With all due respect to the good folks at Cold Stone Creamery, why would anyone want to face their childhood fears in a scoop shop? I’m pretty sure Baskin-Robbins and Friendly’s don’t make you sit next to the tormentors of your youth when you order some mix-ins, as Cold Stone does in its “Kid” spot. Cold Stone is inviting patrons to create its next batch of fearsome ad characters. Lemme see ... how about the bully who stole your lunch money? (Maybe not, since you’d have nothing to spend in Cold Stone.) Or the gym teacher who made you climb the ropes—and laughed along with the class when you slid back down, hands bloodied and ego bruised? (P.E. types claim they’re into fitness, but the ones I had were always fairly doughy, perhaps from too many Cold Stone milkshakes.) Actually, I most fear the Saatchi creatives who dreamed up this concept. Isn’t this supposed to be comfort food?

—Posted by David Gianatasio