Very funny, and the Govt wankers deserve it - but this is also utterly tragic graphic design. It's irredeemably awful, totally lacking in any perceptible thought, style, skill, wit...still, it's said that clients get the work they deserve.

Does nobody else find this unutterably sad? It's not art, it's Western colonialism. We go to strange cities in foreign countries, seek out their holiest places and spray paint them with images from a trivial, mindless computer game. Imperialism writ-large. Whatever happened to peace, love and understanding?

The issue is not whether scientists were treated badly in Stalin's gulags, but whether it's OK to overlook scientists' complicity in the use of slave labour, indeed their dependence on it to carry out their rocketry development programs, and to furthermore lavish rewards and status on those scientists because they can build you a new range of weapons. Which is exactly what the USA did for Werner von Braun and his colleagues, Nazis to a man. Disgusting hypocrisy.

WTF! Rage isn't a strong enough word to describe my response to this latest piece of totalitarian bullying. As if the absurd US embargo on Cuba weren't shitty enough, the good ole US of A now decides it can take it upon itself to 'own' the internet and interfere with the perfectly legitimate activities of citizens of other sovereign states. Looks like McCarthy and J Edgar Hoover never went away and that America never escaped from the 1950s. You guys have really, really got to bring about some serious changes...

Hucksterism! "The $50 price point was for a beta market test..." In other words, to see if you could get away with it. Last time I saw one of these gizmos it was being marketed as a wear-round-your-neck amulet to 'focus your aura' or some such shite. If people want to pay silly prices for stupid products that's up to them - but all these things do is undermine people's ability to take responsibility for their own lives. Wanna lose weight? Eat much less, exercise lots more. And if it's hard to remember that - try harder.

Clarkson is an arrogant loudmouthed dickhead, long overdue for a dose of comeuppance. This had me LOL - and he should think himself very lucky he got off so lightly.

You should demand fair payment and if it's not immediately forthcoming, you should sue. The arguments that it was only a junior designer/intern making a silly mistake are irrelevant - Fox management is responsible. Here's what you do 1) Find out what a commercial organisation would normally be expected to pay for use of a library image - if you know anyone on advertising, graphic design etc, they may be able to help, or check out Getty Images for costs. 2) Write (Letters, not just e-mail) to several senior directors (or VPs or Presidents or whatever they call themselves - the top brass) inc Marketing. Also copy in a lawyer on all correspondence - clearly showing this in your letters. Your letter should be calm but firm - 'more in sorrow than in anger' - point out the usage and politely point out that a payment for commercial use is only reasonable, state the amount required and state that you expect payment within 30 days or will be forced to take further action. Send the letters by recorded mail ie get a signature. 3) Don't hold your breath; they'll either ignore or write back declining your suggestion. At this point write back to whoever it was replied, cc the most senior person and your lawyer; regret that they have taken this stance and tell them that you are now forced to take legal action. 4) Call your lawyers, tell them to go in aggressively and create as much publicity as possible.
Don't expect to get a fortune, just a gratifying sense of having faced down corporate arrogance - you should come out modestly ahead after your legal costs.

I'm with the Egyptians on this. Especially when that ghastly hotel in Las Vegas promotes itself as 'the only pyramid shaped building in the world'. Er...hang on...

Jeez, pols - doncha jus love 'em? This man Clegg is only 40, but I swear he was born middle-aged. In fact like all politicians these days, sprung fully-formed from the same mould. And they just don't get it do they? Not that Brain Eno isn't a good choice of consiglieri - he's truly intelligent as well as highly creative - but in touch with yer average 18 year-old? I don't think so.

The drawback of truffling with a pig is that the pig is drawn to the truffle because it identifies the scent as that of a sow in heat. So when a truffle is found, you have the job of separating an animal the size of a small tractor and in a sexual frenzy from the object of its affections.

No wonder my neighbour uses a dog.

These ads are just old-fashioned GREAT - a real idea, clearly communicated; no special effects, no fashionable styling, no plagiarism. Every young agency creative ought to be made to watch them to see how it's done.

John, congrats on this - particularly your (passionately made) point that whatever you say about it, horseshit is still horseshit. The thing that's truly frightening is that this particular steaming pile of horseshit is also extremely dangerous; if people are happy to believe this stuff unconditionally, what else are they happy to believe? Where are their critical faculties and intellectual curiosity? And what implications does that have for democracy and the kind of governments we'll end up with?

Absolutely brilliant observation from DB, one of those "yes!" moments. And it's just great that the game analogy stands up right through the IKEA process - including I guess getting the stuff back home and having to figure out a series of strange graphic signs to get to the next level...

@ 17 NIHIL

You've got it dead right. Especially about the lies and the efficacy of sticking it right back to them. Sales and Marketing people - in the UK at least - tend to be moronic box tickers, obsessed with their own targets and able only to parrot meaningless managementspeak phrases. It's what happens when you have bean-counters running things - the business loses sight of its customers.

Yeah, this squares absolutely with research way back in the 70s when the UK record industry was campaigning against audio cassettes under the slogan "hometaping is killing music". Somewhat embarrasing then that properly-conducted research showed that those who copied vinyl albums on to cassettes were also the biggest buyers of vinyl albums, more likely to buy new music etc etc. it's exactly the same as today - the technology may have moved on, but the big business record companies haven't changed one little bit.

@pyros -
You reckon that "people could easily do their own investigative reporting if they wanted to". I wish you were right, but sadly I don't think you are. For a start, serious investigative reporting ain't easy - it's not just a case of having an opinion or being a whistleblower. It takes real expertise, rigour, skill, tenacity, an ability to write - not to mention courage and resourcefulness. And as for YouTube etc, I'm afraid that currently it's all part of the problem rather than part of the solution - there's so much dross, trivia, conspiracy-theory drivel and general sloppiness that anything of value, revelatory truth etc is not only very rare and hard to find, but devalued by the company it keeps. That said, the whole 'open source' culture can only be a good thing - but alongside it, the world needs the kind of focused expertise that hopefully ProPublica wil deliver.

This is appalling - and it's the result of pisspoor standards in UK govt management of communication and public service advertising. The whole shebang, spending megamillions, is run by untrained, untalented, self-important civil servants who know zilch about the skills and disciplines needed. I know, I've had them as clients. What they really like to do is hire expensive ad agencires, who smooch them a lot, then hand the work over to junior creatives who just wanna have fun and get no strategic input nor proper management. Result - crap, ineffectual self-indulgent work like this and whole lot of UK taxpayers' money down the crapper.

Sorry, but this just seems to me more hysteria, part of the whole over the top health'n'safety risk-aversion schtick that has become another excuse for The Authorities to get all heavy with helicopters and what have you. Dangerous? Well...yes... -ish.
Confession time - as students back in the 60s, we used to sometimes lob water-filled condoms off the 12th floor of our college building. Never hit anyone, maybe scared one or two. However, because condoms cost money and we had better things to do with them, we mostly made origami-style water bombs - very effective, and I bet 'safer' than balloons. I long ago forgot how to fold these - anyone out here know how?

This is truly beyond satire. Does the poster really suggest that US Conservatives are lacking a complete education? Well I guess that's right. I followed the link to the YAF site and found that pretty bewildering too - these people and their naff posters unintentionally send themselves up at every turn.