Butt seriously folks, let's talk about those food blog ads

by Bob Sassone, Posted Sep 4th 2007 @ 2:16PM

Toto Washlet The Grinder blog over at chow.com has an interesting post about those bidet ads that have been popping up on food blogs lately. They're from the Toto company, and they feature the rear end of a woman with a smiley face across it.

I have no problem with the ads. In fact, I haven't even noticed them on any food blogs except The Obscure Store and Reading Room, which has a discussion of the ads going on that brings up a few good points, including what your company's IT department might think of seeing the naked backside of a woman in your computer's cache (even if the ad itself it humorous and harmless). The web site is CleanIsHappy.com and features more butts.

What do you think of the ads?

Filed Under: Business, On the Blogs
Tags: bidet ads, bidets, cleanishappy.com, food blog ads, FoodBlogAds, toto, washlet

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-04-2007 @3:31PM Ahd Child said... While I'm not offended by the ads, I do not think they are appropriate. I've noticed them (I forget on which blog) but fortunately I use google reader most of the time, so I've had no women's butts appear on my screen while at work. If a blog is work/kid friendly, it's ads should also be work/kid friendly to avoid potential problems.
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9-04-2007 @4:19PM geekpdx said... I've got some mixed opinions.

#1 Someone's bum in an add is somehow not appropriate for kids or the workplace? Baffling.

#2 You never can tell when someone is going to out themselves as a PC Goon and declare themselves offended after seeing an ad with a picture of someone's semi-obscured buttocks on your screen as they walk past your cubicle. And you can't count on the HR department to be reasonable.

This means that while I don't mind the ads*, I still find myself scrolling to make sure they spend as little time as possible on the screen while I'm at work**.

*I don't mind the bum ads, but I do mind people who get their panties in a bunch about things like this.

**Yes, I browse the Internets while at work, butt (ha!), my work heavily involves the 'tubes.

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9-04-2007 @6:45PM rachel said... I have one on my blog (Coconut & Lime) and while I was a little surprised to see a butt on my blog, for $400 a month, I can't really complain.
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9-04-2007 @7:41PM Mike G said... Your IT department is very unlikely to spend time reviewing the hundreds/thousands of jpgs in every user's cache looking for an image containing bare skin.
Unless it has a risque file name, you're probably OK.
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9-05-2007 @8:25AM Josh said... In all seriousness, where have you all been? I use Firefox and Adblock Plus and I hardly ever see any ad's whatsoever. In fact, I had to disable adblock plus just to see the ad. If you're not already using Firefox, get with the times. Also, check out Firefox's extensive add-on library. You'll be happy you did.
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9-05-2007 @6:48PM Hillary said... I definitely have noticed the butt ads! I think ads are most noticeable when they aren't related to food and seem out of place. Maybe that's a good marketing strategy?
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9-05-2007 @8:14PM Marion in Savannah said... EEEWW... Just plain EEEWWW. Really. On a food blog who needs to look at butts? No matter how clean they are. It won't keep me from visiting a blog, but it CERTAINLY would keep me from buying that product or anything else by that manufacturer. Remember Mr. Whipple? I've never purchased a roll of Charmin' in my life. Why? I thought it was the stupidest ad campaign I'd ever seen and refused to support the company.
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9-06-2007 @3:03AM Lisa said... I can't believe that there are some people freaked out over their kids looking at a bare bum. Really? If I came across that ad while my step-daughter was in the room, I'd probably call her over so we could laugh at it together. (To a 7-year-old, bums are outstandingly funny.)

We all have them. What's the big deal? God help these people if they ever go to an art gallery.
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