{"id":951,"date":"2020-10-19T11:36:43","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T16:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/capertongillett.com\/blog\/?p=951"},"modified":"2020-10-19T11:36:43","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T16:36:43","slug":"inappropriate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capertongillett.com\/blog\/inappropriate\/","title":{"rendered":"INAPPROPRIATE."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Aww, yeah. That’s the thing.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kraft no longer wants you to send noods.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early this month, in celebration of National Noodle Day (which is, apparently, a thing), Kraft encouraged comfort-food enthusiasts to send each other delicious, delicious packets of Kraft Mac & Cheese \u2014 God\u2019s own microwaved mac n\u2019 cheese. \u201cSend noods,\u201d they said \u2014 steamy, saucy noods. Tasteful<\/em> noods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The campaign was\u2026 not received well by many. INAPPROPRIATE. The historically kid-friendly brand was taken to task for its foray into blue comedy. And I will grant you that on an Instagram page that\u2019s probably 80 percent little kids and pets, naughty, pixelated nood pictures stood out pretty starkly. While I\u2019m hardly a WON\u2019T SOMEONE THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!!!1!<\/em> type, even I can acknowledge that this campaign was kind of out there. To the point of \u201cgrooming\u201d though? Are most kids of a \u201cgrooming\u201d age going to understand the language and imagery used in the campaign? (INAPPROPRIATEness notwithstanding.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And plus, I mean: pixelated macaroni and cheese. That\u2019s funny stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eh. Anyway. Personally, I have no problem with the end of the campaign \u2014 not because I found it offensive, but because \u201cnoods\u201d is right up there with \u201cnugs” in the realm of Words That Did Not Need to Be Abbreviated and Now Are Immeasurably Worse. In terms of INAPPROPRIATEness, though? I\u2019d say 6\/10, tops. Mostly, I\u2019m just pissed nobody cared enough to send me nood(le)s. That\u2019s really hurtful, y\u2019all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, Kraft and their noods are hardly the only INAPPROPRIATE marketing effort of late (although they\u2019re arguably the most prominent). Here are a few more campaigns and executions that walked the line a little. Some more successfully than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tevora gets physical<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tevora is a cybersecurity\/data protection\/etc. firm that is, in this case, advertising their assistance with cyber-attack simulations to check, in this case, your system\u2019s physical security. You know, physical penetration testing during red teaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?:<\/strong> Surprisingly, this image is only about 2\/10 in terms of impropriety. (IMPROPRIETY?) The headline is an \u201880s song, the rest of the copy is legitimate software security terms, and Tevora can\u2019t help that basically every tech term sounds vaguely dirty. (Seriously, dongle<\/em>? Hot-swapping?) That said, pretty much any photo more suggestive than this one right here would take it over the top. (If anything, that makes it even funnier.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millennial Roofing gets nailed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Millennial Roofing grabs attention with the kind of copy that, let\u2019s admit it, we\u2019ve all hoped we could sneak by a client at least once, just to say we did. In this case, though, I get the feeling it was their idea to begin with, which is extra fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?:<\/strong> 7\/10. I love a good pun, but this one seems a bit gratuitous, and it stands out pretty starkly from the rest of their social media. The 12-year-old in me says, \u201cHee, hot shingles, nailed.\u201d The advertising professional in me says, \u201cEh, really, though?\u201d As with most things, the 12-year-old is coming out ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation shows you some WAP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 A white, angry pelican. Why? What did you think they meant?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?:<\/strong> 11\/10. But I\u2019m not mad at it. (And happy birthday, Cardi B.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hospital systems want Utah to mask up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Amid a pandemic, it\u2019s good for the Utah Hospital Association to promote a crucial aspect of public health: Wearing a mask. Mask up, Utah!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?: <\/strong>1\/10. The one point comes from the tiny error in this one execution that, no matter how unintentional, rather\u2026 changes the meaning a little bit. Like, mask U and your mother, buddy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pill Club offers birth control on the fly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fly. #TheFly. This fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?: <\/strong>12\/10 Not in the least big salacious, but GAAAAH. (Also, this concept suffers if you can\u2019t get clearance to put Jeff Goldblum\u2019s face on the fly.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outward Farms eggs got laid in Ohio<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I mean, they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?: <\/strong>6\/10. Unnecessary, and I\u2019m not sure it would resonate with the standard grocery-store audience, but\u2026 tee hee. Got laid<\/em>, get it? Laid?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Um\u2026 personal care<\/em> brand wants to help you\u2026 relax<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The presidential debate a couple of weeks ago was, indeed, pretty stressful. And, um, self-care is important. For mental health. It\u2019s important for mental health. The person who turned up this ad didn\u2019t disclose the brand, and I wish I knew which brand it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Because they were so on the ball, I mean. No other reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?: <\/strong>10\/10, and I\u2019m here for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 15\/10s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These are so NSFW I can\u2019t even describe them without getting blocked by SafeSearch. Feel free to skip this section. I wish I could. Definitely skip it if you\u2019re back in a physical office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A brand I can\u2019t say wants you to do a thing I can\u2019t say<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Actual, honest-to-dog store display<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?: <\/strong>15\/10, and not in a good way. This UK brand is infamous for its sexually explicit ads, and why? People who know me will tell you I\u2019m hardly the shrinking violet, and this one doesn\u2019t offend my personal sensibilities \u2014 it offends my advertising sensibilities, because it isn\u2019t even a good branding concept. It\u2019s naughtiness for the sake of being naughty, and that\u2019s not creativity. Do better, y\u2019all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A condom campaign in Milwaukee demonstrates\u2026 stuff<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Actual campaign poster, out in the world<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of many Instagram videos that are even worse<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

INAPPROPRIATE?: <\/strong>15\/10. Condoms are important. STI prevention is important. Going into specifics about how to prevent STIs is important. Illustrating this a\u2026 thing<\/em>, doing a thing<\/em> to a thing<\/em>, or things thinging <\/em>a thing<\/em>, isn\u2019t necessary, and doing it via quirky motion graphics makes it creepier, not less creepy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0\/10: Inappropriately adorable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Steamy noods? Eh. Give me unsolicited dik-diks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

pic.twitter.com\/tcg8JqrWDH<\/a><\/p>— Unsolicited Dik-Diks (@UnsolicitedDiks) October 17, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>