Parisian humor? C'est un oxymoron!

So the fog of oblivion around Paris has finally lifted, forcing Parisians to accept that no one likes them, and even people who live close by—the Brits—haven't been stopping in as much lately. This upsetting revelation has sparked a marketing campaign to endear Paris to Britons, which was probably agreed upon by all concerned to be the best solution because it didn't require apologizing or changing anything. The series of ads, and the site, cestsoparis.com, intend to show “that Paris isn't a stuffy museum city, but ... a vibrant destination brimming with exiting events that are worth visiting”—apparently, even the events are sick of living there. Perhaps this is an example of the self-deprecation that the ads claim to contain. Because otherwise, I didn't see any. The ad above pokes fun at modern art, this one doesn't poke fun at anything, and this one appears to depict a Keebler Elf pounding on a glass hamster ball. But I'm being unnecessarily hard on Paris. I've been, and it''d be kind of like Boston if the people were easier to understand. I do think, though, that they should abort this cheeky ad campaign and return to their best and longest lasting form of comedy: passing off garbage as gourmet food. Hey, it beats Jerry Lewis.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

January 9, 2007 in Kiefaber | Permalink