Who in their right mind would use Adolf Hitler in an advertisement today? That was the question posed to Mirko Ilic, erstwhile pop-culture detective, critic, and finder of things rare and silly–who, as it turned out, found more than a dozen examples. A few of them, mostly from Europe, are shown here. Some are surprisingly smart, others incredibly stupid.
Above: -“Fascism and Football Don’t Match,” created by CLM BBDO, FranceBelow: -“History’s Produced a Lot of Bad Eggs” for Nulaid Eggs, South Africa -“Can’t Hate Everything” for Chopsticks, created by Dentsu, Indonesia-Luxor highlighter, created by Leo Burnett Mumbai-“Those who wear fur have no respect for life,” for NOAH, People for Animals by Jung von Matt/Alster-Doc Morris Pharmacies by Grey Worldwide, Düsseldorf, Germany-“This is how nature sees you” for NRDC by Miami Ad School/ESPM, Brazil -“There are gestures that are frightening” for Sedicis deodorant-“Der Maler Adolf Hitler” for the Kunst Historisches Museum, Vienna
You be the judge. How do you feel about such ads? And how do you feel about introducing controversial themes into mass advertising? And be sure to check out Mirko’s other collections of the strange and wonderful.