A fatal tragedy — you know, for the kids I keep stumbling across these clever South African ads for classic movies on sale at Toys “R” Us, and for some reason, this one always seemed to stick out. Then it hit me. The other two executions — Karate Kid and The Lion King — are kid-friendly classics that make perfect sense. But Titanic? At a toy store? Is this the same Titanic with a topless Kate Winslet? A near-frozen corpse of Leonardo DiCaprio? A body count upward of 1,500? I’m fine with the kiddies seeing all that, but do we really want to expose them to the film’s truly nightmare-inducing horror? Someone please think of the children! —Posted by David Griner

August 16, 2007 in Griner | Permalink

Comments

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Those are such, such scam ads.

Posted by: Marcus | Aug 16, 2007 11:50:08 AM

Could be. I just looked through Toys R Us' online movie catalog, and I didn't see Titanic. I did see Casino Royale, though. So brutal killings and testicle torture are obviously kosher.

Posted by: DavidGriner | Aug 16, 2007 11:59:58 AM

Looks more like a scene from "Mutiny on the Bounty" to me.

Posted by: John | Aug 16, 2007 12:32:46 PM

Wow....boobies for kids....thats...thats wonderful...o.O....so lion king was unacceptable but PURE NEKID BOOBIES is ok??? what the deuce, man?!?!?! well, if stupid parents want their kids to be watching over 1k people die, including a dead man who is olding a dead INFANT, watching a lady put her 2 daughters to sleep while the ship is sinking (which is murder O_O) AND watching Leonardo freeze to death...let them....it won't be our faults when the kids are being Jason for halloween, pretending to stab the cute lil girl down the street, and looking up giggity goodies online while the parents go to dinner.

It'll be funny. :D

Posted by: Bekka | Aug 16, 2007 12:57:58 PM

Whatever. They're funny.

Posted by: thatguy | Aug 16, 2007 5:16:25 PM

Funny or not, I think scam ads are an insult to creatives who make real work.

Posted by: Tara | Aug 17, 2007 1:14:15 PM

I think you should only get a bit ticked about fake ads when they appear in award books. And even then, you should only get a bit ticked, because remember, we're trying to move product here. Not decorate our offices with hardware. On their own, these type of ads are simply funny. I could actually see this particular ad being "real work." A "real client" would very likely approve something like this. It's not offensive. It's simple. And it's true to the brand. Appreciate what makes it good and apply it to your real work.

Posted by: thatguy | Aug 17, 2007 3:11:36 PM

Balls!

Posted by: | Aug 18, 2007 9:35:50 PM

At first glance, I thought the teddy bear was pushing the bunny overboard.

Posted by: Tdave | Aug 25, 2007 2:39:24 AM

I do like this ad! Maybe, it is stupid but at least it's funny!

Posted by: Jessica | Oct 17, 2007 1:52:45 AM

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