Sunday, April 24, 2011

8736: Delayed WTF 13—Kotex Kontest.


MultiCultClassics is often occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occur without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

Advertising Age recently reported on the Kotex contest that invites young women to embellish pads for prizes.

Bloody hell! As if anyone needed another reason to hate crowdsourcing.

To compound the craziness, Kotex recruited a celebrity stylist—Patricia Field—to participate in the extravaganza. Not sure why a probably post-menopausal woman is involved with this effort. Hey, maybe Bravo will introduce a spinoff to Project Runway, with Heidi Klum critiquing padesigners and Tim Gunn serving as an awkward mentor.

“We, too, were a bit skeptical that girls would want to design pads,” said a Kotex spokesperson. “What we found was a massive level of interest not just around a contest to design a pad but this approach of getting these girls inspired to change the future of fem-care.”

This is an example of a client lacking the common sense and self-respect necessary to reject focus group results.

Sure, there have been instances of unexpected style trends, like Madonna persuading her generation of fans to wear their underwear as outerwear, or hip hop artists proudly exposing their drawers. But even if Lady Gaga started flashing her pad during performances, let’s pray that a civilized society would have enough dignity to reject the fashion statement.

The U By Kotex website is trying so hard to be hip, it’s laughable. And the Ban the Bland Design Challenge is kinda lame, as the tool is preloaded with contrived art patterns. Regardless, MultiCultClassics proudly presents pad pics:


The iPad Pad—thinner and lighter, with built-in apps.


The Kiss Pad—I Was Made For Lovin’ You!


The Bachelor Pad—oh, let him pick me!


The Justin Pad—it’s Bieber beaver protection!


The McRib® Pad—only available for a limited time of the month.

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