# Strange Ad Campaign **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 14, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589 "2008-02-14T14:20:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/1 "2008-02-14T14:20:36Z")
Now, I’m no stranger to cryptic ad campaigns. Sometimes they’re clever. Sometimes they’re just lame and confusing – like the one that’s been on the bus shelter at the mall terminal for the past 4 years near where I live, which shows only a a bust of some smiling, besuited guy and his name at the bottom. Nothing else. (Probably a real estate agent, but I’ve never bothered to confirm that.) Just this morning I noticed what seems to be a fairly large campaign, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it’s pushing – it’s clearly not what it purports to be. So far I’ve seen two “busboards” (billboards on the sides of buses) and one bus shelter poster. The busboards feature a caption, a byline at the bottom, and a “product” shot on the right – a bottle of pills with a loose one at the base of the bottle with the “product” name on it. The bus shelter poster is the same but with a photo of a happy family at the top. I only had my cell phone with me so I was able to take a few crappy shots. [Busboard 1](http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee165/Psychopusher/img034.jpg): Caption: “Obay[sup]TM[/sup] works where other parental controls, like shouting, don’t.” Byline: “From the makers of WhyBecauseISaidSo[sup]TM[/sup]” [Busboard 2](http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee165/Psychopusher/img035.jpg): Caption: “Are your kids starting to think for themselves? Put a stop to it with Obay[sup]TM[/sup].” Byline: Same as above. [Bus shelter poster](http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee165/Psychopusher/img036.jpg): Caption: “Our teenagers don’t have their own goals anymore. Obay[sup]TM[/sup] works like a charm.” Byline: Same. It’s obviously some sort of creepy, reverse psychology ad, but there’s no indication what it’s for. Children’s Aid Society, perhaps? Some kind of anti-child abuse campaign? Or perhaps Kids Help Phone? I dunno. There’s nothing else on these boards/posters but what you see and read here. Mundane, pointless, odd. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/2 "2008-02-14T14:55:51Z")
Isn’t it “Obey”? ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/3 "2008-02-14T15:05:57Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Isn’t it “Obey”? [/QUOTE] To everyone else it is, yes. But the “product” here is spelled with an A – presumably to give it a more pharmaceutical air. ---
**Author:** ![whistlepig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@whistlepig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whistlepig)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/4 "2008-02-14T15:06:30Z")
Er, found this: [Obay](http://www.obay.info/) Read closely. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/5 "2008-02-14T15:14:23Z")
[QUOTE=whistlepig] Er, found this: [Obay](http://www.obay.info/) Read closely. [/QUOTE] That’s kind of amusing, but I don’t think the two are related. That site seems primarily to be an eBay parody with an anti-war/anti-US/anti-bush agenda. The campaign in my OP seems aimed pretty squarely at some sort of child abuse/oppression/brainwashing thing. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/6 "2008-02-14T16:26:56Z")
Mindfield - I’m intrigued… how very strange. WTF are those ads? They’re very weird indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/7 "2008-02-14T16:32:16Z")
[Here is a page on Yahoo Answers about this campaign.](http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080208145612AA2nC48) No definitive answers yet though, just lots of confused people. [Here’s another photo, of a bus stop sign.](http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7426/img5521hi4.jpg) Here’s what one person had to say: > [@](#): > > It’s a culture jam. A brilliant one, too. I’d like to see how many people ask their doctors for these pills when they’re renewing their dexedrine and ritalin scrips for their kids. Other people’s parents… Cripes. Made you think, didn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/8 "2008-02-14T16:34:45Z")
Could be a recognition test marketing exercise to validate the bus company’s advertising space. They did this in Dublin for men’s lipstick in a variety of “macho” colours (e.g. blue and black). Not only was there huge recognition for the ad, providing evidence to show that the bus company’s advertising spots were effective - but they were also overwhelmed with enquiries from men as to where they could buy the lipstick! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/9 "2008-02-14T16:34:47Z")
Obay, from the good people who brought you [Outhouse Springs](http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/comments/outhouse.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/10 "2008-02-14T16:37:09Z")
More… From [here:](http://forums.beyondunreal.com/showthread.php?p=2078947) > [@](#): > > So my logic based speculations: > > 1. It’s a viral ad campaign… > 2. It appears to be anti-pharmaceutical… > 3. It got a lot of money so it’s affiliated with something big… > 4. It appears to be only in Canada. > 5. No website nor contact info – so it’s phase 1 of something. From [Digg:](http://digg.com/health/Obay_me_one_way_or_another) > [@](#): > > I’ve been looking around the net and found a few suspicious things. > > www.obay.ca, pretty much a blank site. One of the pre-links is [www.becauseIsaidso.com](http://www.becauseIsaidso.com) which has a link to a page called “Amy’s Page”. Why is this relevant? Amy is the name of a kid mentioned in one of the ads “When my Amy started having thoughts of her own I nipped it in the bud with Obay!” > > Finally, we had a radio ad today which gave a number. 1-888-YOU-OBAY > > Odd ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/11 "2008-02-14T17:13:46Z")
I wonder whether they’re only in Brampton? I haven’t seen them in Toronto or Mississauga. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/12 "2008-02-14T17:13:52Z")
Interesting. It’s definitely viral, and being phase 1 of something makes sense. (I figured it must be leading to something but I couldn’t think where.) It appears to have been successful so far, judging by the buzz you’ve dug up (and the fact that it’s been Dugg). Parenting sounds like a good possibility, perhaps with some church backing. (For some reason it reminds me very vaguely of the religious campaign from several years back that featured billboards like, “‘We need to talk.’ -God.”) Dunno about the anti-big-pharma message – that aspect seems incidental to the framing of the campaign; the real message is clearly something to do with parenting through a reverse-attack on the “green pill” approach to it. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/13 "2008-02-14T17:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] I wonder whether they’re only in Brampton? I haven’t seen them in Toronto or Mississauga. [/QUOTE] The shelter poster picture was in Mississauga (Hurontario & Britannia, southwest corner). It was the second of two I passed on the way, the first being further north towards Derry. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/14 "2008-02-14T17:15:45Z")
Would a church be so obviously anti-free-thought? Churches usually point out the benefits of membership (“Avoid Hell! Follow these easy steps.”); this would seem to take it to the free-thinkers’ battlefield. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/15 "2008-02-14T17:17:20Z")
[QUOTE=Mindfield] The shelter poster picture was in Mississauga (Hurontario & Britannia, southwest corner). It was the second of two I passed on the way, the first being further north towards Derry. [/QUOTE] Hmm. I’ll have to be more observant. Usually I’m on the #82 bus which goes mostly along the 401 to and from Meadowvale North business park, so I don’t see _that_ many Mississauga bus shelters. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/16 "2008-02-14T17:20:01Z")
> **[Dawn Meehan](http://dawnmeehan.com/)** > > The official online home of author Dawn Meehan Domain Name: [becauseisaidso.com](http://becauseisaidso.com) Created On: 2002-01-17T06:35:51Z Expiration Date: 2009-01-17T06:35:51Z Registrant Name: Amy Preston Registrant Street1: c/o Tiger Technologies LLC Registrant Street2: PO Box 7596, Dept W2638 Registrant Street3: Registrant City: Berkeley Registrant State/Province: CA Registrant Postal Code: 94707-0596 Registrant Country: US Admin Name: Amy Preston Admin Street1: c/o Tiger Technologies LLC Admin Street2: PO Box 7596, Dept W2638 Admin Street3: Admin City: Berkeley Admin State/Province: CA Admin Postal Code: 94707-0596 Admin Country: US Admin Phone: +1.5105273131 Admin Email: [x.a0026380014895ef@whois.tigertech.net](mailto:x.a0026380014895ef@whois.tigertech.net) Tech Name: Tiger Technologies LLC Tech Street1: c/o Tiger Technologies LLC Tech Street2: PO Box 7596, Dept W2638 Tech Street3: Tech City: Berkeley Tech State/Province: CA Tech Postal Code: 94707-0596 Tech Country: US Tech Phone: +1.5105273131 Tech Email: [x.t0026380012d875b@whois.tigertech.net](mailto:x.t0026380012d875b@whois.tigertech.net) Name Server: [NS1.TIGERTECH.NET](http://NS1.TIGERTECH.NET) Name Server: NS2.TIGERTECH.BIZ Name Server: [NS3.TIGERTECH.ORG](http://NS3.TIGERTECH.ORG) [Tigertech.net](http://Tigertech.net) seems to be a domain name registation / web hostingcompany. In addition to owning the “[becauseisaidso.com](http://becauseisaidso.com)” page, they also advertise on it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/17 "2008-02-14T17:41:56Z")
[QUOTE=Tastes of Chocolate] [Tigertech.net](http://Tigertech.net) seems to be a domain name registation / web hostingcompany. In addition to owning the “[becauseisaidso.com](http://becauseisaidso.com)” page, they also advertise on it. [/QUOTE] I get the feeling that the two things are completely unrelated. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/18 "2008-02-14T17:50:28Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Would a church be so obviously anti-free-thought? Churches usually point out the benefits of membership (“Avoid Hell! Follow these easy steps.”); this would seem to take it to the free-thinkers’ battlefield. [/QUOTE] It’s a bit counterintuitive, I admit, and there may not be any religious connection. That’s just purely speculation on my part, but it could also be a ploy to try and cloak a religious message in a veneer of relevance to attract the less devout. **Tastes of Chocolate** - I’m thinking that website and its owner may be coincidental. It’s a US registrant, yet the campaign seems exclusive to Canada, and the actual byline reads “WhyBecauseISaidSo” – an important distinction when you’re trying to link a tagline to a webiste, however surreptitiously. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/19 "2008-02-14T17:53:55Z")
Not only that but the website lacks the look and feel of the bus ads, and the content is 100% different. Amy’s site looks like it’s full of Amy’s interests, not anything remotely connected to the bus ads. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589/20 "2008-02-14T18:09:03Z")
The [Obay.com](http://Obay.com) guy says the Obay campaign [has nothing to do with him.](http://hypermodern.net/archives/addressing-confusion-between-httpobayinfo-and-obay-pills-posters-in-canada/) I find his speculation that the Obay pills campaign might have something to do with Scientology interesting, though. Correction: it’s Obay.info, not [Obay.com](http://Obay.com). Sorry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-ad-campaign/437589.md?page=2)