Doubt

The Engineer: Why is this a bad ad?

Me: Look at it! It's got way too many things going on. We have a model swooping in front of a skyline, which you can't see, because it's got this mass of cotton plants in front of it. The lighting and colors are cold. She looks like she's freezing.

The Engineer: Are you kidding? It looks nice and warm. And look at those big puffy bolls of cotton.

Me: They're not puffy, they're full of sticks and poky things!

The Engineer: No, they look soft. And she's in a soft sheet.

Me: I -- what? No! If you're going to show cotton you shouldn't show is with a bunch of pieces in it! It's terrible! And don't prop it up in front of a skyline on a windy day! This is a terrible ad!

The Engineer: I think it's a nice ad.

Me: Cotton should say soft and comfortable -- and you can have a high-fashion cotton ad, but not wrapped in a bedsheet and with your finest feature, something soft, full of twigs and sticks in front of the New York skyline.

Spotted: New York Times Magazine

Doubt

Brrrrr

(click for monster version)

This ad from Patek Philippe is strangely chilly. The use of black-and-white makes it distant, and the position of the two models shows a total lack of warmth -- Dad is tilted away from Biff, while Biff's slouch is vaguely menacing. But the worst part of it is his expression.

What They Think The Ad Says
Dad: Son, this watch -- and gray hair implying wealth, slightly open shirt proving virility, and tilted posture of insouciant retirement -- will someday be yours, along with the cuff links.

Biff: Oh Dad, may you live forever, for while I am a strong young buck, I can never replace you.

What The Ad Actually Says
Dad: Son, this watch I'm not looking at, along with the cuff links, rattling around at the bottom of the page in a box full of a shade of brown rejected by the UPS Teamsters in their last contract, will someday be yours, even though you are clearly a product of your mother and her voice coach.

Biff: Dad, I totally am trying to figure out how to tell you that I crashed your BMW, called your wife a skanky ho to her face, and got the maid pregnant, all in the last seven minutes.

Spotted: NYT Magazine

Brrrrr