At a time when scientists are simultaneously being vilified and expected to save us all from the pandemic, it was wonderful to hear from the Fake Ad Czar’s ninth grade biology teacher, Martha Friedlander. “After going through Observer three times hunting for the Fake Ad, we finally discovered it on page 54 in the ‘Services’ ads,” Friedlander wrote. “It is at the top of the second column in the category of ‘Health’ ads, from the Ann Arbor Senior Citizens Co-Op. Mr. Gilson’s name can be found in the end of the word ‘vigil’ and the beginning of the word ‘Songs.’ We realized that the message wasn’t quite what we had expected and that the senior citizen’s group wasn’t a co-op. Very clever advertising!! Thanks for keeping our quarantine interesting!” Thank you, Mrs. Friedlander, for explaining the ad as well as you explained how to dissect a fetal pig.
Several Fake Adders agreed with the thought behind the ad. “The entire message was nice at this time of the pandemic,” wrote Ginny Weingate, “but it was hard to find!” We received only fifty-five correct entries, including this one from Janine Shahinian: “I nominate this ad for the second edition of the Best Fake Ads of All time.” Shahinian is referring, of course, to The Fake Ad Book, a compendium of nearly thirty years of advertising fakery (to order, see ad on page 48 of the June issue or go online to annarborobserver.com/books).
May’s winner is Garret Huff, who will enjoy his gift card at Seva.
