Utterly Wrong. Utterly and completely Wrong.
*deliberates whether to type this or not after that time I got shouted at for calling a train-jumping-suicide-person who made me late a ’selfish fucktard’*
…
< caution to the wind >
…
See…
Every day I pass a poster that says
“Buy a brick for children with cancer”
And all I can think is
“Well I hate to see them suffer as much as anyone else, but gosh, that seems just a trifle harsh, doesn’t it?…”
Yes, I know. I am a bad person, and I shouldn’t be allowed to ever have children, or friends, or the capacity for unsupervised thought, but I can’t help it.
I can’t help thinking it, and I can’t help that it still makes me laugh.
Every day.
Sorry.
*Runs off to donate money to charity in question*
Update, later: Of course, the nice thing about having a sister with exactly the same sense of humour as you is that sometimes you discover that she, also living in the area of the campaign, was thinking the same thing and thinks to take a picture of it - well, the same thing if perhaps slighty less terrifyingly euthanasiaish than the thing I was thinking of, but you see what I mean…
Sicko.
Exactly the way my warped mind works. Carry on.
Comment by Glen — 12 June, 2006 5:33 pm
Well, it does seem a little ambiguous, I’ll grant you!
Comment by TC — 12 June, 2006 5:57 pm
Fabulous. Worrying. But, ultimately Fabulous.
The first thing to make me laugh all day, cheers.
Comment by Claire Phipps — 12 June, 2006 5:59 pm
Chalk under “Dreamt up after a liquid lunch at the ad agency”
Comment by Adrian — 12 June, 2006 6:05 pm
Well it made me laugh too, which was most certainly welcome.
Comment by Hannah — 12 June, 2006 7:12 pm
My personal favourite was the slogan which ran ‘the proceeds will go to cripple children’. Well I’m not giving money to THAT…
Comment by JackP — 12 June, 2006 7:15 pm
Do you throw it at them, or use it to help build a house or what?
Comment by joeinvegas — 12 June, 2006 8:28 pm
I had the same response…
So, what, do you give it to them for Christmas?
Comment by Anna F — 12 June, 2006 8:52 pm
I’m sorry everyone in the whole world, I laughed. Whoever wrote that I can assume, doesn’t have a job in advertising anymore
Rachh
Comment by rachh — 12 June, 2006 8:54 pm
Forgive my ignorance, but doesnt a child with cancer have higher priorities than any of the many things you can do with a brick?
Unless they meant lego, in which case I understand, because enough lego bricks can distract anyone!
Comment by Emily — 12 June, 2006 9:01 pm
I have a pet brick (a very lovely brick found at the seaside with all the corners worn away). Maybe that is what it is for, to give the child that experience of unconditional affection and responsibility for another being? A brick makes an ideal first pet - loving, steadfast, and extremely easy to care for.
By the way, hurray that the little red boat is back-ish and successfully moored in a much more appropriate location by the sea. A bit behind the times, I know…
Comment by Eloise — 12 June, 2006 10:16 pm
My initial reaction was that I am truly a stupid American and “brick” was a charming English term for something other than, well, brick. Imagine my disappointment to find that a brick is a brick. And, then I too laughed. So, stupid American laughing at mean ol’ Anna.
Comment by Pam — 12 June, 2006 10:43 pm
Please don’t stop saying things like that. You give me hope that one day I will say what I think when I am confronted by those people who approach me saying, “Would you make a donation for children with aids?”
“What? They’re just kids! They’re too young to be having sex!”
Comment by Damian — 13 June, 2006 8:00 am
why a brick tho? I couldn’t see the ad but still, a brick? I think if i were a child with cancer i’d prefer a nice teddy or something. Bricks dont make very good friends.
Comment by marycub — 13 June, 2006 8:36 am
Oh Mary, I didn’t mean as a toy…
I have a slight feeling that about only half of you are on the same page as me here…
But believe me, that’s a good thing. For you. I’m going to hell. You’re not.
Comment by anna — 13 June, 2006 8:47 am
Interesting - i imagined that everyone would assume the worst
But it gives me hope that not everyone has the same sick thoughts as me.
Comment by Amy — 13 June, 2006 11:51 am
me too, Amy - me too…
Comment by anna — 13 June, 2006 11:53 am
Taking the ad seriously for a moment, and thus thinking about the construction of a hospital: do you think they considered, even for a moment, just how many bricks theyre going to need. It’s hundreds of thousands, if not millions. And once they’ve built it, what’s the roof going to be made from? They should have hired a quantity surveyor before they ran the campaign, because who’s going to buy the roof tiles, the concrete and reinforcing for the floors, the door knobs, the timber to build the nurse’s station, the machines that go beep (and whirr). Dammit, who’s going to buy the mortar to stick all the bricks together. I can just see it now, a huge crowd of bald kids scrambling over an enormous brick pile - except they won’t be bald of course, because nobody paid for the chemotherapy, or the syringes and needles, or the hospital food. So they’ll be hairy, hungry and riddled with cancer. Yeah, well thought out campaign. Oh and they won’t be climbing on the brick pile because someone will say it’s an OH&S risk, so they’ll be hairy, hungry, riddled with cancer, wearing a Hi-Viz vest and standing near - but not too near - a big pile of bricks, wishing they could climb onto the pile to argue about who’s the king of the castle.
A £558.90 per thousand for high quality, blue engineering bricks, I reckon the kids would prefer it if you just gave them 56p so they could pop down to the shops for a Milky Way.
Comment by Damian — 13 June, 2006 11:54 am
Oh, no, hang on - I’m fine.
HE’s going to hell…
Comment by anna — 13 June, 2006 11:58 am
I’ve got half a dozen spare bricks in the garage, they can have those for free.
I like doing my bit for charidee….
Comment by Mr Angry — 13 June, 2006 12:39 pm
Has anyone else noticed it getting very hot around here, or is it only me…
Comment by Damian — 13 June, 2006 1:33 pm
a brick.
is this the new form of chemotherapy ?
i ain’t going to heaven either.
Comment by zed — 14 June, 2006 11:16 am
When I was a little kid at infant school, we used to collect foil milk bottle tops ‘for the blind’.
I used to wonder what ‘the blind’ did with them.
Feel them, I supposed.
Comment by Stuart — 14 June, 2006 5:39 pm
It’s seriously important to have those people with the same senses of humor.
ha
Comment by Scarlet — 14 June, 2006 8:32 pm
Really Anna, which is worse - putting the poor little mite out of his/her misery with a swift blow of the brick, or allowing said mite to languish while offering said brick as his/her only plaything/pet/companion?
I reckon we are all bound for hell…. should be nice and companionable.
Comment by Eloise — 15 June, 2006 12:07 am
Stuart - they collected milk bottle tops to make blind dogs out of. I had a friend who collected them as an agent and one day a little boy who had brought her some hung around and asked shyly if he could stay and watch her make a dog out of the milk bottle tops. Presumably though they have trouble making the eyes out of aluminium foil which is why they are blind.
Comment by Debster — 15 June, 2006 10:17 am
Heh, but it caught your interest, eh? Hehe I say, speaking as ex-advertising writer.
Comment by guyana-gyal — 15 June, 2006 1:18 pm