What hath George wrought?
In 1959, George Lois, the pugnacious, somewhat self-aggrandizing (and very creative) ad man, ruffled quite a few agency feathers with his ad for Kerid ear drops. It was solidly based on research that found that most people cleaned their ears by poking bobby pins and whatnot into them, but the imagery was said to be too graphic and offensive. Lois justified it this way in his book, "$ellebrity":
"There is imagery that shocks people for shock's sake -- and imagery that can attract and hold attention because of a meaningful and memorable message."Of course, 49 years later, it seems rather tame. In 2043, will we feel the same way about this 1994 ad for Kadu surfing shorts:
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