…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
This new ad campaign is designed to lure London tourists to Paris for World Cup matches, while showing that Paris, in the words of C’est So Paris (the Web site for the Regional Committee of Tourism for Paris), “is also the capital of humor”:
Thanks Toni Dalton, via The Daily Dish
The Contraception Reception
July 11, 2007
Beijing (Reuters) – Condoms of all shapes and sizes were on display at a Beijing fashion show on Wednesday featuring dresses, hats and even lollipops made of the said item.
Models fought through extravagant soap bubble special effects to show off tight-fitting wedding gowns, scaly-looking evening dresses, outrageous bikinis and other garments made entirely of condoms, inflated or otherwise.
The show was held at the Fourth China Reproductive Health New Technologies and Products Expo and organized by China’s largest condom manufacturer, Guilin Latex Factory, to promote the use of condoms in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Continue reading “Skin Art”
At Roswell Festival, Doubt Is an Alien Concept
by William Booth
Washington Post
July 8, 2007
Roswell, N.M. — Attention, all aliens. Come on down. Because, seriously, this is your crowd. About 50,000 of your closest admirers are expected this weekend for the Roswell UFO Festival, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the nearby crash landing of a flying saucer — and, naturally, the ensuing government coverup.
A weather balloon? Please. We are not fools.
At least that’s the thinking here. Not up on the latest ufology? The debate today is all about “disclosure,” meaning not if, but when. When is the government finally going to open its top-secret files to reveal its voluminous data on the sightings, abductions and close encounters dating back to at least July 5, 1947. “The anomalies.” Here in the desert Southwest. And probably Mars. Read the rest of this story here.
From thegraffitiproject.net about a project recently completed in Scotland:
“Kelburn is prominently located on the west coast of Scotland, 35 miles west of Glasgow, overlooking the sea. Parts of the building are in need of repair, but funds have recently been secured to begin an extensive restoration, that includes the removal of the external render, allowing the opportunity to use the present surface as a vast temporary canvas…
“We are bringing together four of the world”s leading graffiti artists from Brazil to create a unique burst of colour, embracing the walls and turrets of the south side of Kelburn Castle and the castle grounds. On a traditional typecast building, this bold and striking artistic statement will hopefully receive positive media attention, whilst challenging the public”s understanding of both urban graffiti art and the British institution the building represents. It is a project that bridges between rural and urban realms and unites two proud and very different cultures.”
Watch the project evolve:
via Davidairey
OutFront: Sex, Pranks and Reality
by Allison Fass
Forbes.com
July 2, 2007
Second Life’s virtual Web world can be a weird, chancy place for real-life brands.
In April a helicopter crashed into a Nissan building, starting a fire that left a couple of dead bodies. The explosion took place on Altima Island in Second Life, a Web fantasy world where users create customized, cartoonlike characters called avatars. The crash, whether an accident or an intentional prank, wasn’t exactly an image-enhancing moment for a carmaker. Nissan’s online reps cleaned up the virtual mess, coffins and all.
Marketers have flocked to Second Life since it went live in 2003. Coca-Cola, H&R Block, IBM and Toyota are among 80 companies that have set up a virtual presence there to capture eyeballs–Second Life boasts a population of 7.1 million registered users–and experiment with online branding. It’s cheap: Linden Lab, the site’s creator, charges $1,675 plus $295 a month to occupy an island. Visitors pay nothing.
But this leasehold doesn’t fence out troublemakers. It turns out that avatars seem more interested in having sex and hatching pranks than spending time warming up to real-world brands. “There is nothing to do in Second Life except, pardon my bluntness, try to get laid,” blogged David Churbuck, Web-marketing vice president for computer maker Lenovo. (Lenovo isn’t represented on Second Life.) Continue reading “It’s a virtual minefield”