Wodka Vodka Pulls 'Christmas Quality, Hanukkah Pricing' Billboard

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ABC 7
​Remember the Wodka Vodka billboard from yesterday? The billboard on the West Side Highway read "Christmas Quality, Hanukkah Pricing" and shows a Chihuahua in a Santa hat next to an Afghan hound in a yarmulke. The billboard stirred up quite a bit of controversy and accusations of anti-Semitism after Gawker posted a photo of it. The Anti-Defamation League got involved, calling the billboard "crude and offensive."

The general outrage worked! Wodka Vodka has taken down the billboard.

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Occupy Wall Street Doesn't Pair Well With Online Advertising

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One tricky thing about OWS is that literally any product you advertise next to an item on the protest looks incredibly tacky and forces you to think the words "One percent." At least the Mercedes Benz logo is small. Meanwhile, at the Huffington Post:

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Nivea Pulls Kerfuffle-Causing Racist Ad

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The above ad is a part of Nivea's new "Look Like You Give a Damn" men's campaign. Is it racist? GOOD thinks so. So does Questlove, and BuzzFeed, and pretty much the whole Internet.

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Osama Bin Laden Wanted to Rename Al Qaeda

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​According to a letter discovered in the raid that led to his death, Osama Bin Laden was considering alternate names for his terrorist group because he felt that "Al Qaeda" had taken on a bad connotation for killing too many Muslims. He wanted to pick a name that would "convince Muslims worldwide that they were in a holy war with America," and was apparently considering "Taifat al-Tawhed Wal-Jihad," (meaning monotheism), and "Jihad Group," as well as "Jama'at I'Adat al-Khilafat al-Rashida," or "Restoration of the Caliphate Group." Al Qaeda's full name, for the record, is Al Qaeda al-Jihad, meaning "The Base of Holy War," but that had been shortened over the years, which tends to happen with all names, to the disappointment of all parents. In any case, now it's up to Bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahri, to deal with Al Qaeda's branding issues. [NYDN]

Jack Davis Commercial: Worst Campaign Ad Ever?

Tea Partier Jack Davis is running for the New York 26th congressional district seat (also known as the Chris Lee seat). This ad is really something. It looks like a community theater troupe made it in ten minutes flat. "Will Mom be okay?" Obviously not, unless you elect Jack Davis.

[via @TheFix]

[@_rosiegray]

Jimmy McMillan Sells Out, Officially; May Be Able to Pay Rent (Video)

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​Jimmy McMillan, the "Rent Is Too Damn High" guy and surprise "star" of New York's recent gubernatorial debate, has about an iceberg's chance in hell of getting elected tomorrow, but he doesn't seem too depressed about that. We mentioned recently that he'd been offered an endorsement deal from an online auction site called BidHere.com. Apparently, he's taken them up on the offer. Ad, via Capitol Confidential, after the jump.

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Tourist Zombies Annoy Actual Working New Yorkers During Rush Hour

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​Don't worry if you ran into someone who looked distinctly undead (and not the morning-after-tequila-shots kind) on your way to the office this a.m. A bunch of zombies were stumbling around outside of Madison Square Garden, all in your way when you're already late to work -- but, you know, it was just an ad campaign for the premiere of the new AMC series The Walking Dead. Because the real zombies in New York City don't actually dress like zombies. Tourists.

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Target Now Just Being Rude to Everybody, Including Mom

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​First there was that whole anti-gay/donating to Tom Emmer quagmire. And now everybody's up in arms about this Target Halloween commercial, which seems to stand for all that is wrong with America to a bunch of Americans. Because the greatest tragedy in the commercial isn't the kid with the shitty costume -- shitty costumes are, frankly, far more character-building and amusing than store-bought pieces of perfect, generic crap.

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The 10 Very Worst 9/11-Themed Ads

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Via CopyRanter.
​Yesterday, Copyranter caught an advertisement (pictured right) for French weekly Courrier International. The conceit of the advertisement, by Saatchi & Saatchi France, as put by Copyranter: "The World Trade Center architects should have stopped at about 50 floors. Look! The hijacked planes missed the shorter targets. Yay! Viva la Photoshop!" The timing, three days before the ninth anniversary of September 11th, obviously isn't great.

Well, here are 10 ads as bad -- and worse -- than that one:

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The Very Worst Way to Express Condolences Over Ted Stevens, Period, by Lisa Murkowski

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​Former Alaska senator Ted Stevens died in a plane crash yesterday. Voice staff writer Steven Thrasher tips us off to a screengrab he got shortly after of Alaska's NBC affiliate reporting the news...next to a campaign ad of sitting Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. Notably, Murkowski isn't exactly a campaign finance reform advocate. Uh, clearly. Click the picture to enlarge the screengrab. [FK]

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