Advertising campaigns have the ability to shape our perception, dictate our mood, awake the senses and increasingly alter our habits. As society’s values have changed, so too has the types of adverts which are deemed acceptable or unacceptable. With years of research behind them, advertising agencies have found new and creative ways of getting our attention. The trouble is, there’s still a certain amount of guess-work with any type of creative campaign. Even with big budgets sometimes the ads themselves are too vague, confronting or irrelevant to have any real impact. Sometimes they even exceed expectations. With that in mind we’ve pull together 14 confronting often highly confusing anti-smoking adverts from around the world. Do let us know what you think in the comments at the bottom of this post, there are some truly head-scratching moments to be had.
She is 25 years old and has already had 13 plastic surgeries! Here are some before and after photos. I don't understand how someone can keep going through with this. Does she really think she looks beautiful? Do you you think she looks beautiful?
For most parents and kids, crossing the street to catch the school bus is perhaps the riskiest part of the school run. But take a look at these Chinese schoolchildren from the village of Genguan. Everyday, these young kids walk along a precarious path carved by the side of a cliff, as they make their way to class in Bijie, in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Banpo Elementary School is located halfway up a mountain and the path to it winds through treacherous hillside passes and tunnels hewn out of the rock. The pebble-covered footpath is less than 0.5 meters wide, which means the children have to walk single file and press themselves into the side of the mountain if someone wants to squeeze past. This footpath was created 40 years ago as an irrigation ditch and although there is another safer route, but taking this means the children have to spend two hours to walk to school. The only assurance for parents is that Headmaster Xu Liangfan accompanies the 49 kids to school.
Simple Addition by a Little Nigger was originally published circa 1874 by McLoughlin Brothers of New York. You can still buy it from Barnes & Noble for $11.65.
A selection of old newspapers with historical headlines. These are some strange and funny headlines. The news has grown over the years!
This week will be the last week for the toll workers on the San Francisco Bridge. Golden Gate Bridge crews are working to install a 27 foot LED sign above the toll plaza this morning to let drivers know that soon paying with cash will no longer be an option. Starting Wednesday, the bridge will no longer accept cash and there will be no human toll takers. Drivers will have to sign up for FasTrak, register a credit card account, or expect a bill after they cross. Also starting Wednesday, the toll plaza speed limit increases to 25 miles per hour up from the recommended five miles an hour now in place.
Animal rights activists from the group “Animal Equality” staged a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain, in front of the Cathedral of Barcelona, during “Day Without Meat” event on March 20, 2013. Demonstrators simulated raw meat packaging found in supermarkets, by covering human models with fake blood and plastic sheets, in an attempt to raise awareness and move people to stop eating meat.
On Friday March 22nd , the level of snowfall in Ukraine was recorded as the highest in over a century during a month that should traditionally mark the start of spring! In one night alone, 50 cm (20 inches) of snow fell in Kiev, compared to the usual monthly rate of 47 cm (18 inches). In some places the snow depth was as much as a meter. People took to the streets to photograph the strange occurrence.
Modern day parents have no clue. This couple is a disaster. what a complete fail. Are these the worst parents ever?
As if Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian Odom and Kourtney Kardashian didn't have enough on their plates already, the famous trio just unveiled Kardashian Sun Kissed, a premium sunless tanning product line to be sold exclusively at Ulta.
Wherever you travel, make sure to eat the street food first and foremost, before anything else. Whatever far flung corner of the globe that you come from or travel to, street food is a near universal constant. From the famed hot dog stands of New York, to the hawker markets of Singapore, street food has been lining the stomachs of everyone from Egyptians at breakfast time to late night revellers in China. Some of it amazing, some of it is bizarre, and some of it will repeat on you the next day if you’ve had too many beers. We take a look at the people behind your late night kebab, the street food vendors. Here are some of the most interesting street food vendors from around the world.
The spring is here and so are back the celebrities with a fresh line of new fragrances. I know you can't really smell from pictures but to be aware of new trends never hurts, who do you think smells the best on this list?
Shows like Boardwalk Empire and Underbelly: Razor have given us a great glimpse at what the criminal underworld looked like in the 1920′s. Men of the era wore dapper suits, hats and shoes shined to a mirror finish while respectable women wouldn’t leave the house without a long dress, hat and gloves. This series of police photos from Australia were shot in the police stations and prisons of New South Wales between 1912 and 1930. They are incredible, not only for the composition of the photos which at times resembles that of a series of professionally staged portraits, but also for the subjects themselves who seem quite at ease posing for the camera. Many of these photos wouldn’t have seemed out of place above the mantle piece. Sydney criminals then, not only were they wayward deviants looking to break the law at every opportunity, they often did so looking rather stylish!
This Audi TT crashed into the side of a house in Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK. The driver is in critical condition. Here are some amazing and horrifying photos from the event. Scary car crash.
What happens when you give a regular well-adjusted 1950′s American housewife a few hits of the hallucinogenic drug known as LSD? This shocking, bizarre and at times very very funny video. During this clinical trial conducted in 1950 – the test subject tries her best to describe her trip / experience….but unfortunately she ‘can’t talk in Technicolor.
63-year-old prostitute from England still serves six people per day on average and earns approximately $7600 for three weeks of work.
This important piece of pop music history is on sale for $1,350. It is Britney Spears 1997 High School Yearbook! Would you spend the money on this Pop Singers High School Yearbook? Interesting Item if you ask me.
Unable to cross through Gaza’s border gate, bride Manal Abu Shanar had to meet her Palestinian fiance Emad al-Malalha in an underground tunnel. The man smuggled his bride from Egypt into Palestine through a Gaza Strip smuggling tunnel under the Egypt-Gaza border. The Egyptian authorities wouldn't let the woman enter Palestine through the border gate.
Let’s face it, we could all do with smiling a little more often from time to time couldn’t we? Or at the very least, sharing more of our happier moments with others who might be having a bad day. With that in mind, here’s 101 Ways To Make People Smile – share the love, pass it on and let’s set the group hug in motion!
If you decided you want fast food you are probably not making the most healthy choice to begin with. However; when you do chose fast food you should avoid these certain meals at all times. These are the worst items you will find at some of your favorite fast food restaurants.
A young woman has eaten her way through more than 13,000 jacket potatoes - because she has a phobia of almost all foods. Claire Jones, 23, has panic attacks and is physically sick at the thought of eating proper meals. The barmaid has a bizarre disorder which meant she eats practically nothing but potatoes, cheddar cheese and coleslaw - and only a particular brand.
Penny Smith, 35, of California is one of the rare few who have had the opportunity to cradle her own (old) heart in her own two hands. But she's mainly happy to enjoy the opportunities for life her new heart gives her.
Due to the financial crisis in Spain, residents face eviction from their homes. Here they are seen protesting at a local bank in Barcelona, Spain. Spanish banner reads 'Yes we can'. And not a single f@#K was given by workers of bank.
Gary Bond, 53, took responsibility for renting his uncle’s home to raise the necessary fees to pay for the nursing home. However, when he rented the property to a Polish couple who failed to pay the rent, he went to visit the property and discovered that it was filled with over 400 cannabis plants, each potentially worth $1500.
30-year-old Lisa Hochstein is a star of the reality TV series, “Real Housewives of Miami”. Her husband, plastic surgeon Dr Lenny Hochstein says that Lisa is his most important creation. Let's see how Lisa has changed after several surgeries including rhinoplasty and two boob jobs.
Being a stripper might seem like a profitable job, however it's very tough. Strippers are considered independent contractors, therefore letting their bosses avoid employment taxes, not complying with discrimination laws and not offering any benefits. Hima B., a former stripper in San Francisco paid $5 "stage fee" when she started working in 1992, by 1999, the fees have grown to $200 per shift. Strippers also have to pay the boss for every private dance, for showing up late, missing a shift, and other rent. It's very common for club owners to hang a bunch of fees on strippers, basically depriving them of a decent salary. They rely only on tips. There are currently many girls fighting for labor rights in courts and quite a few have succeeded.
Shinjuku Center Building at the time of occurrence of the scenery from the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake on March 11, 2011. Around the building's big shaking confirmed. Is it What a guy called long-period ground motion. This video is the first video of the event of an earthquake. In addition, the location is the scenery from the 47th floor of Shinjuku Center Building. 2 large buildings that appear in the image Shinjuku Nomura Building Left: Sompo Japan Head Office Building Right
A unique property is up for sale in Florida, with six acres, 7,000 square feet of space, and decontamination showers, this Cold War era bomb shelter could be just the place to get away from the outside world.
A Chinese bowl that a New York family picked up for $3 at a garage sale turned out to be a 1,000-year-old treasure and has sold at auction for $2.2 million. The bowl — ceramic, 5 inches in diameter and with a saw-tooth pattern etched around the outside — went to a London dealer, Giuseppe Eskenazi, at Sotheby’s auction house in New York on Tuesday. Sotheby’s said the bowl was from the Northern Song Dynasty, which ruled China from 960 to 1127 and is known for its cultural and artistic advances.
When triplets Audrey O'Donnell and Alan and Eric Lucas were born in 1933 they were so tiny their chances of survival looked slim. Without the the benefit of today's technology, doctors had predicted their mother Doris may have been carrying twins using an ear trumpet. Audrey was born first weighing 5lb, followed by Alan 20 minutes later weighing 3lb and surprise addition Eric came 20 minutes after that at just 2lb.
In 1896, Viennese authorities decided to invest in large-scale gas and electric utilities to provide the townsfolk with coal gas for stoves, street lights and furnaces. Previously gas was provided by an English firm called Inter Continental Gas Association (ICGA). Once the contracts with the ICGA expired, the city decided to construct facilities to handle its own gas needs. So they constructed four massive storage tanks called gasometers, in the 11th district of Simmering. The tanks were enclosed by a brick façade, each approximately 70 meters tall and 60 meters in diameter, and with a storage capacity of over 90,000 cubic meters. At the time, they were the largest in Europe.
Located on the outskirts of Tokyo, behind a small government building, underneath a soccer field and skateboard park, is an incredibly huge storm sewer system, built to protect the city’s 13 million residents from heavy rainfall and tropical storm floods. The official name of these long, underground tunnels is the “Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel”, but is more commonly called G-Cans. Built between 1992 and 2006, at the cost of $3 billion, this huge underground water management system comprises of 6.4 km of tunnels up to 50 meters underground connecting 5 giant silos, 65 meters tall and 32 meters wide, to one massive tank – the Temple.
A new owner of the house found $1,700 in cash and a collection of old vinyls under its floor. This was quiet the find. I wish something like this would happen to me. Wouldn't you like to find a hidden floorboard that contained cash and some collectibles? Lucky new owner.
A boat full of pot was discovered on the shore near Santa Barbara. If these people thought they were being smart and hiding their drugs in a sneaky place they were very wrong. A boat was a big mistake. This was a good size bust for the Santa Barbara Police.
South Padre Island, Texas, is known as the trashiest Spring Break destination and encourages excessive drinking on the beach with bars charging as little as $9.50 per cocktail. Interestingly there are approximately 60 daily casualties as a result of drinking, drugs and accidents.
