Appalling advertisements

James Lileks has a tirade today on advertisements that push the line:

Oh, I get the joke. It’s just not that funny. Of the many aren’t-we-naughty! billboards Chino Latino put up, two stood out: one said they had three spice levels. Hot, Very Hot, and Excuse Me I Have to Go to the Bathroom. Ha ha! We put so much pepper in the food you will spray your entree from your hindquarters before you are finished! Ha ha! The second was for the Tio Pepe Taco, or some such item, and it was described simply as “Runs South of the Border.” I remember looking up at that billboard, and thinking this was like promising that they only served undercooked chicken. No thanks.

But it's not just a sigh / eyeroll / whatever thing. At some point in your life you have the Ward or June Cleaver Moment - you see something that makes you realize a line has been crossed, a line you never thought about before. In this case, it’s the line that separates the previous standards of public discourse from the new standards, which permit snarky hip remarks about colonic detonations.

And if you don’t like it, you’re the prude. . .

One wonders where it will all end, as what was unthinkable becomes the norm. One thing that impressed me when I first saw Robocop was how cleverly the TV ads in the film took that trend of ever less restraint and carried it forward to the next (and all too plausible) level.

Posted by David on June 11, 2003 4:07 PM