Category:
Advertising

Follies of the Mad Men #77



How do you advertise the death car that made Ralph Nader's reputation? Here's how!

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 04, 2009 - Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Death, 1960s, Cars

The Relaxed Wife



After about 11 minutes of surreal domestic sitcom stuff, the true reason for this video appears: prescription drugs to soothe you. Take some "Atarax" today!

Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 01, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Drugs, 1950s

We Are Not Alone—courtesy of Budweiser

When the SETI people get the message, perhaps this is way it will happen. WASSUP!



Again, supposedly from Pixar, but I'm not the one who labelled it originally. Be safe this weekend -- alien dogs may be watching.

Posted By: gdanea - Tue Nov 24, 2009 - Comments (6)
Category: Advertising

Weird Divorce

It’s been a weird week for divorcees, starting with an Indian couple from Pune near Mumbai. After years of arguments over the wife’s penchant for Hindi soap operas, the husband finally barred her from watching them any more. She promptly filed for a divorce, which was granted on the grounds of his “cruel treatment” of her (World News AU).

Next is the case of the divorce granted to the Chinese couple who had not seen each other since their wedding, three years previously. The ceremony took place in China’s Machong district and was the result of an arranged marriage by the parents of the couple, called Ma and Mo, who were good friends. But Ma, the groom, left for a job elsewhere straight after and the newlyweds did not even try to stay in touch. With no children or property to argue over, the divorce went fairly uneventfully (China Daily).

Staying in China for a moment, Shoutsee Li and Han Fucheng of that country’s Mentougou district are hoping a judge will annul their marriage so they can marry again, this time legally. The couple originally married in 2006 after meeting nine years earlier, but Li was in China under false papers and now faces deportation. But while the police don’t recognise Han and Li’s marriage, the registrar does, and will not let them remarry until their current marriage is dissolved (People’s Daily).

Not so likely to remarry are recently separated couple Robin Williams and Anthony Hull of Kingsfold in England. Attempts to reach an agreement on how to divide their £500,000 ($850k) house have stalled amid arguments over who keeps the cheese grater and whether paint pots are communal property. The couple have now taken their grievances to Britain’s High Court (Daily Express).

Also in court this week was Stanley G. Hilton of Hillsborough, CA who is suing San Francisco, its airport, every airline that uses it, and the manufacturers of the airplanes landing there for $15 million each for ruining his marriage. All in all Hilton, a former attorney (now disbarred), cites 37 parties as contributing to the breakdown of relations with his wife, which amounts to a cool $555 million in the unlikely event that he wins (Wired).



More in extended >>

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Mon Nov 23, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Eccentrics, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Government, Regulations, Religion, Lawsuits, Divorce

Follies of the Mad Men #76

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[From The Saturday Evening Post for October 10 1953. Two scans, top and bottom.]

Nothing like aligning your product with a civilization that practiced human sacrifice. The Incas weren't the Aztecs, but as Wikipedia reminds us: "There is [sic] archaeological discoveries supporting the presence of sacrifice within Inca society according to Reinhard and Ceruti: 'Archaeological evidence found on distant mountain summits has established that the burial of offerings was a common practice among the Incas and that human sacrifice took place at several of the sites.The excellent preservation of the bodies and other material in the cold and dry environment of the high Andes provides revealing details about the rituals that were performed at these ceremonial complexes.'"

And did they actually make the best ink ever? I can't find any reference to such an accomplishment.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 10, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, History, Archaeology, 1950s, South America

Follies of the Mad Men #75



Are "zip, zing and pep" actual scientific elements recognized by the FDA?

Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 03, 2009 - Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Food, Children, 1950s

PS3 versus Bravia TV at 50MPH

There are some things that can be done which really shouldn't. But if the advertising company can talk Sony into losing a couple of pieces of equipment, what's the harm? Here's the hook -- buy one of these Sony TV's and get a PS3 -- FREE, FREE, FREE!! They are giving away 25,000 PS3's. Sorry, only available in Australia!!



Insert the next two objects you think should meet at high speed in your comments!!

Posted By: gdanea - Mon Oct 26, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Advertising

Follies of the Mad Men #74


[From Good Housekeeping for December 1949.]

"Subliminal" is not the precise word I want here. Not when the coded message is in big red letters.

"Subtextual?" "Off-topic?" "Suggestive?"

In any case, promoting the maxim "husbands beat wives" in a women's magazine was one way of keeping the girls in line, I guess.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 25, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Domestic, Marriage, Food, Violence, Husbands, Wives, 1940s

Microsoft and Burger King Team Up to Kill You

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In Japan, Microsoft and Burger King decided to celebrate the release of Windows 7 with a seven patty high burger. For only 777 yen (about $9) you can purchase this five inch tall, 2500 calorie burger. Daily Mail

Posted By: mdb777 - Fri Oct 23, 2009 - Comments (11)
Category: Advertising, Asia, Stomach, Eating

Pepsi-Cola!

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(from the June 1946 issue of Popular Science)

Posted By: Salamander Sam - Sat Oct 17, 2009 - Comments (5)
Category: Advertising, Products, 1940s

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Who We Are
Alex Boese
Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.

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