In case anyone’s missed this in the news — a perfectly normal clothing ad, right?
Of all the universe’s undeniable truths, surely one of them is that nothing beats a day at the beach. But there’s another one too: that in a country known for its nudist colonies you should always double check the location of your fun-in-the sun activities…
The popular French clothing company La Redoute didn’t get that memo, and payed for it after posting this photo on their website for several hours. The bottom half of the scene reveals the slight problem:
Nudist swimmer guy on the right kind of kills the vibe, don’t you think? Sorry, my black censoring box is a bit drab, let’s replace it with something more palatable:
Ah, better. But I assure you the original ad left nothing to the imagination, and unfortunately the website’s optional magnifying glass feature allowing customers to zoom in on items of interest…well, that was unfortunate irony.
The embarrassed company promptly removed the photo and apologized, but not before it spread like wildfire across the web, prompting some rather clever and hilarious mock photos for those interested: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/naked-man-in-la-redoute-advertisement/photos
Vive la France, eh?
*(For those wondering about the cheeseburger, check out my previous post)
afrenchfryeinparis.com 
Oh I love how the Dark Vador burger somehow made an appearance and is now forever connected to a nudist Jedi!
Thanks David. Yeah when I originally imagined leaving behind a legacy with this blog, I could’ve never dreamed of striking gold with such a worthwhile global contribution as putting a burger on a guy’s crotch. Dare to dream is what I always say! Thanks for reading.
It happens to us all – took a lovely photo of my Dad on a beach a few years back, only noticing the HUGE boobie just above his head once looking back at the photos!
Ouch! I hope you did the right thing by firing up Adobe Photoshop and airbrushing the breast so it could look its best.
Well, I suppose your Dad had noticed the boobie way before you did.
Haha, thanks Lee. Love when the readers take this blog’s humor into their own hands!
Fabulous! And I may have woken up the kids with my reaction to your censor burger.
That’s awesome; the compliment of nearly disrupting an entire household warms my heart.
No wonder the kids are running screaming from the water. You’ve got to feel just a bit sorry for the harmless nudie guy I suppose. Though maybe, being an exhibitionist, he’s enjoying his 15 minutes of fame – especially the starring roles in Tintin and Seigneur des Anneaux! Anyway, thanks for the laugh.
I see you checked out the meme photos Beastie…I think my favorite was the Steve Jobs apple, haha. A lot of clever folks out there in cyberworld.
hahaha oh man! You always find the funniest things. Those poor children! Who decided to have them model on a nudist beach? Aye yi yi.
I agree, pretty hard to miss something like that. Some people think it’s so blatant that it must be an intentional publicity stunt, although La Redoute profusely apologized and fired the director in charge of the photo. That’s a tough one to have on your resume under “reason for leaving previous job”.
I’d seen this photo already in the Irish Times, along with the hilarious memes … but leave it to you to combine the “Dark Vador burger” with the hapless-naked-dude-in-a-kids’-photo-shoot-on-the-beach. Thanks for making me laugh out loud, Corey. Once again, you’ve made my day.
Glad to hear it Heather! Let’s just say inspiration doesn’t always come in lofty forms, and beggars can’t be choosers ;)
Hilarious!! Poor La Redoute, just goes to show you should always thoroughly check photos pre-publication!
Love the spoofs on that website you linked too – lots of people have been having a lot of fun!
Thanks Sarah, I defy anyone to check out the spoofs and not give out at least a little chuckle. It’s amazing what can happen when millions of people, all at the same time, neglect real work they should be doing.
Ha ha ha! That is soooo hilarious Corey! Totally French fashion faux pas:) I can’t wait to see if Joan Rivers gets a hold of this and what funny comment she would have to say about it.
I loved all the photoshopped pictures, too. Goes to prove that no matter what you do, you better be careful, tons of people are always there waiting to scrutinize and make fun!
Thanks. I can only hope my censor burger does the movement justice.
Oh my god, that is hilarious!!! They can’t just crop him out either! Photoshop some shorts???? Love your burger – adds a great new dimension! Oh la la
Thanks a lot. My new line of burger swimwear will be released this summer ;)