérience sont pour nous un vrai plus .
Chaque année , 270,000 jeunes courageux et motivés
sont prêts à absorber plus de 50 substances cancérigènes
pour nous aider à soutenir nos bénéfices .
Comme eux , saisissez cette chance
et remplacez dès aujourd’hui
l’un de nos fidèles fumeurs décédés !
Votre avenir est en marche , n’hésitez plus .

Le tabac tue un fumeur sur deux.
L’industrie du tabac doit les remplacer.

Translation
You’re young and in good health.
Join Toxic Corp and become a Replacement Smoker!
Your naivete and inexperience is a real plus for us.
Every year, 270,000 courageous and motivated youths
are prepared to breathe in more than 50 carcinogenic substances
to help us support the bottom line.
Like them, seize this opportunity
and from today on, replace one of our dead loyal smokers!
Your future is ahead of you. Join now.

Tagline:
Tabacco kills one out of 2 smokers.
The tobacco industry must replace them.

Source Links: Toxic Corp, INPES

I think this beauty salon’s name sounds fancier in French…

The Rugby World Cup is fast approaching, beginning September 5 in Paris. What better way to commemorate your favorite francophone rugbyman or in this case rugbymen than with a 2008 calendar of your French Rugby players all naked!?? Does it merit the name, “Dieux du Stade Calendrier 2008” (Gods of the Stadium, 2008 Calendar)? I think so.

Who’s on this calendar jam-packed with French rugby players showing off their best assets?

- Christophe Dominici
- David Skrela
- Rémy Martin
- Dimitri Szarzewski
- Clément Poitrenaud
- Vincent Clerc
- Nicolas Jeanjean
- Ignacio Corleto
- Sergio Parisse
- Mirco et Mauro Bergamasco
- Geoffroy Messina
- Julien Arias
- Marcello Bosch
- Loïc Jacquet

This year the calendar photos were shot by Steven Klein, well-known for his provocative images - for example, could the photo of Brad Pitt in a very short Greek skirt (for his film, Troy) be indelibly engraved in your memory? Klein has also shot Madonna for years as well as other stars and athletes.

Order one now (26.60 euros (about $36), free delivery in France)

[via Dieux du stade (in French)]

^{Tagline: Enjoy Rugby in the Capital of Love}

I don’t think this ad wanted to intentionally alienate straight rugby fans but oh well. It’s a bold ad campaign that’s supposed to be funny, anyway. [in preparation for several World Cup matches around Paris - ads by cestsoparis.com] By the way, Rugby kicks off in September.

^{D’ou vous voulez - dans le limite des zones couvertes par les reseaux 3G/3G+ de SFR - Anywhere you want - within the zones covered by SFR’s network 3G/3G+}

I’m not gonna lie: I hate this TV commercial. It says that with the SFR 3G+ service and USB key, you have access to the internet “anywhere you want.” Then in small print, it says, “in zones covered by SFR” (the internet provider). SFR is not covered everywhere in France. Then. That’s NOT getting internet access anywhere you want, is it??!

What if I want internet access between Paris and Dijon, 300 kilometers (nearly 200 miles) with my very handy, cool SFR USB key? That’s where I want it, SFR! You said anywhere I want. Will I get it? No. Once outside the city limits there’s no access whatsoever.

STOP LYING!

Links: Jurisprudence : Publicité mensongère, Publicité mensongère

Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday at the Greenmarket at Union Square, regional farmers and other food producers gather to sell their products. You’ll find things like organic baked bread and other oven-fresh goods, fish, flours, honey, all kinds of produce including unsual finds like black radishes, Berry Hot Garlic Jelly and more. It is a very cool market. But what caught my eye was a huge sign (sorry I was a lazy photog and didn’t grab a shot).

Me: “Sweetie, that sign says ‘Grass-fed CHEESE.’

Him: “Pffff! Americans now think that little camemberts have legs.”

We figured that the cheese producers didn’t want to say “organic” cheese because “organic” can mean different things (and perhaps not be organic at all) and the organic cheese in the U.S. can be made with milk from cows that were fed corn, something most eat but by nature, aren’t supposed to eat. Cows are supposed to eat grass! As a result of a corn-based diet, cows get sick. That means that ALL industrially raised cows are, in fact, sick. It’s inevitable and thus, these poor cows are heavily pumped with antibiotics to “keep them afloat” along with growth hormones that makes them grow at unnatural speeds. It’s all very unnatural and unhealthy. All of that sick stuff and drugs pass down into their milk, which is then made into lovely cheese! So “organic” cheese might not be very healthful for you. (Let’s not even talk about the beef.)

That’s why these cheese makers have to clarify where their cheese comes from. Grass-fed cows stay healthy as they’re eating what ruminants (grazers) should be eating: grass. Their milk is antibiotic-free and generally hormone-free (but check first). Slight Sidebar: Horizon Milk is not as healthy as you might think. In fact, Horizon Organic is not organic.

Back to cheese. If you have a choice and are searching for more healthy alternatives, try to buy “grass-fed cheese” as weird as that may sound.

Green Market
Union Square, New York
Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

Tagline:

Get to know more about Paris.
CondorTravel Travel Agency

I love how this ad hits the mark about traveling to Paris. In my head I hear something like this from gobs of tourists, “Ok, we’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, NOW what are we going to do?” This could also be a spot-on analogous ad for traveling around France outside of the capital - as some, actually MILLIONS of people don’t even realize there’s an amazing world outside of Paris…

Advertising Agency: Quorum Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Peru - Creative Director: Shatz, Art Director: Ricardo Toyohama, Copywriter: Martin Santivañez