Rosetta Stone: Language is a barrel of laughs

Promise I'll return to my progress on learning French in the next post, but this is just too juicy to pass up. Rosetta Stone (which last year alone spent a whopping $98 million in advertising) has launched a new ad campaign, which means the one they previously launched not too long ago, which emphasized middle-aged (or older) people taking on a foreign language, was a flop. No foolin. The new one emphasizes fun, because, as we all know, learning a foreign language is a barrel of laughs. I can't tell you how many times I've been in stitches while trying to figure out how to use the past pluperfect.

I like Rosetta (see my review), but I'm intrigued by this radical change from their older, time-tested advertising theme of language-can-get-you-laid which I maintain extends to the product photos itself. If I recall, I've met a babe on a bus by juggling for her baby brother, been to a party full of hot, unaccompanied chicks, and even been to the alter -- while learning French. (Can you say "shotgun wedding?" But remember those ads featuring a "farm boy" nabbing a gorgeous Spanish girl by whispering a few nadas in her ear? I think they'll return to that territory sooner or later, because, let's face it: sex sells. Really, which ad gets your attention?

New ad:

Old Ad:

I rest my case.