The 10 Weirdest Ad Stories of the Month

(MoneyWatch)  Welcome to February. Here's our usual roundup of weird news from the ad world that popped onto our radar in January.

1. 40 years on from Mad Men, ad agencies still use female employees as eye candy A trio of agency promo videos recently collected on MediaBistro reveals that ad agencies like tits, bikinis and girls in flight attendant uniforms. Here's Gyro's. Here's Mindshare's. And here's BBDO China's.
2. Canadian agency hires hookers to hold street signs "Should prostitution be legal?" read the promos for a public policy radio talk show. The streetwalkers were paid for one hour to walk their beats (in the snow) instead of selling their usual services. Controversy ensues.
3. WPP's Sorrell solves the Madison Avenue race problem The reason there weren't many black people employed in advertising wasn't to do with agency racism. It's because there wasn't a black president. Problem solved! The FT notes: "The day after the inauguration, Sir Martin was back in London at an ad industry event, telling the 250 guests that having Mr Obama as President would unleash a new wave of black talent, opening up 'a lot of doors to a very valuable resource'."
4. Does the USA need a tagline? Ad agency folk try their hand at writing a new slogan for America, with sarcastic results. Among them: "Come for the freedom--stay for the fast food"; "I can't believe it's not democracy"; and "Now Under New Management."
5. Collection of Lebanese agitprop posters is "better than Saatchi" The Economist looks at Hezbollah images and concludes the Arab street makes copy and images better than the government's official agency.
6. Voice of Bart Simpson promotes Scientology Actress Nancy Cartwright makes a robocall message in the voice of the yellow rascal. Everyone goes ballistic.
7. Recession stories: Richmond conman sells fake ads that never appear. Police are searching for a man who sold a $750 outdoor spot to a local mortgage company. The ad never appeared, and the site owner knows nothing about the sale.
8. Agency brass forced to join Facebook, Twitter, etc. WPP bosses were recently trained on Facebook at chief Martin Sorrell's request. There's also been a recent rush of CEO Twitter feeds. Fake Dan Wieden appears to be dead, however.
9. Lamar donates empty billboards to shoe charity The Louisiana advertising company has donated 100 full-sized billboards in the greater Los Angeles area to help Soles4Souls "change lives with the gift of shoes." The charity distributes shoes to the poor in over 70 countries, "to aid the hurting worldwide." [Surely that should be "to end the hurting worldwide"?]
10. Rolex in desperate publicity attempt on Owen Wilson's attempted suicide It said: "After a frightening suicide attempt in 2007, Rolex watches and benefits appeared to play an essential role in actor Owen Wilson's recovery." Read the rest yourself.

• Want more?
• The Top 10 Weirdest Ad Stories of December
• The Top 10 Weirdest Ad Stories of November