MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Adobe Stock => Topic started by: Jo Ann Snover on March 23, 2011, 22:33
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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 :)
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I actually find that quite funny (perhaps I'm strange!). I suppose I always find it amusing when a 'stereotypee' makes fun of their own stereotype. I'm also a fan of the idea that creative enterprises should be 'different' in their presentation than less creative businesses.
However, if the majority share your view js, perhaps it's been an unwise move.
I just wish it were true! I'd love to see visual evidence... preferably in smelly-vision :D
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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eastern countries where people are trying to emulate the western hip and trendy look but result in looking ridiculously out of date and naff.
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I didnt find it lol, but certainly amusing. It would have to have an appropriate image to go with it to work though. I'm thinking something like ianmcdonnell's
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-8794724-holiday-party-with-leprechaun-easter-bunny-and-cupid.php?st=0722ef9 (http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-8794724-holiday-party-with-leprechaun-easter-bunny-and-cupid.php?st=0722ef9)
obviously not direct his as he an istock exclusive ;D and the image is totally irrelevant but it is the image I thought of when reading
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I don't think I get the message. That customer service will ignore your calls ?
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I'm assuming they're being ironic - in the sense of the definition in the box here (the definition of irony being eternally in question):
http://www.isitironic.com/definition.htm (http://www.isitironic.com/definition.htm)
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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.
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Well they have the concept, why not just hire a photographer to shoot that scene and use it instead of all the letters. I could see that as a hilarious shot.
I hate ads with so much copy...
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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.
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The ad certainly wouldn't be my taste (I am over 40 and tragically un-hip), but I can see how it could be funny.
Except for the part where they talk about ignoring customer support calls. The saying "many a truth is said in jest" comes to mind.
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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).
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I just noticed that the auto-edit features of our bulletin board edited out a word "...sixteenth century building once occupied by nah-ts-ees." Referring to the occupying force in France during World War II.
I guess the original word is considered offensive enough for Leaf to auto-edit it out, but OK for Fotolia's ad. Perhaps Photoshop User doesn't sell in Germany?
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Ah well now that's not funny at all. Why on earth would they want to mention that?
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why would the word "n-a-z-i" be considered an insult? It's part of the history.
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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?
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I just read the mag today, and saw the ad, and said "WTH is that". It certainly wouldn't make me want to shop there.
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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.
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Well, I think the copy itself is dumb, but the way the ad looks on the page it is essentially unreadable and the only thing that stands out is the word Fotolia. If you didn't know who/what fotolia was I can't imagine you'd take the time to painfully read the rest of the copy. I even paged right past it when I was intentionally looking for it.
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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.
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I don't know. I kind of like companies that take themselves seriously.
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I just read the mag today, and saw the ad, and said "WTH is that". It certainly wouldn't make me want to shop there.
+1
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Let's look on the bright side. At least Fotolia has an ad running in Photoshop User magazine ;D
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Let's look on the bright side. At least Fotolia has an ad running in Photoshop User magazine ;D
True. It's bound to send any potential customers to SS or DT.
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SS and IS also have ads in Photoshop User, although I'm not a huge fan of either of them.
SS's ad features "telekentic cats" - to me they look as if they have knitting needles stuck through their eyes and it's very creepy. Apparently these cats live at Shutterstock according to the headline. "Picture it found" is the tag at the bottom, but I can't see past the knitting needles.
IS's ad is "Your world, our stock." but the world that's the background is some ornate, huge, dark room in a mansion which doesn't represent anything I'd want to live in, let alone do. The screaming kids on the floor apparently aren't discouraging the heavily pregnant woman on the other side from running in panic away from her balding sugar daddy. The couple with a can of white paint and a ladder haven't apparently started repainting this gloomy room, but perhaps they're too busy sneaking glances at the bimbo by the Christmas tree.
I hope designers love this stuff; doesn't do much for me :)
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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.
That's the funny part. I read it like a documentary. ;D And here I thought the place was run by HAL-9000 turns out they're just jerks.
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I guess it's an attempt to appeal to young "cool" and "hip" and pot-smoking graphic designer crowd - just starting in the business and needing cheap images. I have no idea if this kind of add works since I definitely don't belong to that crowd.
To me - but hey I am over 40 too:) - it just looks stupid.
They are definitely not targeting my demographics.
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Sorry FT but I don't get it. I sent it to my 19 year old nephew and he doesn't get it either. His interesting observation was that this was probably written by some old marketing fart in a striped shirt and braces trying to be hip.
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maybe this is a sign of clarity! If the constributors don't understand the corporate image..they should be rejected :-)
FT sells images now to minors who leads advetising agencys. That make sense to me, they also handle their constributors as kids....so it is consistent.
They are a kindergarten.
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I guess it's an attempt to appeal to young "cool" and "hip" and pot-smoking graphic designer crowd - just starting in the business and needing cheap images. I have no idea if this kind of add works since I definitely don't belong to that crowd.
To me - but hey I am over 40 too:) - it just looks stupid.
They are definitely not targeting my demographics.
There must be some sort of serious disconnect going on.
Seems the suppliers are all 35+ but the buyers are all 20 somethings?
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Interesting...
http://blog.fotolia.com/us//fotolia_laptop_sticker.html (http://blog.fotolia.com/us//fotolia_laptop_sticker.html)
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At least people are talking about the ad. That may be all they wanted...
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Of course the purpose of advertising and marketing is generally to increase sales. I don't care how unique or 'brave' the ad was or how many awards it received if it didn't achieve it's purpose __ and there's precious little evidence of that.
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Of course the purpose of advertising and marketing is generally to increase sales. I don't care how unique or 'brave' the ad was or how many awards it received if it didn't achieve it's purpose __ and there's precious little evidence of that.
Uh huh? Brand awareness comes to mind. Why is Coca Cola using polar bears in their ads (what do polar bears have to do with any type of beverage anyway?)? Why is Budweiser using a carriage with massive horses being pulled around a beautiful landscape? What do horses have to do with the fresh, refreshing taste of a Bud Light? What about the Geico gecko?
FT appears to have achieved their goal with their campaign, whether it was creating a buzz, increasing sales or just branding themselves into peoples' brains. That's all that matters to them.
Marketing a company obviously involves more than "just" creating ads so people want to buy their product (see the polar bears...).
Naturally at the end you want to see increasing sales but I would consider this one step of the way towards a (hopefully) successful future.
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So here is a list (http://www.oneclub.org/2011_winners/) of the 2011 One Show award winners. Fotolia's ad is not in the list of winners (the show was held last week).
They are in the list of finalists here (http://www.oneclub.org/finalists/) - they're in the Design Finalists list in the category for Typography Campaign. MacLaren McCann Canada in Calgary was the agency and the entry title was #1 in Europe.
If you note the text on the above page it says "If you are a finalist, you are winning at least a Merit award and might be winning a One Show Pencil. The winning pieces will be announced at their respective shows during One Show Festival, May 9-13"
So the blog entry is overstating it to say the ad won a One Show Pencil - it didn't - just a merit award.
IMO you'd do better to say what actually happened - it was a finalist in the awards - than claim it won an award when it didn't.
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IMO you'd do better to say what actually happened - it was a finalist in the awards - than claim it won an award when it didn't.
Correct. Good investigating! It's amazing how most people just gobble up what's being posted on the internet... (including me sometimes ::) )
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All I know is that when FT sends me a mail as a buyer(and as it happens contributor), they waste half the space featuring their 'FREE' section............how monumentally crazy is that?
The message I get is:
"Here's some pics.......they are so crap that our reviewers wouldn't pass them (or they didn't sell a sausage for two years and the contributors sold them for 50 $cents for eternity out of sheer desperation) and they are now yours for free...........that's right, we don't make a cent on them! BTW please look at the other shots above them and buy them cuz this is how we really make our money! Thank you for your attention."
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why would the word "n-a-z-i" be considered an insult? It's part of the history.
It's not a question of insult, it's about the tastelessness of cracking way-cool jokes about mass murder. Since Fotolia's main market is in Germany, I would call it a blunder on an iStock scale. Remember that in Germany the sale of National Socialist German Workers Party (since the short form is banned here!) memorabilia is a criminal offence and a dodgy British historian was jailed there not long ago for the crime of "holocaust denial".
I would avoid negative associations when writing advertising copy. I was thinking "how silly" until I reached that line about the National Socialist occupation and that stopped me dead in my tracks. It therefore became the only memorable part of a childish (to my aged eye), uninformative ad. So the message I ended up with was "Fotolia thinks fascism is cool". Hmmm.
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Interesting...
[url]http://blog.fotolia.com/us//fotolia_laptop_sticker.html[/url] ([url]http://blog.fotolia.com/us//fotolia_laptop_sticker.html[/url])
OMG! It's like one of the dodgiest designs out of Prentiss McCabe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_Power_%28comedy%29 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_Power_%28comedy%29)). I guess it got its award nomination on the Emperor's Clothes principle, that a bunch of "design creatives" didn't dare show their ignorance by saying it was crap, so they pretended to understand its "brilliance" to make themselves look clever.
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Hey jsnover,
You should get your facts straight before spouting off about things you know nothing about. I am the CD, art director and designer of the Fotolia ad campaign, and it indeed won a Silver Pencil on Monday, May 9 at the One Show Design Awards at the IAC building at the Chelsea Piers. I was in attendance and picked it up, and it's sitting on my desk as I type this.
In order to win a Pencil, work must obviously first make the shortlist. From there it wins Gold, Silver, Bronze or Merit awards. Look it up. oneclub.org and search for Fotolia.
Our goal was to make ads that were unlike all the other crappy stock photo sites out there, and get people talking. I'd say our ads have done their jobs quite well thus far. And some judges from aroud the globe have agreed. Now if you'll excuse me I must go polish this Pencil.
Ciao.
Mike Meadus
maclaren.com/calgary
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Hey jsnover,
You should get your facts straight before spouting off about things you know nothing about. I am the CD, art director and designer of the Fotolia ad campaign, and it indeed won a Silver Pencil on Monday, May 9 at the One Show Design Awards at the IAC building at the Chelsea Piers. I was in attendance and picked it up, and it's sitting on my desk as I type this.
In order to win a Pencil, work must obviously first make the shortlist. From there it wins Gold, Silver, Bronze or Merit awards. Look it up. oneclub.org and search for Fotolia.
Our goal was to make ads that were unlike all the other crappy stock photo sites out there, and get people talking. I'd say our ads have done their jobs quite well thus far. And some judges from aroud the globe have agreed. Now if you'll excuse me I must go polish this Pencil.
Ciao.
Mike Meadus
maclaren.com/calgary
Good for you! Interesting that you signed up here just so you could drop in and gloat.
Judges might think that kind of language is "cool" and "hip", but it doesn't appear everyone does.
And as you said it...please, go polish your pencil! ;)
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Hey jsnover,
You should get your facts straight before spouting off about things you know nothing about. I am the CD, art director and designer of the Fotolia ad campaign, and it indeed won a Silver Pencil on Monday, May 9 at the One Show Design Awards at the IAC building at the Chelsea Piers. I was in attendance and picked it up, and it's sitting on my desk as I type this.
In order to win a Pencil, work must obviously first make the shortlist. From there it wins Gold, Silver, Bronze or Merit awards. Look it up. oneclub.org and search for Fotolia.
Our goal was to make ads that were unlike all the other crappy stock photo sites out there, and get people talking. I'd say our ads have done their jobs quite well thus far. And some judges from aroud the globe have agreed. Now if you'll excuse me I must go polish this Pencil.
Ciao.
Mike Meadus
maclaren.com/calgary
Good for you! Interesting that you signed up here just so you could drop in and gloat.
Judges might think that kind of language is "cool" and "hip", but it doesn't appear everyone does.
And as you said it...please, go polish your pencil! ;)
Actually I signed up because I was correcting an idiot who was spouting off crap without having a clue what she was talking about. Plus I thought I could get into some witty online battles with retards like yourself.
Get bent.
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:D Using words like crappy, idiot, and retard, sounds like there isn't going to be much witty talk going on. ::)
Troll alert.
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And as you said it...please, go polish your pencil! ;)
Actually I signed up because I was correcting an idiot who was spouting off crap without having a clue what she was talking about. Plus I thought I could get into some witty online battles with retards like yourself.
Get bent.
Wow. Do you "polish your pencil" with that mouth?!!
What a classy, witty retort. Especially from someone who claims to make a living writing "award winning" copy.
ETA: Wonder how Fotolia feels about you coming into a forum frequented by their contributors and buyers and hurling abuse. Presumably you were hired to increase their market share? You are not representing them very well ATM.
But then, perhaps a "seriously gifted advertising whiz" with "more tats than your average Hell's Angel" and "talent oozing out of his inky pores" is above worrying about how he is representing his client's interests in a popular industry forum... ::)
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Actually I signed up because I was correcting an idiot who was spouting off crap without having a clue what she was talking about. Plus I thought I could get into some witty online battles with retards like yourself.
Get bent.
Wow, you are quite the master of the written word.
Pretty much we all thought the ad was garbage, and an obvious attempt to be hip. Sorry. Better luck with the next ad.
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Here's my problem with the ad. I didn't see it. I don't mean I didn't see the magazine - I did. Just got through going through it, trying out a few tricks. I saw the iStock, Shutterstock and Bigstock ads. Then I noticed this thread and went back through the magazine and found it. Yup, there it was, but I didn't see it first time through.
Isn't that kinda the purpose of a print ad? That people see it? A page full of text on a page? For a company that sells images? Who cares what it said. I didn't see it. What percentage of other readers didn't see it?
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I want a jaunty scarf.
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And as you said it...please, go polish your pencil! ;)
Actually I signed up because I was correcting an idiot who was spouting off crap without having a clue what she was talking about. Plus I thought I could get into some witty online battles with retards like yourself.
Get bent.
Wow. Do you "polish your pencil" with that mouth?!!
What a classy, witty retort. Especially from someone who claims to make a living writing "award winning" copy.
ETA: Wonder how Fotolia feels about you coming into a forum frequented by their contributors and buyers and hurling abuse. Presumably you were hired to increase their market share? You are not representing them very well ATM.
But then, perhaps a "seriously gifted advertising whiz" with "more tats than your average Hell's Angel" and "talent oozing out of his inky pores" is above worrying about how he is representing his client's interests in a popular industry forum... ::)
Hi Snowball. Cute name.
I never claimed to be the writer of the particular ads that have managed to quite successfully irk you. I said I was the CD, AD and designer of them. My creative partner actually penned them. I am, however, writing some blog entries that are successfully irking you.
And I'm not sure what the quotes around award winning means. They didn't 'win' a Pencil at the One Show, they actually won a Pencil at the One Show.
If you're wondering how Fotolia feels about me being mean to you, why don't you tell on me. I'm not representing Fotolia. I don't work for Fotolia. I helped create a campaign with the hope of getting people talking, and I can only assume that they're not all as dense as you.
And no, I do not polish my Pencil with my mouth. I use the felt bag it came in. I also don't kiss my mom with my mouth because she passed away recently. You insensitive douche.
Now run along and take a picture of something.
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Ad is for customers who read this lets say wannabe magazine
ShmackUsers
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And as you said it...please, go polish your pencil! ;)
Actually I signed up because I was correcting an idiot who was spouting off crap without having a clue what she was talking about. Plus I thought I could get into some witty online battles with retards like yourself.
Get bent.
Wow. Do you "polish your pencil" with that mouth?!!
What a classy, witty retort. Especially from someone who claims to make a living writing "award winning" copy.
ETA: Wonder how Fotolia feels about you coming into a forum frequented by their contributors and buyers and hurling abuse. Presumably you were hired to increase their market share? You are not representing them very well ATM.
But then, perhaps a "seriously gifted advertising whiz" with "more tats than your average Hell's Angel" and "talent oozing out of his inky pores" is above worrying about how he is representing his client's interests in a popular industry forum... ::)
Hi Snowball. Cute name.
I never claimed to be the writer of the particular ads that have managed to quite successfully irk you. I said I was the CD, AD and designer of them. My creative partner actually penned them. I am, however, writing some blog entries that are successfully irking you.
And I'm not sure what the quotes around award winning means. They didn't 'win' a Pencil at the One Show, they actually won a Pencil at the One Show.
If you're wondering how Fotolia feels about me being mean to you, why don't you tell on me. I'm not representing Fotolia. I don't work for Fotolia. I helped create a campaign with the hope of getting people talking, and I can only assume that they're not all as dense as you.
And no, I do not polish my Pencil with my mouth. I use the felt bag it came in. I also don't kiss my mom with my mouth because she passed away recently. You insensitive douche.
Now run along and take a picture of something.
And for the love of God, stop using emoticons. I can't take anyone seriously who winks at me every time they think they've just written a real zinger.
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I'm now wondering why my teenage son has signed up for this forum as Meadus to call me a crap spouting idiot? Internet is full of very strange things...
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as exciting as this thread looks like it is about to become, it should probably be locked before it starts...