This is unnatural.
Although, I suppose, if one found that molluscan look really attractive, that gadget and a slathering of a water-based lubricant would do the job.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Teddy bear or slug?
Before I checked out the URL on that link, I assumed that this was a post about tardigrades.
For those of us with computer OSs neglected by the big corps, can we get a description of the Flash thingy, whatever it might be? It seems to need an autoinstall (much like that YouTube everyone seems to be accursedly using), and that doesn’t work for my system. And if it’s down here in comments, it won’t be spoiling things for the most part.
It is an advertisement for a razor that men can use to shave off all their body hair.
John, it’s an ad for a gentleman’s personal intimate grooming appliance, of the mechanical depilation variety.
Nothing to do with tardigrades, and more’s the pity.
Hi PZ,
the Ads are getting terribly intrusive on ScienceBlogs (and i’m talking about the anoying flickering History Channel box below the comments, not the weird Philips shaver Ad). Please consider going back to Pharyngula.org, i’d happily donate to help with server costs, as i’m sure others would too.
Firefox! (why does anyone still use IE unless forced to at gunpoint?)
As unnatural the whole thing is, that is one fricking funny ad.
I’m still trying to convince women that armpit hair is sexy, and with slick (eh? get it slick) advertising like that i’m never gonna win.
CCC, I do. I work on an engineering database that has an IE-based interface. This is a work laptop and I must use IE. Those whose asses I’m paid to kiss resent it when I install “nonstandard” software on my laptop. Soon, once the college student I’m supporting graduates, I’ll be able to afford a nice shiny computer of my own, but until then… can I pledge to the Pharyngula fund?
Those whose asses I’m paid to kiss resent it when I install “nonstandard” software on my laptop.
Sorry, but there’s a reason for that. I am in a never-ending battle with the users over “non-standard” software that is buggy, contains spyware, or otherwise borks things up. Make one exception for someone who might know what they are doing, and they all start whining.
That is a hilarious ad.
Speedwell, you could get a U3 compatible USB flash drive, install Firefox on it and then use Firefox from the USB drive on your work laptop. When you’re finished, remove the drive (or you could just keep it plugged in all the time). Firefox or other programs are not installed on the host computer, only on the USB drive and when the USB drive is removed, there’s nothing left on the host computer. Check out http://www.u3.com/ for more info.
the liberal in me deplores this latest marketing excresence
the feminist in me deplores the sexual objectification of my male brothers
but the woman in me – who sometimes spends hours preparing for a date – can’t help but take glee in the fact guys are increasingly having to do the same …
i also like the introduction of a new unit of measure, the “optical inch.” wonder if ANSI is on top of this?
Dawn
It’s spreading – I saw an ad for this on the Washington Post web site this morning. It had two kiwifruits, balanced against each other, with one denuded of its trichomes (which were lying in a pile around it). The text said “Now you can shave anywhere”. I had to laugh; in my intro soc. class in college, we spent an entire section of the class looking for sexual innuendo in ads (and boy, will that mess you up for a few months). The most lavicious use of fruit we saw at the time was a peach with a stream of milk being poured onto it, and indeed almost all of the images evoked females. I don’t think I’ve ever seen fruit used in mainstream advertising to simulate male body parts before now. Is a new taboo being broken?
This ad was discussed on a site dedicated to wetshaving (though more conventional body parts are the focus!) http://www.shavemyface.com/ but the whole thread was deleted after a bit as it was felt to be of no value. A couple of comments: firstly, as someone who is a bit deaf, some parts of the ad are amusing if you can lip read – compare the illustrated fruits with what the lips are saying, and secondly, don’t you dare shave anything in this horrible fashion – get a real razor, a brush, some shaving cream and learn to do it right!
Oh, and Carlie, did you ever see an analysis of a Marlboro pack? I recall a psychology student telling me in 1976 about a lecture he attended dedicated to the subliminal message hidden in the front of the pack. Not subtle!
That’s a good point! I never smoked, so that stuff wasn’t even on my radar. I still have trouble believing this isn’t an elaborate hoax – how on earth do they think they could convince men to shave sensitive areas like that? And what’s with the human-wide repulsion of the human body, anyway? Every culture has some type of ritual body mutilation. Is is dissatisfaction with the way the body’s designed, or a symbol that the person can endure pain and has the time to sit around waxing/shaving/piercing, or what?
As a woman who has recently been thrown back into the dating pool, I have found this phenomenon to be growing in popularity. My advice? Don’t knock it ’til you try it : )
On male body part advertising – well, I remember something sort of similar on a sex education book for kids from when I was one …
The cover depicted a banana and a cherry.
“The cover depicted a banana and a cherry.”
That’s perfect, since Kirk Cameron recently taught us how the banana is a shining example of what God made for us to enjoy.