Street art, culture jamming, anti-corporate activism, celebrity loathing, celebrity worship-it's all mixed up into a vast cultural stew these days, making the individual messages of many artists hard to parse. When in doubt just assume the message is, "I'm trying to get famous." British artist James Cauty has taken a pop art style, combined it with an advertising-remix motif, and sprinkled in a little blatant fame whoring to cap it all off. He's just commandeering billboards with pieces about celebrities saying how much they love him, and you have to admit that really crystallizes pop culture circa 2008. Plenty of people with day jobs in advertising dream about having the balls to do this (illegally). Pictured, Cauty's image and billboard theft starring Kate Moss; below, another one with celebrity chef Nigella Lawson.

When the movie Super Size Me came out, showing the ravaging effects of a monthlong fast food diet, it was terrible PR for McDonald's. The company spent tons of money combating the perceptions from that one overwrought documentary, seriously! And now, in what can only be described as a gift from the marketing gods, some fat guy has gone an all-McDonald's diet and actually lost 86 pounds (pictured: before and after). But the company won't sign him as a spokesman. You shallow fools! You think he's too ugly, DON'T YOU?

Is it possible that beer advertising is becoming "silly" and "arbitrary?" We're going to go with "what do you mean, 'becoming?'" But the lack of "weight" and "integrity" to the "brand stories" of beer companies these days is really weighing on Seth Stevenson, Slate's generally sharp ad critic-and a man who obviously takes beer very seriously. While you or I might just accept that beer ads, of all things, are destined to be stupid in order to appeal to drunks, Stevenson allows a vapid Amstel commercial to send him into a deep spiral of despair. Why aren't they emphasizing the "five valid, logical criteria for choosing one beer over another" in their TV spots?!?!:

Proving once again that the US Military makes strategic decisions based on the rantings of the lunatic fringe, our post last week about the Marine Corps' "We teach black people to swim" ad prompted an article about the "controversy" in the Marine Corps Times, and a healthy discussion on the paper's online discussion boards. Sentiment among the ex-military commenters there is currently running 30-0 against the ad having a racial component. "In my life time, I've learned through life experiences, in order for a person(s) to make a comment such as this. That they are racial in one way or another," says one. He's right, you know. (UPDATE: Former gay porn star/ Marine and current conservative blogger Matt Sanchez adds: "Smearing the military is never a big enough issue for the Gawker, it's a reflex. Maybe if they "subtly" stereotyped gay males as promiscuous this issue would have warranted greater indignation.") [MCT. Watch the ad here.]

As Alex Pareene once said with a certain joie de vivre, "Leave it to the French to [insert something racy here]." Well, it doesn't get much racier than advertising to the gays—unless it's advertising to the lesbians! So Paris Las Vegas is appropriating a bit of that fake French savoir faire for their new ad campaign, which features the understated slogan, "Everything's sexier in Paris Las Vegas." Points to them for being inclusive, in a rather blunt and unsophisticated way. Gay-targeted ad pictured; lesbian-targeted ad (the content of which you might be able to guess), after the jump.

Spam: it's not just nasty meat in a can. It's a leading economic indicator! Hormel has been selling the ground-up pig concoction for more than 70 years, and it's acquired quite a status as a gross American icon. Plus, economists have noticed that people seem to buy more cheap, crappy food products as the economy gets worse, and Spam's increasing popularity provides a nice hook for Freakonomics-type stories tying the whole miserable economic picture into the meat-purchasing choices of you, the consumer. Good theory, but, as Ad Age points out, it has one major flaw: Spam is not even cheap.

Men are sick and tired of having their masculinity degraded by the soulless, woman-dominated advertising and media machine! AskMen.com, a brave defender of testosterone rights, has assembled a list of the "10 Worst Male-Bashing Commercials." These ads' offensive, accurate depictions of men as bumbling idiots easily manipulated by females will make you ask yourself: "Dude, is this really happening in this day and age?" Sadly, it is. Men still suffer from sexist stereotypes today. The #1 worst male-bashing ad in the universe is below; "the most disturbing portrayal of all is the little girl's arrogance and sense of entitlement," AskMen opines. You greedy young tarts have manipulated a sundae out of us for the last time! Equality is on the menu!

Listen, we know you're all excited about the news of InBev's $46 billion bid to buy Anheuser-Busch. But have you considered the possible side effect? Fewer beer ads! A-B spends half a billion dollars a year on commercials, and another $300 million on sports sponsorships. But InBev—the maker of fey non-American beers like Stella Artois—is run by Belgian cheapskates who do comparatively little advertising at all. Watch out, Budweiser Clydesdales, Spuds MacKienzie, and American sportsmanship: foreigners are coming to destroy you!

Somebody created ten fake Facebook profiles of varying descriptions, built them up to 200 friends each, and is now selling them on eBay to anyone who cares to take them over for undercover marketing purposes. Yet another reason to make friends in real life instead. [Ebay via Adrants]

While the occassional videoblogger might put up sponsorships for sale through eBay's auction site, networks and radio stations weren't so interested, so eBay is cutting its few deals with cable networks loose and ending its partnerships with Bid4Spots in brokering AM and FM ads. Which is a shame, because I was totally going to buy some radio ads right after I purchased some Beanie Babies. [Industry Standard]

The anonymous American Apparel ad prankster strikes again. This time with more animals! Also—it must be said—with even more poon-tang than usual. Copyranter says the new installment is a spoof of this bambi-themed ad. If Dov Charney doesn't find this vandal and put him or her on the payroll immediately, he's even crazier than we think. Click through for two uncensored photos of the (explicit, artistic) latest work:

It's not like Tom Cruise can just sit back relaxing, sipping secret anti-aging formula and reading L. Ron Hubbard books and waiting for the world to stumble onto his awesome new website. So he's out there working with Google AdSense to direct your attention to his important site, chock-full of Tom Cruise-approved Tom Cruise information! Click to enlarge this screengrab of the wacky star's internet marketing plan in action.

There's no denying Lindsay Lohan's "thriller" I Know Who Killed Me was among the most critically and commercially reviled B-movies of last year — of any year, really. But now that IKWKM is approaching cable oblivion with its premiere June 14 on Starz, we doubt our inbox has ever seen a publicity campaign this wonderfully defensive or reactionary — almost Warholesque in its celebration of its own product's awfulness, proudly emphasizing its Razzie Award cred and critical pull quotes exhorting viewers to check out "a disaster that exerts a perverse fascination" (Variety) or "the monumental trashiness of this mess" (NY Daily News).

Ads, of course, are everywhere. But at least back in the good old days (last week), they would only creep into the borders of our TV shows, rather than becoming the entire show itself. Well, those days are gone, friend. Give up your outdated ideas about what programming should be, and settle in with a bowl of wet food and your hungry cat for a fine evening receiving the subtle marketing messages of the "Meow Mix Game Show"!

When you're advertising potentially nasty medical-related products or causes, take a cue from the pharmaceutical industry. Those guys can make an ad for Irritable Bowel Syndrome treatment look like a beloved home movie. On the other end of the sensitivity spectrum is this ad from Thailand's Red Cross , urging people to donate their eyes when they die so that others may see. Good cause. But my god, is a huge dump site full of wasted, disembodied eyeballs really the best way to get your message across? (No). The horrifically misguided full ad is below—not for the squeamish.

Rolling Stone, America's most frustrating magazine (yay, Matt Taibbi; boo, excruciating music coverage) has been having some trouble selling ads lately. So to help revitalize its "iconic and revolutionary brand," the magazine has slapped some of its classic covers on t-shirts. They're for sale at Macy's for $36 each. Eh, not really worth it. Oh, wait: each shirt comes with a free subscription to Rolling Stone. Eh, still. Better idea: make the magazine better so it sells. "The new collection of Rolling Stone tees appeals to today's cross-channel lifestyle, bringing together the influences of fashion, music, celebrity and entertainment," says a Macy's exec. "Macy's is honored to be exclusively bringing back these covers in a new, wearable way." OH NOW I GET IT. [via Ad Age]

In this time of war, the US Marine Corps is ready to do whatever it takes to meet its recruitment levels, and that includes teaching black people not to be so darn scared of the water. In this ad that aired during the NBA Finals last week, the Marines send a simple, straightforward message: "Hey, black people. We know you can't swim. That's okay! We'll teach you how, and then let you ride in a cool boat, if you just sign up for the Marines now. Okay? Okay." Watch the subtle stereotyping in action below:

Here's a useful thing: Mike's Hard Lemonade has a neato promotional toy on its website that will let you insert your own name and picture into a news clip, then send that clip to your boss as evidence of why you can't come in to work today. In unrelated news, Julia Allison won't make it to work today; she's been stuck on a spinning carnival ride! Watch this breaking news now! [via Adrants]

Anti-American socialists like the watchdogs at the Anti-Advertising Agency often point out that the advertising industry is—without exaggeration—one of the biggest vandals in New York City. Illegal advertising includes everything from entire sides of buildings and scaffoldings covered in banner ads without permits, to virtually the entire "guerilla marketing" and "street team" industries. All those things are, technically speaking, vandalism. So the NYPD's vandal squad should be breaking down ad agency doors daily, right? This handy pie chart puts the law enforcement situation into perspective. Click to enlarge. [via AAA]