Made From Stem Cells! Bad advertising for a bad product.

I'm torn.

This is one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. Realistic, anatomically correct baby dolls that sell for over $100. I don't quite understand what their purpose is, why they are collectibles, or why anybody would pay so much for one. I mean, what about just having a real baby?


"Exclusive Personalizable Newborn Baby Doll Collection! YOU PICK THE NAME for Each Adorable Collectible Lifelike Doll!"



At the same time, maybe this is better than having people reproduce.

The descriptions of these dolls are hilarious.

Look what this little girl has learned to do, all by herself! Your heart will melt when you see how this collectible lifelike baby girl doll balances her bottle in not just her little hands, but her feet as well! Of course, you can pose her lots of ways, but she's awfully cute curled up in this adorable pose!

An Ashton-Drake exclusive, this amazingly lifelike So Truly Real® vinyl baby doll was designed by renowned doll artist Bonnie Chyle. She's handcrafted with RealTouch™ vinyl skin, hand-applied hair, lashes, fingernails and toenails. She comes to you dressed in a one-piece creeper with lace ruffles across the bottom, a diaper, stretchy headband, and even her own baby bottle. Don't miss a single moment with this clever baby girl - order now!

What a clever little mold of vinyl!


"Charlie" here goes for $150.




When you first meet "Charlie," dreaming away in his soft blue knitted outfit, you won't be able to resist cuddling him close. But get set for a real surprise when you go to change his diaper! "Charlie" is the very first anatomically correct So Truly Real™ collectible vinyl doll! Sculpted by Master Doll Artist Linda Webb, "Charlie" is so special that he's been nominated for both the 2005 Dolls Awards for Excellence and the 2005 DOTY Award!

"Charlie's" perfect, little-boy body is handcrafted entirely of RealTouch™ vinyl skin, capturing every tiny wrinkle and crease, even his adorable "outtie" belly button! His soft, hand-applied hair, eyelashes, and tiny finger and toenails will melt your heart. Collectors everywhere will want to call "Charlie" their own sweet, little boy, so hurry! He's only available from Ashton-Drake - order now!

Um. Why would anyone change the diaper of a fake baby? A fake baby that doesn't poop? Furthermore, why are there doll awards?

It gets creepier.



Fall in love with Little Umi, a collectible orangutan baby doll you have to see to believe, and the first-ever So Truly Real® baby monkey doll! Beautifully crafted, her head and limbs are of collector-quality silicone that recreate every realistic detail of her face, hands and feet. Hand-rooted wispy red hair covers her from head to toe. Offer Little Umi her FREE pacifier and watch as she gazes up at you with gentle, trusting eyes.

This irresistible collectible monkey doll by renowned doll artist Wendy Dickison is available exclusively from The Ashton-Drake Galleries. Best of all, a portion of the proceeds from your purchase of Little Umi will be donated to support rainforest preservation! Don't wait to let your love for Little Umi nurture the miracle of birth and life across our beautiful world. Strong demand is expected, so order now!

I'm glad this monkey baby is crafted with gentle, trusting eyes. I'm so sick of gazing at dolls who glare at me with putrid hate.


I don't understand the human race sometimes.

FACEBOOK!!! and other social networking sites.

Lately, I hear facebook come up in conversation a lot. In school, on the news... we talked about it over Thanksgiving dinner this year for a good half hour. Seems like everyone has something to say about it, regardless of whether they use it or not.

Here are some examples of how facebook tries to advertise to a 20-year-old Caucasian female student.

Are you still waxing?

You could win a $3,000 laser hair removal treatment from American Laser Centers! Women over 18 can register today for a chance to win.

Over 18? Women? OMG, that applies to ME!!! Since I'm a woman, I need to get rid of any and all excess hair. It's just not normal for women to have hair.

The Stretchmark Riddle

I solved the riddle to stretchmarks. You too can learn to erase stretchmarks in less than 14 days!

Thank god. I thought stretchmarks were marks on the skin. Turns out, it's just a riddle that can be solved in approximately two weeks.


Sadly, I lost the original text for this ad. Found it particularly amusing because it's advertising a game on facebook where "Your avatar is a canvas; dress it up!" ... BY MAKING IT CONFORM WITH MAKE UP!

Adopt me. Love me.

Adopt a FooPet, the world's most realistic virtual puppy or kitten, then breed it and make FooBabies!

Just...no. I actually checked it out; it was creepy. I want a real pet. You know, something you can pet with your hand, instead of a cursor.

This post was going to be about facebook until I saw this article about a woman Twittering on her son's death.

Mom Shellie Ross' Tweet About Son's Death Sparks Debate Over Use of Twitter During Tragedy

It's an interesting debate. The whole point of a social networking system is to let people know what's happening in your life, but the way some people choose to disclose their information is questionable. The way some people react is even more questionable. Though these sites are becoming increasingly popular among people, it seems like we're not quite used to its power.

Cigarette Commercials

I was never subjected to this kind of advertisement on TV, having been born in '89. On the other hand, my parents witnessed the rise of television as a mass medium. Back then, this was the norm; cigarettes sponsored everything!

How the times have changed.



Some people think The Flintstones is a kids show because it's a cartoon. The truth is, it deals with some pretty adult concepts. Like husbands enjoying a smoke break while their wives do all the housework.

The Flintstones was sponsored by Winston Cigarettes during their first season on ABC. There's no way that would fly on TV today. Imagine the amount of tobacco-related deaths if Pokemon had been sponsored by Marlboro.



These are a couple of Newport commericals from the 60s.



Maybe you do need a cigarette break, man. Seems like that acid came on pretty strong.



Here, a man is disrupted from his regular, boring, violent programming by a smokin' hot, hallucinated mistress. Don't let the ole ball and chain find out where you got those cancer sticks!!!

A Kool commercial from the 70's.



Smoking, great for your self esteem!



This one speaks for itself.

The only kind of tobacco advertising you would be able to see on TV today is something like this:





And babies. Don't forget about the babies. Lay that guilt on nice and thick, now.

As you can see, tobacco ads ultimately transformed from one minute feel-good sequences to intense 30-second PSAs.

One thing is for sure: people will probably never stop smoking.

The ad that started it all.

Welcome!
This is Badvertising, my final assignment for Intro to Mass Media.

The idea for this blog stemmed from a paper I had written for the same class, which was inspired by a Livejournal post I did several months ago on the ad below.

There are several things wrong with the ad, aside from a grammatically incorrect title.

The ad stood out to me because I look similar to the girl in picture #1. I don't think that's a bad thing. According to the media, I'm wrong, and also fat.

Apparently it's easy to lose 5 pounds and look like the second girl, who could have a case of swayback. All I have to do is follow two tips, one of which seems to be "obey." What could the other tip be? "Stop eating"? "Buy Me"?

Look closely. You may also notice the shadows outlining girl #1. This is an attempt to make her appear thicker in contrast to girl #2. Sick, isn't it?

What made me sick was thinking about the other girls who will inevitably view this advertisement. How many will look different from the first girl? How many will proceed to think a negative thought about her body? At the risk of sounding like an after school special, people come in all shapes and sizes, and the media has taught us to disregard that fact of life. It's something we need to gain back if we want to see any improvements in humankind. Is it truly necessary for us to hate ourselves?