Apparently, this advertising slogan for Akademiks clothing is a double-entendre for oral sex. Who would have thought? I have three responses to this news story:
- I am definitely getting old because I never would have guessed this extra meaning.
- If this slang completely flies past most people (including, I assume, children), why not leave the ads up?
- An MTA spokesman said he originally thought the ads were "promoting reading and literacy." Don't they still do that even when you know the double meaning?
(Photo from the Gothamist; another good article here)
Update: I just don't get this interpretation:
"They are trying to get boys to pick up a book, but the implication is they'll get sex if they get literate," said Mills [a Bronx high school teacher]. "It denigrates education and young women."
I would say the ads do the opposite: they say that women prefer to have sex with literate men (as opposed to illiterate men). In other words, women have standards and are not afraid to exercise them.
Update: This clothing company is now dealing with another ad scandal arising from the HNIC acronym.
I first heard "brain" in the classroom in 2002... it's meaning is well known to the urban student. I think it's a great idea. If you think about it, it's kinda true... it's also consistant with the message we want to send to our youth.
Posted by: David | November 08, 2004 at 11:49 PM