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I was leafing through the most recent Photoshop User magazine and the most recent Fotolia ad caught my eye. Good that it caught my eye, but I thought the content was more tasteless than edgy.

Have they been running this campaign for a while and I missed it, or is this new?

A dense page of all caps type in black, with only the word FOTOLIA in green.

"WHEN YOU CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE AT THE #1 STOCK PHOTO HOUSE IN EUROPE, YOU SHOULD IMAGINE US ALL HERE TOPLESS, REEKING OF UNFILTERED TOBACCO, OVERPRICED CHEESE AND THREE DAYS OF ONE NIGHT STANDS. THE MEN CAN'T BE ENTIRELY TOPLESS AS THEY NEED JAUNTY SCARVES, AS THIS IS EUROPE, SO THEY ARE TOPLESS BUT FOR JAUNTY SCARVES. WE'RE ALL IN CUBICLES DESIGNED BY PHILIPPE STARCK ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF A SIXTEENTH CENTURY BUILDING ONCE OCCUPIED BY N*A*Z*I*S, NOW AN INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION WAREHOUSE FOR JEGGINGS. YOUR RINGING WILL ECHO THROUGH OUR HALF NAKED, CHEESE-SMELLING, SCARF-WEARING OFFICE WHILE OVERLY ENTITLED INTERNS TAKE TURNS IGNORING YOU, TOUCHING UP THEIR MANICURES WITH WHITE OUT AND FLIPPING THROUGH FASHION MAGAZINES THAT AREN'T YET AVAILABLE IN NORTH AMERICA. FOTOLIA. THE SEXUAL TENSION AROUND HERE IS UNBEARABLE.

This page (23) is in the index of advertisers as being a Fotolia ad - i.e. it's not a competitor trying to make them look bad

I saw that ad and it made me cringe with embarrassment, it's clear the message they are trying to get over, unfortunately they haven't quite 'got it' and it's just made them look pathetic.

I equate it to the fashion you see in certain eastern countries where people are trying to emulate the western hip and trendy look but result in looking ridiculously out of date and naff.

I don't think I get the message. That customer service will ignore your calls ?

The trouble is that I come to it with the preconception that they are a bunch of a-holes who treat their contributors like s*it.
I find it hard to image what a buyer without that preconception would make of it.

I'd suggest you are probably not alone in your preconception. I get the impression the ad must have been copywritten by a 16 year old intern without supervision. That's about the only age group I can imagine it appealing to.

I just remembered something...  when I was at university one of the lecturers did an exercise with us to help us remember lists of items for exams.  He said that studies had found that people remember most clearly when they associate the item with either sex or violence, and if possible, to use both.

He then proceeded to embed the names of the world's ten longest rivers into our minds, using the old 'one.... gun...... two.... shoe....' trick, while describing a graphic scene involving each object.

That was a half hour exercise, 19 years ago, and I still remember the scenes and the list of rivers to this day.

It may be that Fotolia are using the same method here to make sure the reader remembers them.

(Perhaps a more recent study has found that the suggestion of aroma should be included for maximum effect).

Ah well now that's not funny at all.  Why on earth would they want to mention that?  

I read through the copy twice and still not sure of the point. I have seen ads like this in other magazines (not Fotolia ads) using a lot of sexual connotations, I think it's an attempt at being hip and trendy (and appealing to 12-year-olds?). I don't see the point of spending that much money on that kind of copy. And all caps is a big no-no. Too hard to read...maybe that's why I had to read through it here twice?

makes me want to drop my contributor account there.  I have not been thrilled with them from the start. 

is it supposed to be an ad aimed at young european designers?  because I think it's idiotic and sophomoric.

I'm over 50, but I must be quite immature because I had to smirk a bit while reading the copy.
Yes it's silly, and not very effective as an advert, but it does send the message that they don't take themselves too seriously. In this day & age, I find that rather refreshing.

+1

True. It's bound to send any potential customers to SS or DT.

That's the funny part. I read it like a documentary.  And here I thought the place was run by HAL-9000 turns out they're just jerks.