It really does perplex me the way some potentially fantastic ideas and concepts will never get any further than a few squiggles piece of foolscalp paper, and meanwhile this sort of advertising – these sorts of images – are just put out there as though there is absolutely nothing questionable about them. Truly, it amazes me.

The first image. Normandy. Okay, little Timmy, let’s set up a whole lot of toy soldiers as real men, and then I will give you greusome details about the horrors of real war while we play. And then when we are done, you get to count how many toys are still standing.

Image two: JFK. We have a lego man with a blood splatter drawn onto his face. And then, of-course, comes the fun part where you explain why someone would do that to someone else, while his wife sits beside him. Unfortunately for me, I chose to watch the video link…and now I am disturbed, and very sad.

Last image: 9/11. Do I need to even mention why this one is so wrong? Ultimately, the little toy set-up of the twin towers with the burning plane crashed into the side of it is, really, just insulting. I have no personal connection whatsoever to these attacks, but I think it is sad that we live in a world that so soon afterwards finds it necessary to produce and accept ads like these.

Having said that, I also find the portrayal of what is, put simply, a man getting shot in the face with his wife by his side, watching in horror. And I am not interested in childish recreations of war. Most importantly of all, I would not want my child to see or experience these trivialised versions of human tragedy.

No thanks, pay television -  I will just read my kids a book.

Advertising School: JUNIOR* Academy for Art Direction, The Netherlands
Art Directors / Copywriters: Lisanne van de Laar, Niels van de Snepscheut
Photographers: Lisanne van de Laar, Niels van de Snepscheut
Published: March 2009

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