Freak Week

Unholy rollers: South Carolina atheism adsThe atheists are on a roll. After running ads in London and Washington, D.C., in recent months, they got a shout-out from Barack Obama during his inauguration speech. And today they're unveiling a billboard campaign, featuring the lines above, in South Carolina. "We expect it to generate a mix of reactions from surprise, curiosity, and even uplift," says a member of the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry. Probably some outrage, too.Street teams: Prostitutes shill for zigCFRB, a talk-radio station in Toronto, enjoys taking its message to the streets, having drafted local residents in recent months to hold posters that pose provocative questions -- topics that are then discussed on-air. Last week, CFRB's agency, Zig, took it a step further by hiring actual prostitutes to hold signs asking if prostitution should be made legal. The stunt obviously drew the expected criticism from advocates for the rights and safety of prostitutes. "It has nothing to do with helping out the sex workers," said one. "It's using them."Infomercial king: The rise of Vince OfferThere's a new king of late night, and his name isn't Dave or Jay or Jimmy. It's Vince, as in Vince Offer, and he's been working his way into viewers' hearts one Slap Chop at a time. He made his name selling the ShamWow, and earned many amused fans -- and a few enemies. Wrote one AdFreak reader: "That guy always reminds me of the Green Goblin from Spider-Man. I wouldn't trust him." Strange choice: Obama pro-life adBarack Obama isn't the first person who comes to mind when you think of potential stars of pro-life ads. But CatholicVote.org rolled out a spot last week celebrating the fact that Obama's mother, despite her difficult circumstances, didn't have an abortion when she was carrying Barack-and instead allowed her son to live and achieve his true potential. Not surprisingly, the ad provoked sharp reactions on both sides of the debate. Wrote one reader: "What's the difference between this and the [atheism] campaign? Except the fact that this one actually does a good job of creating a compelling argument." Added another: "It's a fine ad if you believe the reason people have abortions is an assumption that the fetus will never amount to anything. Otherwise it's entirely beside the point."Exit stage left: Veet's Bush adGeorge W. Bush has been fodder for all sorts of advertisements over the past eight years-perhaps none of them more simple than this "Goodbye Bush" ad by Euro RSCG Australia, which ran last Wednesday in the Sydney Daily Telegraph. The brand behind it? Veet, a hair-removal company. (Give it a second.) Few other brands chose to tie in with the president's exit, except for Playboy TV, which has a whole "No More Bush" thing going on this month.BEST OF THE REST -- HIGHLIGHTS FROM OTHER BLOGS:Hitting the wall: OsocioAmong many other gems he posted last week to Osocio, his blog about nonprofit ads, Marc van Gurp included this striking outdoor effort from Chile. The work of Columbia apparel and Prolam Y&R, it's a giant billboard placed on the side of a building, with the A/C units poking through. "The air that cools your home heats up the world," reads the headline. Van Gurp asks if the ad is really a net positive, given its giant size. [tinyurl.com/FWprolam]Mock ad of the week: jalopnikIn December, Chrysler posted a "Thank you America" print ad, which had run in USA Today, to its official blog. After getting bombarded with negative comments (some people thought the cash could have been better spent), it deleted the post last week. Jalopnik, the auto blog, couldn't let that stand-and posted a sarcastic "Thank you Chrysler" ad of its own. [tinyurl.com/FWchrysler]Turning Iapanese: yesbutnobutyesYesButNoButYes gave us a great list of the 10 Awesomely Bizarre Japanese YouTube Videos. "Any Japanese speakers out there care to fill me in on the meaning behind these head-scratchingly wonderful clips?" asks the writer. "On second thought, don't." [tinyurl.com/FWjapanvids]

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