Don't give up on Advertising with Sex

Not to be confused with sexvertising, mind you.  Courtesy of a wonderful friend on Facebook, below are some wonderfully cheeky PSAs promoting birth control.  The sex is realistic, the bodies are seen in nature, and the presentation is genuinely funny.

Advertisers can take a cue from these videos.  You can use sex, and if you use it humorously, you can make a message that really stick.

Not to mention I highly endorse the message being presented.  Everyone should practice safe sex, but don't think that means you have to give up sex altogether.

UPDATE: Writing is definitely a collaborative effort.  My friend Jen sent me this brilliant NY Times article about an unusual sex ed program which takes a much needed pragmatic stance, offering actual information and advice.  It's a bit long, but stick with it; it is brilliant!

Smart like Dad/Pretty like Mommy/Dumb like America

I could probably do an entire blog on the stupidity of and rigid gender roles reinforced by children's clothing and toys, but I will save my full rant for another day and another ad.  A friend of mine in Facebook posted this photo of Gymboree onesies, as shared from SPARK summit  Facebook page.

In case you can't read, the text reads "Smart like Dad" and "Pretty like Mommy," and as SPARK notes in their caption, "Spoiler alert: there is no 'Smart like Mommy' onesie."

As I have noted in my previous entry about a similarly stupid item of clothing, the problem isn't necessarily with the clothing itself, which is stupid and insipid, but someone is always going to tell you that you're "missing the joke."  The problem is that someone thought this was ok, that this didn't raise any red flags.  There were no moms on the planning committee who thought that their intelligence rated a tacky graphic?

This brought to mind a great post by Lisa Bloom on the Huffington post, "How to Talk to Little Girls," where the first thing we talk about with a female child is her looks.  The idea is so ingrained in us that we don't even realize we're doing it.  After reading Bloom's piece, things like the above photo irk you all the more.

So before you say "you're overreacting," read the Bloom piece and realize that we are still a long way away from having "Smart like Mommy" onesies.