10 Ads Featuring Colonel Gaddafi as Pitchman
Muammar Gadaffi is dead, and while his demise is celebrated in Libya and the rest of the Arab world he will be mourned in a few small corners of the advertising business. In the last few months, Gadaffi's desperate stand against his own people inspired creative directors to some questionable work featuring the Libyan leader as a selling device. It's badvertising at its "finest":
Begin gallery of Gaddafi ads»
Image by Wikimedia, CC.
1. Philadelphia mayoral candidate John Featherman
Hilarious: The ad features a "dictator relocation executive" in Philly in conversation with the Libyan despot, to illustrate how the city has been under Democratic control for decades. The best line: "One of our mayors bombed a neighborhood in West Philadelphia and got re-elected anyway."
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2. Risk (Hasbro)
Sensational, but it does make you think. (And who knew Risk had an ad budget in Mexico?)
Agency: Grey, Mexico
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3. France 24
Oh, for the days when ads were so beautifully painted! The Libya-Twitter aspect is easy to "get" but who knew Hitchcock's The Birds stll carried such pop culture curreny in France? The original movie poster is at right (click to enlarge).
Ad agency: Marcel, Paris
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4. International Society for Human Rights
The Arab Spring started on the web, and the ISHR took advantage of that in a campaign showing various despots afraid of a "mouse."
Agency: Ogilvy, Frankfurt, Germany
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5. Reporters Without Borders
Similar concept to the ISHR on the previous page, but slightly more clever: The Twitter bird is dumping on Gaddafi's shoulder.
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Madrid, Spain
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6. The Times of London
Thoughtful stuff from The Times. The copy reads: "When a country's consumption of Swiss chocolate drops overnight, the first reason that comes to mind isn't politics. But it appears that the Swiss police briefly arrested Gaddafi's son for a minor crime, and if anyone could ever find a reason to boycott Switzerland, it would be Colonel Gaddafi."
Agency: JWT, Dubai, UAE,
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7. Amnesty International
A favorite whipping boy for human rights non-profits (and why not?) Amnesty asked for signatures to release Libya's political prisoners.
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8. Lifebroker
Clever but tasteless: This insurer ran this campaign in September. The case for life insurance now seems a little stronger.
Agency: McCann Erickson, Melbourne, Australia
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9. Reporters Without Borders interactive
Interesting concept: Shoot the QR code in this magazine ad with your cell phone and then place your phone over Gaddafi's mouth. A video then starts in which a disembodied mouth tells the truth about Libya.
Agency: Publicis Brussels
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10. Summer Sale
Yikes. Cheap but effective, assuming the teenagers shopping in this store actually know who Gaddafi is. (If anyone knows which store this is -- it looks like Urban Outfitters to me -- please email me.)