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Ads on Food Blogs, A Real Bummer
Have you noticed the smiling bare bottoms popping up on food blogs lately? They’re part of an ad campaign by Toto, the Japanese maker of deluxe toilets (think heated seats, built-in bidets, and warm air dryers) and feature a bare butt with a smiley face on it. For an audience more interested in food porn than the other kind, it seems an odd fit.
Perhaps the good folks at Toto think that foodies might have a greater need to use toilets. Or perhaps it is the fussy epicurean market they are after—if people are willing to cure their own olives and distill their own vinegar, then certainly they would want a toilet that is a cut above.
I’m not the only one feeling funny about the smiling bums. A New York City church went to court to prevent the bare-bottom advertising—let’s call it ass-vertising—from being posted on its building. The judge sided with the church and Toto agreed to put on a wide white strip to cover up any offending areas.
Hey, would you mind doing that on my computer as well? If you do, I promise to refrain from making any comments about your ass-inine ad campaign.
Posted by
| Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 9:05am
| 4 comments
Tagged with: toto washlet, bare bum advertising, times square church, clean is happy, butt, bottom, ass vertising, toto, the grinder, media
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Well, I thought about it for a few seconds before accepting their ad, but I think it's cute and in good taste. It did give my teenage daughter pause for a minute but I don't think I have many teenage readers otherwise. I checked some other blogs I respect -- admittedly not food blogs -- and saw that they were running it so I felt like I was in good company. I hate to be mercenary, but that company pays more than any other blog advertiser has ever offered, which will allow me to try approximately 500% more obscure Chinese restaurants than I would have otherwise, or one more good sushi bar. So that's my take, anyway. But I'm sorry if you find it in bad taste.
I really think the ad is in good taste, and the product is top notch. Ask anyone who lived in Japan about the washlette and they will agree. A bare bottom in a non-sexual context is hardly offensive, people need to get over their issues with the human body. Sheesh.
It's not the anatomy. I've used my share of uni-sex washrooms in Japan. I agree that it's probably not a good idea to be reminded where the food goes when you're trying to get interested in where you first put it. Sheesh indeed.
I have on on my site, and while it isn't my favorite, they were willing to pay about $400 for me to host it and I couldn't turn that down!