Naughty, Naughty Lolly Wrappers!
Every morning before work, I check out the latest news headlines on a few different sites and this morning an interesting story on Ninemsn caught my eye: ‘”Porn” lolly wrappers leave sour taste‘. Apparently there’s a European lolly company whose wrappers portray a supposedly male lime having wild gorilla sex with two cherries on one packet and a lemon on another.
Can’t picture it? Let me help you:
Photos from ninemsn
So what do you think about it all? Do you see wild gorilla sex? Food porn? I must admit, it does look like the lime is having a good time and the lemon and cherries also seem to be enjoying themselves, so at least it’s consensual. There’s movement lines in there and the lime appears to be salivating, so it’s pretty obvious what the designers were going for., and they’ve gone all out on detail. I agree that it portrays some sort of sexual act … so the question is, is it appropriate for a lolly wrapper?
These lollies are intended for adults and children and I’d agree that the picture is a little too much for kids, but really, it’s cartoon fruit. I’ve never heard of the brand – it’s a European thing – and if this is the first time we’re hearing about a complaint even though the packaging has been public since 2002, then it’s obvious that there aren’t too many people concerned about it. Who really looks at the wrappers anyway?
So what do you think?
Should the kinky fruit packaging be changed or is it harmless fun?
Very young kids will see fruits playing around.
Older kids will snigger.
Adults will be titillated or highly offended like the dude who complained.
It’s like a Pixar cartoon really – it works on many levels. For the parent to get upset about it, is a bit of an overreaction because the children that he’s claiming to be protecting won’t even know what the fuss is about.
Not unless he tells them what the fuss is about, and then they’d start asking about sex, and well … it’s a slippery slope from there on.
….mooiness´s last post ..Mad for Tiësto
Long ago and far away a man named Tom Leher wrote songs that did the same thing. They never really SAID what was going on, but you certainly KNEW!
….Rabbits’ Guy´s last post ..WANNA SEE SUMPIN’ GOOD??????
Well, it is a little suggestive – I think from a quick glance it would be “just another weird incomprehensible cartoon”. Definitely not worth the fuss described in the article.
I’m sure it boosted sales for Haribo, though
….CatSynth´s last post ..Weekend Cat Blogging: Enjoying the outdoors.
I heard them talking about this on the radio a few days ago. What a great marketing strategy for the company. The whole world will be talking about it and I can imagine adults and teenagers going out to buy them just too see what the fuss is all about.
I don’t think it would last though. That lime looks way toooo horny!
….Salihan´s last post ..Learning to Embroider
Dare I say that the person who brought this up may be feeling a little deprived themselves?
….Kelly´s last post ..Peace
Yup. Let’s just teach our kids that ANY touching = sex of some sort. That’s bound to help them grow up normal. *snort*
….Naomi´s last post ..I Want This On Tshirt
mooiness – I agree with you that kids won’t see it for what it is – it’s adults that will say something and then the kid gets warped. Sometimes it’s better just to let things go!
Rabbits’ Guy – And sometimes it’s better left that way!
CatSynth – Yeah I’m pretty sure they’re getting the sales they wanted now. I don’t think anyone else is going to care about the wrappers though.
Salihan – I don’t think it’ll boost sales too much, but it does definitely get people talking! It’s a bold marketing strategy – but the funny thing is it’s been around for years!
Kelly – Methinks you may be correct.
Naomi – In today’s world, everything offends someone, no matter if it’s a lolly wrapper or a television advert. I think you have a good point – over-censoring does more damage than good!