But when the device of humour is used well it can have spectacular effects. Consider Compare The Market’s humorous meerkat ads, which have reached millions of views on YouTube and are fondly quoted on the street, almost as part of everyday parlance.

Humour doesn’t always work though: serious topics like health should generally use humour with trepidation and risk – although there are a few surprising and notable exceptions of serious topics being delivered more potently with a deft dose of humour.

In less complicated contrast, though, some topics naturally go together with funniness and have been historically packed with notably chortle-worthy ads. Here are a few topic areas where humour works so well that it should probably be used more often than not:

Beer & Lager

Beer is hardly serious stuff – unless you’re a hardcore real ale or premium lager enthusiast – and the informal nature of the drink lends itself naturally to humorous delivery. In fact, beer adverts use humour so commonly and naturally that a serious beer advert would probably inflict stunned confusion on the viewer.

There are myriad examples of funny beer adverts, with the sense of subtlety usually being the differentiator. Carlsberg’s ‘probably the best…’ adverts use humour and irony lightly, for instance, whereas the humour in John Smith’s Peter-Kay-starring adverts is more in your face.

Hidden complexities are sometimes present too: Foster’s funny Brad & Dan adverts parody the identifiable difference between attitudes in the northern and southern hemispheres, to hilarious success.

Crisps

Like beer, the informality of the humble crisp means that humour works well in adverts for this most common of savoury snacks.
Great examples, can often juxtapose the mundanity of the crisp with highfalutin surrealism, like Mini Cheddar’s series of odd adverts from the late ‘90s – one featuring Bob Mortimer trying to smuggle a load of the brand’s bags through customs.

Ironically, humour within these adverts also works because – while the world of crisps is not a serious one – for many people it is a passionate one. People have arguments about whether bags of salt-n-vinegar or cheese and onion are best, and BBQ beef fans are sometimes laughed at.

Cars

Cars are a bit more serious and expensive than crisps and beer, that’s for sure, but humour still works frequently well within automotive brands’ adverts.

This success is a bit more complex but, historically, perhaps the device of humour worked so well in the first place because it was so surprising and, since then, the theme of experimentation has continued and expectations have changed.

Of course, you do get plenty of dry, technical car adverts – that approach works well too – but funny adverts usually outnumber the serious ones.

More simply, perhaps humour in car adverts – and the other topics covered – works so well because if something’s funny then it’s appealing and memorable, regardless of what’s being sold.

And long may the theme of humorous ads continue.

We know. You’re not creative. So instead of searching around the internets thinking about how you’re ever going to top the usual bundle of flowers and wacked out breakfast that you usually serve your mother, why not think about getting inspired by this list of wacky Mother’s Day gifts?

Now, we have to say that we’re not responsible for anything that happens if you run out and get your Mom something wacky and she hates it to pieces. We’re just trying to make sure that you have some ideas. Not all of the crazy things here are going to be suitable.

That said, let’s get to the crazy…we mean funny…oh goodness, why not both? That’s what you’re here for, right?

1. Recipe Reader

This is really neat. If you’re not sure what the Recipe Reader can really do, think about this: your mom probably already has a box of index cards, with each card crammed with recipes. Instead of leaving he rot this form of paper hell, why not get her a good digital recipe reader.

Bring in the Demy. This digital recipe reader can store about 2500 recipes in a format that’s easy to read — even if your mother isn’t very technical.

She can even use it in the kitchen without fear of messing it up, because it’s splash-resistant. How cool is that?

2. Cleaning Slippers?

Right when you thought we were going to have a non-wacky list…you were disappointed. Or were you? After all, wacky is definitely what we do and these cleaning slippers are all sorts of wacky.

They’re called the Slipper Genie, and it looks like little mini-mops. Dip the shoes into a little cleaning solution and then slip them on to replace your Swiffer…or not.

While we like the idea and we think it’s a cute gift, in practice this is really only dry cleaning. Most of the surfaces are going to require a lot more scrubbing than what the Slipper Genie can do. Still, with a few improvements this idea really might catch on.

3. A Twofer You Don’t Want…

We don’t recommend that you give your mother this gift — unless she has an amazingly high sense of humor.  This breath spray is called “Accept the Fact That You Are Aging”, which is downright crazy.

It’s got to be a gag gift. No one would seriously give their mother that. Not unless they wanted to issue a double insult, and not even the police officers that write you a speeding ticket deserve that type of put down.

4. It’s Raining Men?

Who doesn’t like naked men? OK, maybe they’re not completely naked. They have their oven mitts on, so that counts for something…right?

It’s all about making your Mom smile on her special day, and if she has a good sense of humor she might even like these.

Would we give them to our mother? Probably not. But still, it’s something to think about.

5. Emergency Underpants

Here’s another crazy thing that we wouldn’t give our mother for Mother’s Day. Emergency Underpants crosses into a whole territory of stuff we really don’t want to even think about talking about with our mothers. Such as why she would even be in a situation where she would need another set of underpants. That would make us ask what happened to the previous pair, and that’s…just not a topic that we really want to discuss with our mothers. Just being honest.

So, what type of gift are you thinking about giving your mother for Mother’s Day? Would you honestly get her anything from this list? Either way, you should definitely take some time and sound off in the comments — we would love to hear from you!

However, some people go crazy with the urge to be unique and creative. It’s just cake, you know. People eat it, and all that will be left are pictures.

Speaking of pictures, we pulled out 7 crazy wedding cakes that you just have to see to believe.

1. All Covered With Snow…

This is a wedding cake that is downright insane. If you were to step back and look at the cute geometric pattern, you might think that it’s a harmless cake. However, for a wedding this just looks a bit odd. It almost looks like an elegant Jenga puzzle.

Oh yeah, we went there: Jenga. Jenga. Jenga. Don’t pull the balls out or the whole thing will come tumbling down. It might even be tasty — buttercreme, anyone?

2. 113 Year Old Cake, Anyone?

This is a pretty old cake, with a rich history. The cake is said to come from the 19th century, during Queen Victoria’s reign. That’s a very old cake!

The wedding cake was once white, but it’s browned with age. It’s a fruit cake on the inside that some say is still moist. No one in their right mind would eat a cake from this time period — bacteria and mold are probably abundant on the inside, and you just can’t get to it because the thick icing is in the way.

3. Redneck Cake

It doesn’t get more country — or redneck — as this: two antlers, one single head, with a strong hunting motif. What kills me is the picture of the person behind the cake with the bare arms — wow, what a wedding parade, indeed. Let’s hope that this is just the caterer, because if it’s one of the bridal party we’re going to have some problems.

Then again, depending on where you are in the world, it might not be a big deal. Yeehaw! Pass me the part of the cake with the special camo! Wahoo!

4. Caskets with Your Cake, Madam?

Caskets. On top of a wedding cake. Death till we part and all that good jazz, but this cake is just crazy. There’s a sign that multiple religions might be involved here, and that’s all well and good…but we didn’t expect a black cake. Do we need to throw some salt behind us as we eat this cake? It’s a little spooky and superstitious. I feel like taking some much needed time to visit a church. For some holy water.

5. Bow to me, fool!

We aren’t really sure what type of wedding this is from, but the wedding cake does provide us with some clues. The scene of a woman dominating a man in the most obvious way … is that a foreshadowing of how the relationship will be after marriage? Just don’t fight it, mystery husband. If the glassware in the picture have to lay on their bellies, so do you. Just hand over your wallet and everything will be just fine, okay?

6. Boob Cake!

Why not have a wedding cake made of boobs? Everyone on the interwebs knows that the wedding isn’t complete without boobs. Boobs make everything better. So um…look at the boobs. However, those big round nipples are a little frightening. Is that what the baker thinks nipples look like? Maybe it’s a sign that they really haven’t seen a lot of nipples. Will some hot female please volunteer their breasts so this baker can get these proportions right? Thank you for your cooperation.

7. Super Cake Crush You All!

Could this cake get any larger? Freud is in his grave, having a cigar and a dry martini. He can’t wait to explain the sexual suggestiveness of this cake. How about the picture of the bride? Looks like a beauty pageant reject to us, but we’re trying not to judge…much.

The cake has too many ribbons, too many roses, too many bows. It’s a cake of too much. Too much cake. Yes, you can have too much cake. The cake is standing taller than the bride.

It makes us think of those cake decorating championships on cooking channels where they have to move the cake to a judging table. Can anyone say, TIMBER! We can — run from the falling cake before it’s too late and everything is covered in frosty white buttercreme!

Overall, we hoped you liked our little list of wedding cake trainwrecks. If you have one that you would like to share, let us know in the comments!

1. Braaaaaaains!

While these are technically cupcakes, it’s gotten cute for many people have to have a leaning tower of cupcakes for their birthday party instead of a big birthday cake. However, most people don’t serve cupcakes like these.

Brains.
Brains.
Braaaaaaains.

Who serves a tower of cupcakes for a birthday that have grey brains on top? If it were done in a cutesy way, we could almost see it as something to tease a really smart student.

But then there’s the blood. Oh my goodness, the blood. No, this is something you don’t want to serve at a birthday party…not even for a CSI crew member. Not even then. Trust us.

2. Smile for the Camera?

OK, we’re Nikon fans too and all but… a cake in the form of a Nikon camera is too much! What really gets us about this picture is that if you look on the inside, it’s a red velvet cake. Contained within a grey camera. If that wasn’t crazy enough, we have to look at the detailing.

Real Nikon D700:

Just saying. It’s a pretty accurate replica, and the baker that did this should be praised for their skill.

3. Hello, BlackBerry!

Wow, crackberry in the house! Just look at this cake:

Wow. Just wow. Isn’t it bad enough that we carry around mobile phones from here to the moon practically? Do we really need to have a cake in the shape of a blackberry? Again, this is another very realistic cake. We probably don’t even have to compare pictures because you probably have a blackberry in your pocket, don’t you? Pull it out and compare it to the picture. It’s definitely something that really looks good — we can admit that, even though we really wish people would just make regular cakes!

4. Um…Boobs?

26. Do you remember turning 26? We don’t really, either but hey, there’s a cake here to celebrate! And it’s got boobs on it. Tastefully covered, slightly risqué boobs, but we’ll take boobs whenever we can get them…right?

Just look at the cake, people!

5. Skull Antics

What could be better than a skull cake, than a skull cake with a tasty chocolate center? Are we really what we eat? Poor Horatio, we hardly knew ye! OK, clichés and Shakespeare jokes aside, this is actually a nice cake. It’s very realistic, but we don’t really want it to become us! Please don’t turn us into a cake, we promise we’ll keep bringing the crazy and the funny if you follow our little request!

6. Heart-on!

OK, when we said that we wanted a cake in the shape of a heart, we meant something cutesy …not a heart cake so realistic it needs to be on the set of Grey’s Anatomy. We’re just being real here. We really didn’t want a cake like this. However, since it’s here, we can’t help but notice the yummy red center when you cut into it. Don’t go breaking our heart…but man; this cake really does look delicious!

7. There’s Nothing to Get You, Barbara!

Now, this cake might seem odd. Barbara? There’s nothing to get you? No, we don’t really know either. However, it’s apparently something that had to be said to somebody named Barbara… and they chose to do it in the form of a cake ….with rats…and a chewed off arm… that’s not saying “there’s nothing to get you, Barbara”. Really, that’s saying “Barbara, nowhere is safe — but have fun locking your doors, okay?!”

Yeah, we’ll be installing that security system around our house too. Nothing to fear, our a–…err, cake. Yes, that’s it.

As you can tell, there’s definitely a crazy world of cakes out there, and we’ve only scratched the surface. Have you seen a crazy cake? Definitely show us in the comments; we would love to hear from you!

Don’t believe us? Here are 5 Hollywood hairstyles gone bad — really, really bad, if you ask us. To be fair, we tried to include some men in this discussion, even though a lot of lists of hairstyles are all-female. Just one small step for equality, you know!

1. Bobby Trendy

OK, let’s start with a man this time, so that no one really thinks that all we do is pick on women. Bobby Trendy is a celebrity interior decorator who prides himself on being as flamboyant as possible. This picture makes him look like a drunken pirate collecting tickets to a party that after some thinking, you really don’t want to attend. Do you? That’s what we thought too.

2. Lady Gaga

We also had to get the most obvious example of crazy Hollywood hair out of the way. Lady Gaga prides herself on being weird, and she makes sure to bring that weirdness no matter when you see her. I bet if Lady Gaga really did her own grocery shopping she would pick out a new hairstyle just for the occasion.

3. Amy Winehouse

Between the stories about drug abuse and her taped videos filled with racial and cultural slurs, you would think that Amy Winehouse would want to keep a low profile. However, when you look at that hair, you already know that it’s definitely not going to be a day where Amy is going to keep anything to herself. That hair is so stacked and so tall that I think that you would really have to be legally blind to not see that hair!

4. Travis Barker

Mohawks might float your boat, but when you look at that hair from straight on, it almost looks like a hair beanie — way too pointy! Do you think if we sharpened that point a little more that the Blink 182 rocker would really have some trouble getting on a plane? That hair is a weapon, man!

5. Carmen Electra

That hair. That hair. That hair! It needs to go somewhere — anywhere — besides Carmen Electra’s head. Why you would shave part of your head? Yes, the trend started with Cassie first and then went to Rhianna, but the truth is that it’s really not flattering. A lot of people think that it’s edgy, but all it really says is that you used a grass edging tool…on your hair. When your hair could be confused for a well hacked bush, that’s when you really have a problem, right?

We could have come up with quite a few more hair mistakes, but the truth is that these are pretty out there, and should give you more inspiration to post your own links to some crazy hairstyles. What will you come up with? Go on, surprise us! We don’t mind!

The truth is that if you ask the economists, we’re actually not paying as many taxes as we used to. The taxes that we do pay go towards a variety of different services, and those services help people that desperately need assistance. This is something that’s argued back and forth, so we’ll skip the politics for now.

All of the taxes on today’s list are universally agreed upon to be pretty stupid. Check it out!

1. Beard Tax!

Wow. It doesn’t get more stupid than a beard tax — or does it? This tax is actually due to Peter the Great of Russia, who obviously had a thing against beards. He actually made his subjects wear a medal that admitted that they were ridiculous for having a beard. Peter kept himself well groomed — at least for Russia’s standards at the time.

2. Flush Tax!

In Maryland, there’s a flush tax. Yes, we had to say it straightforward — there’s a flush tax. It’s designed to protect the Chesapeake Bay, but it really still sounds stupid on paper. There’s a new fund called the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Restoration Fund. It’s supported by — yep, you guessed it — taxes. The tax equals 2.50$ a month in fees, and it’s on sewer bills that everyone has to pay for. If you have utilities, you got hit with these fees. The funds are collected by each county in Maryland, and they’re passed over to the state. The state turns around and passes out the funds to utility companies. These cash strapped darlings (sarcasm) turn around and upgrade wastewater treatment plants. The goal here is to make sure that nitrogen discharge is kept to a minimum. This is what ultimately hurts lakes and streams because algae bloom and that harms the aquatic life…that isn’t algae.

3. Tattoo Tax!

Now we’ve heard everything — for the last six years, the great residents of Arkansas have had to pay a tattoo tax. Body piercing counts too — if you want any of these services, you’ll be paying an additional 6 percent to have them. It’s just a way to get more money into the state. So the next time you want to get a picture of the Jersey Shore boys on your chest, just remember that it’s going to cost you 6 percent more. Then again, why you would want this is beyond our understanding.

4. Church Tax!

This tax is paid in Germany — if you want to belong to the church, you need to pay the tax. If you’re Catholic and you don’t want to pay the church tax, you will have to formally leave the church — you will not be allowed to participate in worship services. For a pious and devout Catholic, this is a pretty serious deal.

However, it applies equally to Protestants — the same rules apply. The money is actually used to support the church welfare and other charity programs. This is a bit different than in the US, where the church is a separate entity that cannot collect taxes of any kind.

5. Hot Air Balloon Tax!

This is from good ol’ Kansas — you know, the place where grocery stores cannot sell liquor? Yeah, that’s the one. Last year, the Kansas Department of Revenue ruled that there should be a tax on hot air balloon rides.

There is a tax on sales of tickets to anything that provides amusement, recreation, or entertainment. Yep, hot air balloons fall in that category.

6. Wind Tax?

There was a time where you had to pay a tax to have your windmill catch the wind in the Netherlands. It’s a law that’s no longer on the books anymore — that died in 1855 — but it’s still funny. How can you be taxed on something that doesn’t cost anyone anything?

7. Junk Food Tax?

Here’s one that people in the States have been buzzing about: in Denmark, there’s a tax on just about everything that’s not good for you. This includes greasy food as well as candy. Now, some would argue that it cuts down on people actually engaging in these habits, but we don’t think that’s the case. Most people will just pay the tax and get their sugar rush — wouldn’t you?

Overall, we hoped that you liked our little running list of 7 stupid taxes. Some of these are still current, but many are not. Did we skip over your favorite stupid tax? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

Check out 7 cool toys from Japan, and then tell us that you’re not interested in any of them. Go on, we actually dare you to take it there with us.

1. A Pregnant Doll!

OK, this has to be one of the most bizarre toys from Japan that we’ve seen in a long time. It’s a toy that definitely seems to defy everything that we know about toys, because this just doesn’t seem interesting to us at all. Maybe this might be something your health teacher picks up to scare you into using a condom or, better yet — to never have sex. Ever.

Actually, if you want the truth, these dolls are from the 18th and 19th centuries. They were used to “satisfy a deep curiosity for the mysteries of life”. Yeeeeah. OK.

2.  Tuttuki Bako!

This is a toy from Japan that lets you stick your finger into the hole on the side and interact with a strange and unique world. OK, it’s not one of the most interesting that we’ve seen, but we can see how people would want to play with this for a while.

3. An Edamame Keychain?

How cute is this? It’s a little edamame keychain! Look at the vibrant green! I can just imagine cute little Japanese schoolgirls using this keychain — as they merrily skip from side to side. OK, maybe we’ve been watching too much anime around the office…

What’s neat about this keychain is that the little popping edamame actually do pop in and out of their little pod — all three of them. It’s definitely cute, and it’s something to just pick up your spirits.

4. Blushing H-Bouya Toy!

H-anime fans, you probably recognize this symbol: the blushing boy. You remember it well — every time a boy in an anime sees a girl’s panties, he blushes and he often gets a nosebleed. Don’t ask us why this happens or why the culture is shaped around this — but hey, it gives us a chance for upskirt moments, and we’re pretty much okay with that.

What’s neat about the H-Bouya! toy is that when it’s plugged into the USB port and you hit the ‘H’ key on the keyboard, the boy’s face turns red and his eyes blink. How cute!

5. Shaving Baby?

This is one of those strange toys that make you hit your head on the desk. What is this….I can’t even… yes, we’ve been there with many strange things on the interwebs.

This creepy baby is covered with bright orange hair in strategic places, as a way of signaling to you that you can indeed shave the baby. Really, you can shave the baby. And that’s scary. Really scary.

Now, this is actually an art object by a famous artist — but still, we can imagine people giving this toy to their children…and that’s kinda scary too. Anything that you can shave that is connected to a baby doll…is a little weird.

6. Robot Cat for the Win!

Everybody likes robot kitty. It’s a toy that has touch sensors that will actually let it respond as you do…well, the things that you would normally do with a cat. You can pet it, you can rub its belly, and it will even sleepy next to you at night. It’s called the Yume-Neko Venus in Japan (Dream Cat Venus). Some people find it a little disturbing, but we think it’s really cool!

7. Action Figure Obama!

Now if you really want strange, here’s one for the ages — an action figure President Obama. In true action figure design, he can be moved into a variety of different hero poses, which is pretty neat — and a little creepy. I mean, do you really want to imagine the leader of the United States rolling into a fighting stance.

The funny thing is that President Obama is so buff that he probably could kick some villain butt — we wouldn’t put it past him.

Overall, this caps our list of the crazy toys from Japan. Some are crazier than others, and others are just downright cool. We even threw in some cuteness there for you — aren’t we nice? Anyway, if there’s something that we missed, feel free to sound off in the comments!

It’s a great debate in both fashion as well as feminist circles about the role that high heels really play. Many women, like Victoria Beckham, would never think to go outside without a good pair of high heeled shoes on. It’s a matter of taste for them. They feel more feminine when they actually have these shoes on, while other women might feel just plain ridiculous.

Feminists argue that high heeled shoes are just another way to keep women down.

However, when we looked at this:

We just didn’t think that the woman in the picture looked all that oppressed to us. We’re all for women having choices and the truth is that choices cut both ways.

But let’s take the politics out of it and just be honest: high heels are hot. So in that spirit, we wanted to show you 7 crazy, sexy, and funny high heeled shoes that celebrities are trying to walk around in.

1. Coils and …Pink?

This is an Alexander McQueen creation. He’s a fashion designer that is well loved by people like Lady Gaga and Daphne Guinness.

In fact, Alexander McQueen has such a reputation for designing tall high heels that some models can’t even work for him — they keep falling off stage!

2. All White, Big Coils

This is a shoe that Lady Gaga picked up — if you’re not sure where the shoe is from, it’s actually from her “Bad Romance” video. And if you haven’t seen it, you need to YouTube so hard that we think angels are crying. Gaga ooh la la — want your bad romance!

3. Go Sky High!

Now we’ve seen everything. If Megan Fox or Lady Gaga .want to rock this shoe, they can have at it. But we don’t think even the Sex and the City girls would touch this sky high heel anytime soon.

The celebrity look is catching fire with regular women, and they want to walk like that on the runway…and by runway we mean the sidewalk on their way to somewhere trendy like Starbucks. Or is Starbucks not hip enough anymore?

Seriously, where are all of these women gathering? The shoe is going to be less than $100, which means that it’ll be in the hands of women that usually don’t have access to the cutting edge trends. That’s just the way fashion goes.

This is being billed as one of the tallest high heels in the world, and that means that there’s already controversy. The problem with this statement is that there is already the Alexander McQueen shoes that are 10 inches tall.

Which one is going to be more comfortable to actually wear? We’re not really sure, to be honest.

This new tall heel is called the Sky Heel, and it does have a platform to use. This could give you more balance than your classic stiletto, but don’t hope for that. You’ll need to definitely do some runway walking in your bedroom before you really take this shoe to the streets.

4. No Heel, Just Height (Part One in Red)

Nina Ricci is another celebrated designer that is bringing a lot of foot and leg pain to the world with her latest creations. These have been out for a while, but what really makes them interesting is that they don’t actually have a high heel to speak of. Instead of having a stiletto, you basically have a big blocky platform that you will have to rest all of your weight on. As you might imagine, this could make it really painful to walk — you’ll definitely have to do a lot of painful moving around!

We do have to admit that we like the pleated look as well as the little “point” in the back. We think that little pointy part is supposed to help you walk better, but we would probably still fall on our faces!

5. Going All Black, But Still No Heel!

Nina Ricci continues the “no heel” look, but this time it’s in black. Ms. Ricci seems to like sparkles and laces, because she’s continued that trend too. What’s interesting about this shoe is that there is a bit of a heel in the back, but it’s not designed for you to be able to walk on it. So we are assuming that it’s more or less just for looks — how artistic can you get?

6. Purple Daze…Dazed (No) Heels, That Is!

Nina Ricci goes back to the “no heel” party again, but this time it’s all about the glitter. Glitzy heels have always attracted stars like Victoria Beckham and Lindsay Lohan, but now people can take things to extremes. It’s really interesting once you think about it — but that’s all we really plan to do. Think about it. We are not putting on a shoe that could threaten to end our existence. Just being honest.

7. A Cross Between a Banana and a Weapon?

Here’s a shoe that you could use to not only look stylish in, but also use as a weapon. You never know — people are going places they wouldn’t normally, and that means that they need to protect and defend themselves…don’t they?

The thing that gets us is that the stiletto here really looks like a giant drill bit. Are we supposed to twist in screws with our shoes now? Only time will tell before that’s the next trend.

Now, we covered 7 sexy heels that celebrities love right now — but we didn’t say that everyone would find them sexy. In fact, podiatrists (you know, those lovely doctors that tend to your feet) say that high heel use has a strong link to foot injuries. You can end up bunching your toes and causing painful bunions. However, the shoes place a great strain on your feet, ankles, knees…and even your back.

Cushions for your heels work to a point, but over time that’s not as effective as it used to be.

What do you think? Do any of these high heel shoes appeal to you? Would you wear them? Would you let your girlfriend have a pair? Sound off in the comments, we would love to hear from you!