On the "controversial" Kia ads :o

Are these Kia ads too hot for comfort?



O_O;;;

I actually think the IDEA behind these ads are kinda clever.. the idea of the "cold" (childish) vs the "hot" (adult) thing.. tho I would have done it w/ less focus on the sex thing b/c it's pretty obvious they're targeting a very specific audience (straight white men) and you could have done something more like having it involve violence or other "mature themes" on one side and the more toned down childish thing on the other... the focus on "cute" vs "porny" feels a lot like they're saying "this is how girls see things" vs "this is how boys see things' or something just cuz it's so clearly the straight male gaze :\

BUT I think the real issue that ppl are having is the teacher one (above) which is... holy WTF o_o

I think the problem is that you can see it either as "these are two ways to draw a scene involving a descrip of "male teacher w/ female student" OR "this is the same scene, interpreted differently from a different perspective" which is where it gets creepy and I think it's where ppl are getting creeped out... b/c I think it comes off a lot as "this is what's happening" (on one side) and "this is what the teacher sees" on the other :\ and if ppl are reading it that way I can see why they'd be upset or at least disturbed... like is she supposed to be a grade schooler? The OTHER one was ok, b/c it's obv the chars were both adults and they had been SDed... this one clearly one is adult and one is a child :\

And before we get into "that's not the intent".. yeah but if you use ads to try to sell things obv you want them to send a msg, and if b/c you were vague or it had unintended readings that weren't obvious, it's still what ppl are seeing :\ And so maybe it's a better idea (for your reputation and your company) to apologize for unintentionally sending the wrong msg and pulling the ads, and putting out new ones (or clearer ones, or ones that have a different theme, like I suggested) which appears to be what they're doing :3

I think ALSO what makes ppl uncomfortable (or turned on!) is the juxtaposition of childish imagery next to racy adult imagery, and it's a real sudden shift for a lot of ppl to go from childish thoughts and memory to suddenly adult porny stuff... OR it's a turn on as I said (there's a lot of fetishes that involve adult bodies in childish outfits... or hentai involving childish cartoon chars drawn w/ adult anatomy, I think the clash is part of the attraction) and that could be part of the effectiveness to some, and to others either disgust or shame. :\

I personally find this stuff rly rly neat... and I've thought of the attraction of wanting to "grow up" your childhood for a lot of ppl (whether it's making childish cartoons w/ adult writing which is v popular these days, or in terms of a sexual fetish thing) but I also get how for the teacher one, ppl would find it rly creepy, b/c it's not exactly clear if that's STILL an underage young girl in the other panel or if it's supposed to be a different situation all together that just APPEARS similar superficially :|

The problem, I think is that for a lot of ppl (incl myself) the first reading was that this is the same situation, from a different PoV, and that makes it seem A LOT like "this is what's happening" vs "this is what a pedophile sees" and I think it's prolly not good for car sales if a lot of ppl are reading it like that >_<;; (regardless of "intent") The other way also that some might be looking at it, is the opposite, that the girl is imagining seducing her teacher -_-;; (I'm suspecting the anti-feminist knee-jerkers will claim this reading xD) Both ways I can see ppl going "creepy" or at least being turned off and not wanting to buy the car >_>;; (and as I said, I think the same child/adult clash effect can be done W/O having sex and therefore none of this would be a problem at all :3 ) (OR as I said, that taken TOGETHER, I think a lot of ppl are getting the idea that this is a female/male perspective thing :\)

Now that I think about it, Kia should hire ME xD I'm basically these ads xD Ppl think I write like a child, and a lot of ppl think I AM a child, but then there is the grown up (or super smexy) stuff too xD

Edit: My friend Kirbywarp gave a good example (on IM) of a way this confusion could have been avoided. :] If they did the "hot" side of the teacher scenario with chars who looked different, or were in different clothing, or made it more clear (I realize on 5th reading that maybe it was meant to be) it was in a university or something, that would have been clear that "this is the sexy version of this scenario" rather than have ppl wonder if that's supposed to be the same girl, or if she's still supposed to be in grade school. xD