(I realise some of you may be offended by the following post, but that is not my intent. I am only recording my experiences and trying to make sense of my "world" in South Africa through my American cultural lens.)
Today, on the way to the office, I passed 79 advertisements for penis enlargements. On the way home from work, I took a different route, and passed 112 advertisements for penis enlargements. I am not making those numbers up.
My first thought was, that must have cost a ton in marketing fees. My second thought was, why the obsession? It seems as though overnight these adverts appeared on every metal post, the back of every stop sign, and on every public rubbish bin in the city.
As a parent, I never imagined myself talking about these sorts of things to my children on the way to school. I suppose it's funny in a way, but I am rather mystified... If you do the math you end up with 191 different advertisements- and that's just in my little corner of Pretoria.
6 comments:
That's when I'd be praying my new reader couldn't sound out either of those words!
I appreciate when you post about cultural differences (even in advertising) because it helps me feel like I will be a tiny bit prepared for the culture shock that is guaranteed to come once we move!
In the U.S.A., ads for feminine supplies, Victoria Secret and Carl's Jr. come close.
Oh Jonna, my heart goes out to you. It really isn't that bad... things just catch me off guard from time to time. When you come I will be more than happy to meet with you and help you adjust to the culture, if I can. I know people did that for me, and it made a world of difference.
Thanks Annie. I look forward to meeting you!
WHAT! I can't believe it, shocking, I agree with you, this is madness.
(tongue in cheek) Maybe the men in pretoria just all have very small penises. LOL! I have seldom seen an advert like that down here in the Cape. If you know the sport (rugby) culture (Western Province against the Blue Bulls) you can just imagine how our WP people will tease the pretoria Blue Bulls about this LOL!
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