WHILE PERUSING THE PERIODICALS

Recently I have been thinking about advertising. Not as a profession, but just the internal workings. In a recent bicycling publication, I noticed that there was a fleeting mention of 'Moots' titanium bicycles in an article on the left page, and then, no surprise, an advertisement for Moots Bicycles on the right hand page, one up, as they say. I imagine I am more sensitive to these connections with bicycles because I tend to look at them more often than many other objects. But then I began to wonder if the same associative pairings exist with all subjects of commerce and general interest. For example, it certainly would be difficult to find many mentions of 'Mento' breath mints in, say, an interview with a world champion hang glider, but across the way you might very well find an ad for Mentos, which are very refreshing, by the way. And so I began to look a little deeper, to see if some of the associations between information and advertising were perhaps a little more abstract, or poetic. What I discovered, and by 'discovered' I mean what I discovered in Men's Journal, is that if the associations are there, they are certainly interesting, and I am not exactly sure what to do with them. So I will give them to you.

The titles are the captions for the advertisements; the tiny little poetry phrases are excerpts from the opposing page.


ETERNITY

Like a local
realizing how
much a gringo
makes

•

NOT A MOMENT MISSED

Brains, inert
nubs, in a
glass container
of formaldehyde

•

I BELIEVE THE MACHINE
I SIT ON WILL TELL THE
WORLD EXACTLY WHERE
I STAND

Charming, angelic,
remote controlled–
Tinkerbell, with
balls

•

TAKE A TIME OUT

Nothing feels better
after a brisk workout
than a relaxing hydro
therapeutic massage.
relax. 90% of Alzheimer
patients have no family
history

•

DISCOVER BOATING

Riding Mongolia
on horse, or
camel

•

MAN, THAT’S REFRESHING

During eight days of
rigorous trekking
you’ll visit buddhist
monasteries...and
the raga’s palace

•

SIMPLY STUNNING

This stunt took
six seconds



all artwork, including monsters but not old timey photographs,
® mr. crispy flotilla, 2007