My initial reaction when I saw this advertisement was: “This ad has too many words”. And it does. But that’s kind of the point.

When I was growing up there were only two really interesting things in the newspaper. Obviously the comics, and the obituaries. I don’t know what it was about them. I think I was really only ever looking for people who were the same age as me, or who shared my birth day or my state. There was something about the morbidity of one of those dead people being even a little like me.

This advertisement is great! It hits the nail right on the head! People die of obesity, when there are other people in the world who are starving to death. This is proof that too much of a good thing can kill you. I love that the people whose obituaries (or pre-obituaries) are displayed are not people who are the ‘trailer trash’ of society, but they’re people with families that love them, and who are successful. I don’t think the advertisers are saying that these successful people will be missed more than others, but rather that this is something serious for the sedentary culture of the middle class. Our gluttony will kill us.

It’s so simple and yet so real. What does one put on the obituary of someone whose death was admittedly not wholly unexpected because their health was clear to see in the very way they lived their life. I’m not being harsh on overweight people, but it’s a reality that needs to be faced about health and well-being. This advertisement takes a confronting issue, and makes it real.

Having said all of that I’m a little suspicious of the Gmail account email address for a University Clinic and I can’t help but wonder which section in the newspaper they would place this advertisement.

Advertising Agency: Memac Ogilvy, Dubai, UAE
Executive Creative Director: Till Hohmann
Creative Directors: Dalbir Singh, Ramzi Moutran
Art Director: Mel Harvey
Copywriter: Dylan Kidson

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