Many advertisements today are very boring. While a few original ads stand out, most have similar designs and ideas behind them. Ruth La Ferla explains a parody of this concept in the article “Scratch the Ad and Sniff Out the Parody.” The article explains that W Magazine’s November issue contained nine false ads shot by Steven Meisel. The magazine’s editor in chief, Stefano Tonchi, and creative director, Alex Gonzalez came up with the idea for these false ads. They wanted to set apart their magazine from other fashion magazines and show off how unremarkable most advertisements are.

La Ferla’s article is very well written. She starts out by describing a few of the ads before jumping into the explanation of what they really are. She explains that an “advertisement for Pizazz, an evening wear line,” “spotlights a sweet little girl, her lips streaked in scarlet, her doll-size body swathed in layers of tulle.” By describing this and other examples of the false ads before explaining that they are false, she gives the reader a similar experience to that of seeing the images while reading the magazine. She then points out that the reader has  “been punk’d” and goes on with a very informative explanation of these advertisements and the story behind them. She states the people who were behind the parody, explains the motivation behind it, and descrobes how it came about.

I think this parody was a great idea. Advertisements have become very typical, especially in fashion magazines. I don’t think I’ve ever opened one myself but even I know what the ads in them look like. I think its great that the editor in chief and creative director are aware of this problem and willing to make a parody out of it.