Lawn mowers, lizards, & longitudinal cross-sections

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Images from a Thai ad campaign for Black & Decker lawnmowers! Yikes.

While I appreciate the sharpness of any blade that could slice such a clean, anatomically elegant cross-section through a living snake, I have to also say "eeeuw." Poor critters!

Unfortunately, industrial harvesters do chop up lizards and snakes, although less surgically than this. Many years ago, when I was working the night shift at a produce freezing plant, we had to pick bits of reptile, insect, and amphibian out of the frozen vegetables. Fun job, that.

Anyway, the strangest thing (besides the idea that this campaign is appealing to anyone) is this lizard: despite being sliced in half, it remains in an upright, impossible position - detached legs and all. It reminds us the campaign is fantasy, which I guess is reassuring, but it's also somehow extra-disturbing.

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Via the macabre Coilhouse blog!

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Yikes! This ad campaign would have the opposite of the effect intended: I never want to mow a lawn again!

By MissyMiss (not verified) on 26 Oct 2008 #permalink

I liked one of the commentator's over at Coilhouse that suggested that an additional ad showing a persons foot would be interesting.

My former neighbour would like this. He used to deliberately mow over the little grass skinks in his lawn as they fled from the mower, and the ones he missed ended up under his boots. He used to stomp on frogs too. The worst thing was, he did it all with a straight face like it was the most normal thing. Sicko.