Mission: Impossible?

         A new advertisement for the gay social networking site Manhunt was recently put on up a billboard in Los Angeles. Within a week, it had rocked the boat.

         A local mom, Kelly Cole, says she doesn't want her kids seeing such images of “blatant porniness” and she said that it is regardless of whether such material is of the “homo- or heterosexual” variety.

         Manhunt's CEO Jason Harvey thinks that Cole’s statement is untrue, responding "gay sexuality is still scary and controversial for many people.”

         It is also interesting to me that I have not read anything about Michael Kors' new L.A. ads, and the Beckham’s Armani shoot was far from “offensive”.

 Overall, the advertisement works for Manhunt. And that’s the bottom line.

Katherine Heigl Hates Balls?

         Funny Or Die has produced another hilarious celebrity advertisement. In a 3-minute anti-testicle rant by Katherine Hail for the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation's pet neutering program.

         Being a natural comedian, Heigl makes the spot absolutely hilarious with an over-the-top nature. There have been comments about the PSA running “too long” and “might have been better split into three or four shorter spots”. I thought it was very funny, and it made me look deeper into a topic and campaign that I know absolutely nothing about.

         In general, I thought this advertisement was hilarious. I question its effectiveness though. Although I have no real position on this topic, I wonder how people feel about it being made into a comedic advertisement? Either way, it got a laugh out of me, and hopefully a few other viewers.

It's Time

         Get Up! is a LGBT advocacy group in Australia. In November, they released this touching commercial lobbying for marriage equality. In recent research conducted by The Third Way, a think tank in Washington D.C., it has been shown that suggested that a message of equality isn't as effective for those opposed to gay marriage as a message of commitment is. If this research continues to prove to be true, this commercial titled “It’s Time” may just get the point across. I hope it comes to American television stations, but with 3.5 million views on YouTube, it is becoming a viral sensation quickly.

         The main point of the commercial comes into effect in the last 10 second “twist”. In the 1:56 clip, you follow a man in a relationship over the important moments of his and the relationship’s life— everything from going to an amusement park to being supportive after the death of a parent. There's nothing in the commercial that would lead you to believe their relationship is different from any other. The ending made me smile, and I thought that it was brilliant, inspirational, and incredibly effective.