A well-meaning organization, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), has nonetheless the single poorest advertising track record that I have ever witnessed, and that includes both the Shane Company and Subway (currently rehashing a 1993 advertising jingle on television for some unexplainable reason).
MCCL’s billboards tend to feature a poorly photographed infant of debatable cuteness, coupled with an obnoxious phrase that only a 48 year old church mom would find compelling. Since MCCL is almost certainly comprised solely of 48 year old church mothers, this isn’t necessarily suprising.
What is most interesting, however, is the poor grammar found on these billboards. My personal favorite is this one:
Should there really be an exclamation point following the “WHAT”? Is WHAT a statement or declaration of some sort? Wouldn’t a question mark be more appropriate? As written, I hear this billboard in the voice of a haggard, mentally ill bum who shouts, “WHAT!” at passersby as his standard greeting, before informing them of his prenatal capacities.
Is there no editor for these things? Is there no 48 year old church mom who caught this?
WHAT! (the hell are they doing?)
You know…I don’t think newborns smile as much as they contort their face. But I am glad to see that they are promoting the most compelling of reasons not to abort.
As categorically unpleasant as vocal pro-choice types tend to be (see: Anne Lamott, and anyone employed by NOW or NARAL), you’d think winning popular opinion would be shooting fish in a barrel.
Alas, we get Pro Life Across America…
Incidentally, the caption on the right implies that the pciture was taken 12 weeks after conception. If that’s the case, that IS impressive.
I think they should switch to more preposterous claims, just to see if anyone will notice.
“WHAT! I learned XHTML before I was born…”
“WHAT! I was a senator from Tennessee before I was born…”
“WHAT! I led a human resistance against the cyborgs at 18 weeks…”
ROFL! The picture of the criminally insane hobo yelling “What!” is classic, and exactly what I pair with the practice of using an exclamation point instead of a question mark.
On the drive home to my native Rochester, I delight in seeing and laughing at the sign that says, “Pray to End Abortion.” That’s right folks, we’re just not praying hard enough. I’m also enamoured with the current obsession Americans seem to have with “ending” pervasive and ubiquitous social problems. Like ending poverty or hunger. Or the NHL.
WHAT! I am supposed to care about NHL hockey…
WHAT! I enjoy cyborg hockey…
(and why the ellipse?)
WHAT! I was showing a possible continuation.
WHAT! I won the cutest baby contest and had free pictures from K-Mart taken 11 weeks from conception.
WHAT! I could tap dance fifteen weeks BEFORE conception.