Clark-Flory talks to Carmine Sarracino, coauthor of a book called The Porning of America: The Rise of Porn Culture, What It Means, and Where We Go From Here. Sarracino says we have no one to blame but ourselves. He writes:

Over and over again, we follow this cultural pattern of elevating sex symbols, especially blond bombshells like Marilyn Monroe and, lately, Pam Anderson, Anna Nicole Smith — even Courtney Love was such a sex symbol in the '80s — of elevating these women to exalted status when they are at the peak of their sexual allure, and then just trashing them when they begin to lose some of that allure. So we go from adulation to disdain.

Even Britney, Paris and Lindsay went from being put on pedestals to being torn down — and their response? To flash their crotches in paparazzi shots, which Sarracino calls "clearly returning disdain for disdain."

Sarracino also talks about how things are just getting worse: "One of the essential things in an entertainment culture such as ours is that the shock bar just has to constantly be raised. People's heads turn only when you offer something like '2 Girls 1 Cup.' That's what traditional porn used to do and that was just two people engaged in a sex act. You can't get attention with that now — any more than Marilyn Monroe could get attention for showing her panties if she were to come on the scene in 2008."

And the truth is, there's money in porn. We keep hearing "sex sells." You know how feminist magazine Bitch was in financial trouble? They're apparently co-sponsoring a strip show with um, Hustler. But like the title of Sarracino's book: Where do we go from here? When porny images get more and more mainstream, what does the underground look like? And if kids today are growing up where fetishizing the female body is par for the course, where will we be, as a society, in 40 years?

America, Sweet Land Of... Porn [Salon]
Girls! Girls! Girls! Bitch Magazine’s “Feminist Response To Pop Culture” Is To Co-Sponsor A Strip Show With Hustler [Feminist Law Professors]
Earlier: Advertising Taking Cues From Porn: What Is The World Cumming To?
Sex Sells. Or Does It? Can You Guess The Products Behind The Porny Ads?
Hot For Fall: Toplessness!

But when you're a luxury brand, you're special. You don't want to seem low-rent, like a dishwashing detergent. So you're can't just make a commercial. You've got to make a film, and it's got to be for the interwebs. Marcus Black, the editor of Specialten, a bimonthly magazine on DVD, explains: "Magazines are losing out to computers. What people are sitting in front of is where advertisers want to be."

But here's the question: Does it work? Do people who wouldn't otherwise be interested in Prada see the trippy Trembled Blossoms and buy a Prada bag? How about that existential crisis LV ad? (I was in a movie theater when the Louis Vuitton commercial appeared on screen and people in the audience actually hissed.)

As for Dita, at least her "film" is straightforward: No mythical beasts or sense of ennui. Just a great-looking gal in well-fitting bra. Wouldn't you buy that?

Fashion Film Gets A Life Of Its Own [International Herald Tribune]
Earlier: The New Prada Movie Stars Very Shady Characters
Let's All Take Acid And Watch The New Prada Movie
Another Luxury Brand, Another Existential Film

Here is the Duravit ad; click to enlarge.

Who is that guy? Why is he peeping inside her bathroom? Is he reaching for his crotch?

Here's the Kohler ad:
Who is that glaring chick on the lower left?

For each ad, the brand or product has been cropped out or obscured. The answer is "hidden" in white text next to the "A." Just use your mouse to highlight the text and see.

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Calvin Klein's Secret Obsession fragrance

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Victoria's Secret

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Fur (Origin Assured)

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Maybelline (lipcolor)

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Jimmy Choo (shoes)

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Bebe (clothing)

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Diesel (clothing)

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Marciano (clothing)

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Versace (purse)

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle fragrance

Q. What product/brand is being shilled?
A.Tom Ford's White Patchouli fragrance

Earlier: Hot For Fall: Toplessness!

There's another Fashion Targets Breast Cancer ad called "Elevator," in which a woman gets on an elevator and has her chest ogled by a dude who proclaims, "Nice." The camera reveals, of course, that he's talking about her FTBC T-shirt. But again, this ad makes me uneasy: Why have a man in it at all? Breast cancer is a serious disease that has far-reaching effects on women, children and families — and men, obviously. But taking the age-old stereotype of a man gawking at a woman's tits and trying to twist it into a positive message just rubs me the wrong way. Can't women tackle a life and death issue without being gaped at by dudes? (Commercials below.)

Breast Awareness Doing Great At The Office [AdFreak]

The spot was discussed on Marketplace last week. AdWeek's Barbara Lippert says: "It really seems to be in the Sarah Palin moment. Because all that is about anti-intellectualism and shootin' and huntin'… And this is, you know, 'Oh, we really always hated Starbucks, and thank God for McDonald's and a real American option.'" And trend-watcher Faith Popcorn agrees, claiming: "It's adapting kinda the campaign approach." In fact, the commercial seems offensive on many levels. But what do you think? Clip below.

McDonald's Targets Starbucks Attitude [Marketplace]

Caption:

"Oh god. I just spent three quarters of my day licking myself. I just sit here, with a bowl of water, some toys and my urges – lonely one minute and satisfied the next. Such a wicked paradox. I need to get out. I need to meet people. But I’m happy this way. It feels good. So good. But my crotch shouldn’t define me. Was it the way I was raised? Did my dad bury his face in his crotch for hours on end? Not dad. I never smelt it on his breath. Well maybe once, but I can’t be sure that was crotch. The guy ate garbage like it was going out of style. But really, some pages are better left unturned. Am I the only one? I doubt it. That Rottweiler probably treats his nether regions like a buffet. Look at me. I’m justifying my lack of discipline by making up stories about other dogs I don’t even know. I need a drink. Then I need to lick my crotch. More like want. Is that selfish? Self-pleasuring myself for half a day? Screw it. I’m going in. If my owner could do it, he would. So it’s perfectly natural. Isn’t it? I need a distraction. That ball looks okay. Oh crap. I need something new. Something that doesn’t involve my crotch. It’s all I’ve got. My walker’s cool, but I can’t lick his crotch. It’s gonna take everything I’ve got to make it through the night. Just one night."

Caption: "Sit."

Caption: "Cat food from Rutan. Irresistable."

Caption:

Should I sniff her butt? Will she mind if I sniff her butt? What will it say about me if I sniff his butt? Maybe I’m gay? Should I question sniffing butts so much? Do other dogs sniff as many butts as I do? How many butts have I sniffed this week? I’m guessing it’s a lot if I’m questioning it so much. I love sniffing butts. I need to sniff one right now. There aren’t any around. I have to get a hold of myself. Who am I kidding? I need a butt and I need it now. Now. Good god. Am I living a life that’s guided by butt sniffing? I am. My parent’s warned me. I didn’t listen. Like a cheap tramp. A whore. I’m a butt-sniffing whore. What if I tried to cut down? Nothing heavy. Just a few sniffs a day. I can do that. I know I can. I’ve done it before. But do I really want to? I mean, that’s what we do. We sniff butts. No one looks down on me for it. There was that guy who gave me a look while I was in mid-sniff. Who is he to judge me for sniffing a butt? Maybe I’m just being paranoid. I get like that when I haven’t sniffed a butt. I’ll stop cold turkey. But not now. The fever’s too strong. A wiff will get me through the night. Just one, heartfelt inhale of the poodle across the street and I’ll be satisfied. I love how she resists at first and then sticks it out with reckless abandon. What a slut. Wait. Why is she a slut? I’m the one going in there. That coy little look she gives me when she walks down the street. Oh, I’m sniffing that butt. Count on it."

Caption: Think you're my master? Last time I checked, you're the one picking up my poop."

For some reason, Mr. Clean doesn't seem as troubling as Gwen Stefani's bukkake-esque L.A.M.B ad, in which she whispers, "I Want You All Over Me"? But maybe her ad isn't sexist. Just sexy.

Tracy-Clark Flory wonders, if advertisers are banned from showing gender stereotypes, would they use "anti-stereotypes"? "An apron-clad man putting dinner on the table or a woman in grease-covered overalls rolling out from under her pickup, wrench in hand?" She writes: "I would love to see those images and advertisers should be pressured to upend gender stereotypes. But we all know that stereotypes are true some of the time: Some women bake, some men fix cars."

The truth is, ads are often gross generalizations to reach wide audiences. But the bottom line is: They want you to buy their product. Eva-Britt Svensson, a Swedish member of Parliament and author of the report on advertising images, says consumers can — and should— get in on the action. "If they have more information and awareness about the impact of gender stereotypes," she tells IHT, "they can start boycotting products." Seeing as how some probably find Mr.Clean harmless and Dolce & Gabbana offensive — and vice versa — it would be impossible to find common ground. But boycotting leaves the decision in the hands of the consumer. Wouldn't that be smarter — and more effective — than a ban? (And isn't banning just censorship?)

EU takes shot at gender stereotypes [International Herald Tribune]
Britain To Ban Sexist Ads? [Salon]
Earlier: Advertising Taking Cues From Porn: What Is The World Cumming To?
Bukkake Alert

Okay, this is not an ad. This is a shot from an editorial in Bazaar. But look: Toplessness is what's NEXT!

This woman is shilling shoes and handbags, but she has no blouse.

Here she is again without a chemise. It went on like this for pages. Same model, different accessories, bare boobs.

Another young lady who would love for you to buy a handbag. Except she's not pictured actually touching a handbag. In fact, the handbag appears on the opposite page.

Perhaps her pale, shimmering skin is supposed to make you want to buy that pale, shimmering bag. Perhaps there's a shirt for her inside that bag. Perhaps they should rethink having a nekkid chick in an ad for a brand that sounds so much like a herpes medication.

Aww, look, equal opportunity. This man is also topless, because a topless man is just like a topless woman. They can both be seen in parks and at suburban pools and on family TV and stuff. Oh! And the man gets luggage instead of a handbag because men are bigger and stronger and can lug heavier things. Plus, men have places to go.

Rock And Republic: Fur! Studs! Jeans! Boobs!

Seeing Kate Moss topless is like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs: Cute, but you've seen it before.

Watch out, lady, Justin Timberlake is lurking behind you, hoping to get a glance of your tatas!

Dammit. Naomi makes it look easy. Normal. Should we all just throw away our camisoles right now?

And the winner. For toplessness. Goes to: Loree Rodkin. Shilling jewelry on this wretched green, lace-printed model. Do you want to buy a diamond-encrusted dragonfly chain right now? Me neither. Medic! Send Dramamine.

Earlier: Big Hair Is Sexy, Cigarettes Whiten Teeth, Not Having Cellulite Is Awesome
Advertising Taking Cues From Porn: What Is The World Cumming To?

On the left, a pretty woman in a complicated shawl sneaks home from a party late at night. And on the right, it looks like her pissed-off girlfriend has been waiting up with a plate of spaghetti. If shawl-girl is as guilty as she looks, that spaghetti is about to fly right at her head.

And, as promised, here's one more Mohr.
Remember this?

1. Land O Lakes Indian Maiden
The company explains: "Because the regions of Minnesota and Wisconsin were the legendary land of Hiawatha and Minnehaha, the idea of an Indian maiden took form." This is a whitewashed way of describing how they hijacked the image of indigenous people to sell dairy products, but whatever. The first painting was done in 1928; it was "modernized" in 1939 to look the way it does now. As a kid, I honestly thought that this was my mom until I realized it was Cher.

Hollywood Casting: Q'orianka Kilcher

2. Mrs. Butterworth
This woman was not always made of plastic. She used to be real glass. She had a bun and she was heavy and sweet and you respected her, because she didn't need (the noticeably absent) Mr. Butterworth to get the job done.

Hollywood Casting: Queen Latifah

3. SunMaid
The young woman on the raisin box has evolved since 1916. She's lost about 20 lbs., but she still has the red bonnet and the basket of grapes. And she still smiles.

Hollywood Casting: Minnie Driver

4. Aunt Jemima

Advertising gimmicks are not always politically correct. The pancake icon was based on a blackface "mammy" character; but R.T. Davis Milling Company hired a woman named Nancy Green to play Aunt Jemima from 1890 to 1923. She was paid, but the ads were disgustingly racist. (Try finding a syrup that is not oppressive! Even Log Cabin gives me pause.) In 1989, Aunt Jemima lost her kerchief, got a relaxer, some pearl earrings and a slimmer look. She kind of resembles Roxie Roker now. But who is woman enough to take on the challenge of playing a controversial character?

5. Utz Girl


The rosy-cheeked chick has been around since 1921, though she's had some anti-aging procedure and now seems much younger now. Her huge eyes and happy smile let you know her potato chips are damn good.

Hollywood Casting: Christina Ricci

6. Little Miss Sunbeam
This blond-haired blue-eyed little girl was on the table before wheat and oats crept into our sandwich bread. Little Miss Sunbeam was born in the 1940s, and she seems part Shirley Temple, part Doris Day and part Buffy and Jody from Family Affair. Or Cindy Brady. An "American Girl" full of "sunshine"…

Hollywood Casting: Abigail Breslin

7. Morton Salt Girl
When it rains it pours, whatever that means. The first umbrella girl appeared in 1914, looking like a toddler; she's grown up some since then. The angled haircut and the umbrella make for an inspired celebrity choice…

Hollywood Casting: Rihanna

8. Coppertone Girl

Introduced in 1959, the impish child whose blue swimsuit bottoms get pulled down by a cocker spaniel was played by a three-year-old Jodie Foster in 1965. Did you know that they changed the logo later because some thought her bare buttocks encouraged pedophilia? Now that the company makes sunscreen instead of tanning oils, the "paleface" message is no longer appropriate and she's been phased out.

Hollywood Casting: Dakota Fanning

9. Tropic-AnaThe Polynesian pretty who used to be topless has since been replaced with an orange and straw. It would be fun if they brought back a female icon who loves exhibitionism, wouldn't it?

Hollywood Casting: Bai Ling

10. Chiquita Banana
Born in 1944, Miss Chiquita was sometimes a lady, sometimes an actual fruit, as seen in this Disney commercial. Her jingle is awesome, even if she was pretty much just a Carmen Miranda rip off.

Hollywood Casting: Salma Hayek?

Don't like these choices? Have some of your own? Suggestions welcome.

[Celebrity images via Getty. Tropic-Ana photo by Michael Poulin via Flickr.]

There's LAMB: Gwen Stefani, in orgasmic throes, whispering the words "I want you all over me." What about American Apparel? Or, you know, American Apparel? Sex sells, they say. Nudity in advertising is nothing new (see: Obsession and such). But what is up with all the ejaculation in your face? Somehow, the newer ads seem misogynistic, rude and degrading. Are we living in an age where everyone's only interested in their own orgasm?

Trojan, 2008

Lamb, 2007

Obsession, 1987

Chanel, 1984

Trojan Slips Piggish, Sloppy Cum Shot Into Ad In Fitness Magazine [Copyranter]
Earlier: Is Rubbing Cum All Over Your Face The Secret To Eternal Youth?
Bukkake Alert
A Letter To American Apparel's Latest Spokesbottom, "Kristen"

Why hello there, dear. The words that come to mind immediately are "exquisite corpse." Yeah, it means something else, but damn. She is dead in the eyes. The lip gloss is purty, though! And positioning her mouth thusly doesn't make me think of swollen labia, no, not at all!!

Okay, so the copy claims that this product is "the end of overprocessed blonde," but over there on the right, Ms. Johansson's hair looks sorta overprocessed. To me. I know it's in the light, but is it supposed to look like cotton candy? Or is she imagining better tresses, hence the title "Dream Blonde"? Also, L'Oreal, You Have Taken The Title Case Thing Too Far, Methinks.

Look, I have no idea what the hell goes on under the hood of a car, but I do know that you don't need sunglasses to check out an engine. It's like they're trying to be pro-woman with a bad-ass chick mechanic, but from the way she's holding that wrench to the faux grease on her arms, it's clear she doesn't know what the fuck she's doing. "Genuine since 1937." Really? Also, this whole image is very Herb Ritts circa 1990, when Carre Otis was hot. Show me something new.

Guess what? If my birth control method fails I am not going to "Be Calm." I am going to freak the fuck out. Then I'm gonna read that thing Moe wrote about Plan B and throw up.

You know what else makes me freak out? When someone suggests that "we girls" should freak out less. We make less money than men, are expected to be thin and hairless and we have the crampy bleeds every 26 days. A body wash solves nothing. Fuck off.

Correct me if I am wrong, but waxing is not an orgasmic, kick up your heels, throw-your-head-back-in-ecstasy experience as illustrated here, is it?

The copy reads, "Unleash the enchantment of Brazil," and there's some sort of kudzu emerging from her crotch.

As a rule, if you have to put the word "SEXY" in electric lights behind you, then you are not sexy. And this is no exception. These ladies, none of whom are wearing pants, want me to believe that "big hair is sexy," and they appear to be in possession of yards and yards of extensions. And the bedraggled, voluminous crazytown hair, frankly, looks like crap. Try to count the number of times the word "sexy" appears, then ask yourself: Why is there so much going on in an ad for hairspray?

Pinocchio's sister dreams that someday, Diet Coke will turn her into a real girl. And cure migraines.

Haha, wow, OMG you guys, not having cellulite looks like SO MUCH FUN!

Aww, nostalgia! These happy white people have been in this same Newport ad since I was a kid. There's another one with happy black people. The greatest thing about Newport ads is how white everyone's teeth are. Smoking other cigarettes may discolor and rot your gums and give you oral cancer, but Newports are basically Crest White Strips!

"A real man doesn't care about sterility."

"These jeans are too awkward to sit in. How about we picnic standing up?"

Seriously, what is she doing? What is she looking at? Can she see something we can't?

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Here's a closer view of the ad. That arm on the left is unsettling.

Want to see how KLS looked at her perfume launch?

Haha just kidding. That's not fair. (Image via Getty)
Here she is:

(Image via Getty)

Just for fun, here's the difference between advertising and real life:

Milk Cast Its Spell On Evil PMS-ing Witches [AdFreak]
California Milk Processor Board | "Bruja" [You Tube]