How low can they go?
edit: there is no proof that this is a photoshop or manipulated image in anyway. if someone has proof saying otherwise, id like to see it.
Yo, that’s awesome creative! Though I’m not really sure why a funeral home would be advertising on a subway. It wouldn’t really be cost effective. There are probably many other more targeted opportunities for them.
I would have preferred “Stand Back, we’d rather wait for your buisness.” I’ve seen a few companies use this technique on freeway billboards and thought it was pretty effective.
The ad is sick to its core; the comments are even sicker. If further proof were needed that our culture is heading on down to corrupted-Roman levels, there it is, in the advertisement and in the comments. People are either incapable of rendering the truth on this one (that it’s sociopathically disturbed) or - in our era of everything-funny-all-the-time-minus-irony-or-substance-keep-me-laughing-at-any-cost-and-for-fuck’s-sakes-keep-the-American-Idol-coming degradation - just plain afraid to, for fear of appearing lame. Well, fuck you, all you “garsh, it was pretty clever” assholes. Consider me the lad screaming that the emperor has no clothes.
The police state envelops, the conscience-less populace grows, and all’s (wrongly) right with the world. I stand alone, and I know it, but we who do stand alone aren’t going to budge, dig? This era forces you to do the most uncouth things, such as voice your possession of a spine made of steel, not pipe-cleaner material. Well, I’m doing that here, and again, to you commenters: a big middle finger in your general direction.
Wow, people need to lighten up…way too sensitive to stuff like this. I’m pretty sure this ad does not reveal that we are moving to a corrupt roman-like society.
Oh gosh, right. How silly of me. It was clearly a joke, so clearly marked…who didn’t know? Who didn’t say, “How clever, this unreal ad”?
Absolutely proves my point. We’re not talking about Monty Python-level comedy here, where you know you’re dealing with a joke and you laugh your ass off anyway. We’re just dealing with an image presented as actual. So BZ, dkqol, know this: you’re the fools. Know that, if nothing else.
“edit: there is no proof that this is a photoshop or manipulated image in anyway. if someone has proof saying otherwise, id like to see it.”
So we’re talking a read ad, as far as we know. So we’re dealing here - again, as far as we know - with real, true sickness. Entertainment/cleverness at any cost! Whatever sells the piece of shit, by God, do it!
And the lot of you defend the interests of the shiller…well, I just don’t get you. But I never understand defending corporate interests at the cost of human dignity.
I could imagine that its real. The quality of the picture is too bad to see if its photoshopped or not (imo). The funeral service company is real “preiswerter-bestatten.de” (the url is another one as on the ad - “billiger-bestatten.de” is now owned by a competitor.) But the Street is correct, an the ++ -cross thing. Its a company in Berlin/Germany. And here in germany, the funeral business is dominated by a competition for the lowest price (btw. “preiswerter-bestatten” and “billiger-bestatten” means something like “cheaper-funeral”). I think its possible that they try to get customers on this way. Who knows….
It’s funny AND sick. Look, people deal with the reality of their own mortality with dark humor all the time. I bet you could find a gazillion darkly humorous, self-written epitaphs to prove it. This ad, real or not, merely taps that defense mechanism we all share. Check it out, people sometimes kill themselves. Sometimes, it’s even good old Uncle Willie, who always seemed so happy and made everybody laugh. Even if he just had a heart attack, the executor of his funeral might be inclined to do business with a funeral home that can demonstrate an honest feeling about death amid all the morbid and overly sentimental advertising of its competitors. I’m just sayin’.
Nathan,
have you read “The name of the Rose”. The premise of the book is that they are searching to destroy a book of comedy. There is a great discussion in the end of the book as two of the main characters stand off and one defends freedom of expression and the other condemns comedy as one of the most dangerous things.
The danger in comedy is that by making someone laugh about an issue they never have to answer the serious question. You tell a joke about death, you don’t think about the seriousness, you tell a joke about Christ, you don’t have to ask who he really was. You tell a joke about blacks, you don’t have to think about the residual effects of slavery and colonialism.
Humor can be abused, used as an escape. You are right that in this day and time people don’t even know how to make judgements anymore. Am I not hip enough to get the joke, to see the sarcasm the irony. It is unfortunate that we can no longer speak seriously and call a spade a spade, realizing that there are taboos for good reasons.
Nathan, seriously… there are many indicators that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, but this is not one of them. This image might not be to your sophisticated level of humor, but it had me in stitches. If you want to get on your soap box about the perils facing society, do it for something worthwhile, like the price of tea in China.
Personally, I think it is Photoshop’d because the execution is flawed. I’d have made the “Look Closer” much smaller… might have more of an impact! (pun intended).
Imagine if someone DOES get hit by a train at this station… It happens sometimes… This advertiser is plain stupid, because they are putting themselves at serious risk. It’s lawyers’ heaven out there!
Listen, my ultimate point is that this wasn’t IN THE LEAST presented as comedy. It was presented as real, with the editor even chiming in that the picture, for all intents, IS real.
Comedy must be launched from a platform, no? Yes, it must. Where’s the comedy in the serious situation? And if it’s there, is it there for all to see? Intellectual honesty demands answers to those questions. But if you’re proudly dishonest re: intellect, then hey…it’s your problem.
Nathan’s right!
We live in a cold, impersonal, corporate society and cruel ads like this just make it seem even more hellish. It’s not funny, just sick and lame.
“launched from a platform”
Again, very funny. Get it? train platform-
I think its funny in that you must make sense of it in your mind. the comedy is in the way you have to picture in your mind what would happen if you follow the instructions. then make the conection. That makes it clever.
[...] If it’s not within your abilities to do something about it right now, then accept it. Focus on things you can make an impact on. Check the rest out of the corner of one eye and act when it’s within your reach. Think globally, act locally. [...]
I would just like to say that this add appears to be on the London Underground. And that on the London Underground every winter 100’s of people throw themselves infront of trains. I was on a train one day that had that happen on the line ahead. And the gentleman came over the loud speaker to tell us that there would be a small delay as someone has thrown themselves onto the tracks. Then the whole car sighed looked at there watches and started rolling their eyes and cracking jokes. This add is not funny. Nothing about this add is the least bit clever. This is rude, degrading, and completely out of order. And the funny thing is, most of the comments in this post, remind me of the ones on that train. You should be ashamed. And if your not, you have no heart.
“Listen, my ultimate point is that this wasn’t IN THE LEAST presented as comedy. It was presented as real, with the editor even chiming in that the picture, for all intents, IS real.”
I think the ad is comedic genius. Not only is it funny right away for those of us who can tell what is a joke and what is not without a little disclaimer spelling it out. But also it will provide even more comedy in the future when someone like Nathan thinks the ad IS serious, a DOES move a little closer, and we can all read about him in the next edition of the Darwin Awards!
1) If the purpose of this ad was exposure of the business, it did amazingly. Look at the international discussion it is generating. But as far as branding goes, we aren’t even sure what specific place is being advertised. Not so good.
2) If this ad is in Germany (as the detailed info may suggest), why is it in English? Perhaps a lot of ads there are, and perhaps they would like the English speakers to die.
If you cant tell that this has been modified with a computer, turn off your machine, walk away, and find a game of bridge to play.
ever seen thie picture of the kid on the windshield of a car going 99 mph? what ever happened to him? theres alog of perverted shit on the internet. If you are overly sensative to this kind of humor, there are safer places to dwell.
Even if this ad was real there is no way to approach it without some form of irony if your looking at it from a comic aspect. Personally people who claim the moral highground by spouting verbatim about all that is wrong with the world really need to realise that the dark needs to be brought to the surface to understand and overcome it. I think it’s funny and quite clever from the ironic standpoint, and fail to see how it is sick, it doesn’t actively condone or suggest suicide, but rather appeals to the knowing sense of humour that we (supposedly) have about certain things
49 Responses
Clevershark
December 4th, 2006 at 10:42 am
1I thought it was pretty clever, actually!
ttcfcl
December 4th, 2006 at 11:21 am
2Yea I think they should get props for being creative
Vic
December 4th, 2006 at 11:40 am
3Haha yea, when i first saw it i thought.. wow thats pretty neat. But then i tought about it and I realized how sad that was.
Either way, props for the creativity.
fez
December 4th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
4this isn’t very funny.
i had a brother who died in a freak advertising-induced train accident.
Rio
December 4th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
5Yo, that’s awesome creative! Though I’m not really sure why a funeral home would be advertising on a subway. It wouldn’t really be cost effective. There are probably many other more targeted opportunities for them.
John Williams
December 4th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
6I would have preferred “Stand Back, we’d rather wait for your buisness.” I’ve seen a few companies use this technique on freeway billboards and thought it was pretty effective.
Vic
December 4th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
7@ John
The freeway idea is pretty sweet. “Step on the gas, get here faster”
se
December 4th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
8This is pretty sick. We just had some one jump front of the train last week in Toronto. Sick ad!!
Nathan Hammersmith
December 4th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
9The ad is sick to its core; the comments are even sicker. If further proof were needed that our culture is heading on down to corrupted-Roman levels, there it is, in the advertisement and in the comments. People are either incapable of rendering the truth on this one (that it’s sociopathically disturbed) or - in our era of everything-funny-all-the-time-minus-irony-or-substance-keep-me-laughing-at-any-cost-and-for-fuck’s-sakes-keep-the-American-Idol-coming degradation - just plain afraid to, for fear of appearing lame. Well, fuck you, all you “garsh, it was pretty clever” assholes. Consider me the lad screaming that the emperor has no clothes.
The police state envelops, the conscience-less populace grows, and all’s (wrongly) right with the world. I stand alone, and I know it, but we who do stand alone aren’t going to budge, dig? This era forces you to do the most uncouth things, such as voice your possession of a spine made of steel, not pipe-cleaner material. Well, I’m doing that here, and again, to you commenters: a big middle finger in your general direction.
BZ
December 4th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
10Wow, people need to lighten up…way too sensitive to stuff like this. I’m pretty sure this ad does not reveal that we are moving to a corrupt roman-like society.
dkqol
December 4th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
11Nathan, its a joke, get over yourself.
Steve
December 4th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
12Obviously a photoshopped image. Not a real ad.
Nathan Hammersmith
December 4th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
13Oh gosh, right. How silly of me. It was clearly a joke, so clearly marked…who didn’t know? Who didn’t say, “How clever, this unreal ad”?
Absolutely proves my point. We’re not talking about Monty Python-level comedy here, where you know you’re dealing with a joke and you laugh your ass off anyway. We’re just dealing with an image presented as actual. So BZ, dkqol, know this: you’re the fools. Know that, if nothing else.
Nathan Hammersmith
December 4th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
14Oh, and Steve - why was it obviously a photoshopped image? Where was the obviousness? Remind me, please.
AMG
December 4th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
15Nathan, step closer to the ad and you’ll see what Steve is talking about.
Dave
December 4th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
16Nathan, cut back on the Red Bull a little.
Nathan Hammersmith
December 4th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
17No problem, Dave! Sacrificing my principles as we speak!
Thanks friend!
robidog » Blog Archive » How Far Will Advertisers Go?
December 4th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
18[...] via stopgeek. [...]
Nathan Hammersmith
December 4th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
19So, did you see the editor’s not above?
“edit: there is no proof that this is a photoshop or manipulated image in anyway. if someone has proof saying otherwise, id like to see it.”
So we’re talking a read ad, as far as we know. So we’re dealing here - again, as far as we know - with real, true sickness. Entertainment/cleverness at any cost! Whatever sells the piece of shit, by God, do it!
And the lot of you defend the interests of the shiller…well, I just don’t get you. But I never understand defending corporate interests at the cost of human dignity.
Thomas
December 4th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
20I could imagine that its real. The quality of the picture is too bad to see if its photoshopped or not (imo). The funeral service company is real “preiswerter-bestatten.de” (the url is another one as on the ad - “billiger-bestatten.de” is now owned by a competitor.) But the Street is correct, an the ++ -cross thing. Its a company in Berlin/Germany. And here in germany, the funeral business is dominated by a competition for the lowest price (btw. “preiswerter-bestatten” and “billiger-bestatten” means something like “cheaper-funeral”). I think its possible that they try to get customers on this way. Who knows….
(my previous post way eaten or something… grrr…)
John
December 4th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
21The lighting seems a bit off. The tiles in the background suggest a gradient that isn’t there on the advertisement.
In any case, it would take about 2-3 minutes to mock this up in Photoshop CS2. Even has a handy grid to use as a guide.
Sean
December 4th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
22It’s funny AND sick. Look, people deal with the reality of their own mortality with dark humor all the time. I bet you could find a gazillion darkly humorous, self-written epitaphs to prove it. This ad, real or not, merely taps that defense mechanism we all share. Check it out, people sometimes kill themselves. Sometimes, it’s even good old Uncle Willie, who always seemed so happy and made everybody laugh. Even if he just had a heart attack, the executor of his funeral might be inclined to do business with a funeral home that can demonstrate an honest feeling about death amid all the morbid and overly sentimental advertising of its competitors. I’m just sayin’.
Sean
December 4th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
23BTW, it looks fake to me.
Sean
December 4th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
24The letters don’t curve with the wall. Obvious.
arthurz
December 4th, 2006 at 6:21 pm
25Nathan,
have you read “The name of the Rose”. The premise of the book is that they are searching to destroy a book of comedy. There is a great discussion in the end of the book as two of the main characters stand off and one defends freedom of expression and the other condemns comedy as one of the most dangerous things.
The danger in comedy is that by making someone laugh about an issue they never have to answer the serious question. You tell a joke about death, you don’t think about the seriousness, you tell a joke about Christ, you don’t have to ask who he really was. You tell a joke about blacks, you don’t have to think about the residual effects of slavery and colonialism.
Humor can be abused, used as an escape. You are right that in this day and time people don’t even know how to make judgements anymore. Am I not hip enough to get the joke, to see the sarcasm the irony. It is unfortunate that we can no longer speak seriously and call a spade a spade, realizing that there are taboos for good reasons.
Jake
December 4th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
26Nathan, seriously… there are many indicators that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, but this is not one of them. This image might not be to your sophisticated level of humor, but it had me in stitches. If you want to get on your soap box about the perils facing society, do it for something worthwhile, like the price of tea in China.
Personally, I think it is Photoshop’d because the execution is flawed. I’d have made the “Look Closer” much smaller… might have more of an impact! (pun intended).
Tak!
December 4th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
27Nathan Hammersmith said,
Consider me the lad screaming that the emperor has no clothes.
I consider you a humorless twat.
Gabort
December 4th, 2006 at 7:40 pm
28Imagine if someone DOES get hit by a train at this station… It happens sometimes… This advertiser is plain stupid, because they are putting themselves at serious risk. It’s lawyers’ heaven out there!
Nathan Hammersmith
December 4th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
29Listen, my ultimate point is that this wasn’t IN THE LEAST presented as comedy. It was presented as real, with the editor even chiming in that the picture, for all intents, IS real.
Comedy must be launched from a platform, no? Yes, it must. Where’s the comedy in the serious situation? And if it’s there, is it there for all to see? Intellectual honesty demands answers to those questions. But if you’re proudly dishonest re: intellect, then hey…it’s your problem.
spankiejoe
December 4th, 2006 at 8:00 pm
30“a big middle finger in your general direction”
now that is funny! reminds me of the french in “Monty python and the holy grail”
Flower
December 4th, 2006 at 8:04 pm
31Nathan’s right!
We live in a cold, impersonal, corporate society and cruel ads like this just make it seem even more hellish. It’s not funny, just sick and lame.
spankiejoe
December 4th, 2006 at 8:09 pm
32“launched from a platform”
Again, very funny. Get it? train platform-
I think its funny in that you must make sense of it in your mind. the comedy is in the way you have to picture in your mind what would happen if you follow the instructions. then make the conection. That makes it clever.
8 Ways of Handling Problems That Can Stress You Out - Quickie Sheets
December 4th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
33[...] If it’s not within your abilities to do something about it right now, then accept it. Focus on things you can make an impact on. Check the rest out of the corner of one eye and act when it’s within your reach. Think globally, act locally. [...]
Heath
December 4th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
34No need to get so offended. Haven’t you ever heard of Black Comedy?
It’s just like the joke:
Q: what’s black and blue and doesn’t like to have sex.
A: A rape victim.
marc
December 5th, 2006 at 3:59 am
35I would just like to say that this add appears to be on the London Underground. And that on the London Underground every winter 100’s of people throw themselves infront of trains. I was on a train one day that had that happen on the line ahead. And the gentleman came over the loud speaker to tell us that there would be a small delay as someone has thrown themselves onto the tracks. Then the whole car sighed looked at there watches and started rolling their eyes and cracking jokes. This add is not funny. Nothing about this add is the least bit clever. This is rude, degrading, and completely out of order. And the funny thing is, most of the comments in this post, remind me of the ones on that train. You should be ashamed. And if your not, you have no heart.
jastarafie
December 5th, 2006 at 4:08 am
36once again: SHOPPED
Nathan has sand in his vagina
December 5th, 2006 at 8:17 am
37Nathan, I fart in your general direction
C
December 5th, 2006 at 11:52 am
38Nathan Hammersmith said:
“Listen, my ultimate point is that this wasn’t IN THE LEAST presented as comedy. It was presented as real, with the editor even chiming in that the picture, for all intents, IS real.”
I think the ad is comedic genius. Not only is it funny right away for those of us who can tell what is a joke and what is not without a little disclaimer spelling it out. But also it will provide even more comedy in the future when someone like Nathan thinks the ad IS serious, a DOES move a little closer, and we can all read about him in the next edition of the Darwin Awards!
Vic
December 5th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
39@ C
There is a diffrence between “opinion” and “fact” :/
tina
December 5th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
40HAhahh…cooooooooool
Voidling
December 5th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
41Yip this is photoshop and not even at its best!!!
Please people look closely blow the dam thing up and see for yourself.
SparkBugg.com
December 5th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
421) If the purpose of this ad was exposure of the business, it did amazingly. Look at the international discussion it is generating. But as far as branding goes, we aren’t even sure what specific place is being advertised. Not so good.
2) If this ad is in Germany (as the detailed info may suggest), why is it in English? Perhaps a lot of ads there are, and perhaps they would like the English speakers to die.
pdm
December 7th, 2006 at 10:54 am
43If you cant tell that this has been modified with a computer, turn off your machine, walk away, and find a game of bridge to play.
ever seen thie picture of the kid on the windshield of a car going 99 mph? what ever happened to him? theres alog of perverted shit on the internet. If you are overly sensative to this kind of humor, there are safer places to dwell.
Vic
December 7th, 2006 at 11:05 am
44@ PDM
Dont bring evidence or anything.
Aidan
December 11th, 2006 at 11:00 am
45Even if this ad was real there is no way to approach it without some form of irony if your looking at it from a comic aspect. Personally people who claim the moral highground by spouting verbatim about all that is wrong with the world really need to realise that the dark needs to be brought to the surface to understand and overcome it. I think it’s funny and quite clever from the ironic standpoint, and fail to see how it is sick, it doesn’t actively condone or suggest suicide, but rather appeals to the knowing sense of humour that we (supposedly) have about certain things
Aaron Clay
February 25th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
46Sounds like an up-and-coming Darwin award to me!
hswewe
August 4th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
47Nathan is a humorless, uptight twat.
Heidi Montag and Her Double Smiles - Make Boobs Not Bombs - Hail To The Titmakers!
February 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
48[...] Looking at the before and after pictures, makes me think, “Come closer….for a better look.” [...]
nick
July 29th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
49ut7m5Z hi! hice site!
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