Monthly Archive for April, 2008

The strangest small ad ever

Cigarettes and the dentistI’ve been running through the photos on my cameraphone this evening and as well as an exciting shot of a Virgin Media van, I found this classic. It’s a small ad - I spotted it in a newsagent’s window in West Drayton the other day:

‘No cigarettes before the Dentist! If this means anything to you, PLEASE call…’

(Full size version here.)

What on earth is that all about? I was half-tempted to call the number, but commonsense prevailed and I haven’t dared.

It doesn’t have much to do with copywriting I know, but did get me scratching my head…

Any suggestions?

Asking for trouble?

Virgin Media sloganI’ve spotted a few Virgin Media vans about with a slogan that’s tempting fate. ‘Forward, back, back a bit more, stop!’ just seems to be inviting a parking mishap.

And it’s surely only a matter of time before we see a van with ‘near miss’ on the side stuffed into a hedge or something. (See a picture of the whole van here.)

Still, I like the copy. It has a nice sense of playfulness and made me smile the first time I saw it. And I suppose if one of these vans did have a coming together with another vehicle, the inevitable photo in the Metro the next day would at least be exposure of sorts for the company.