Subtlety? FAQ That Ship.

So in the past two weeks, we’ve seen a couple of spots go for a disguised profanity joke. And they’re getting attention.

First, the Kmart “Ship My Pants” spot:

And now, the Philips Norelco “I’d FAQ Me” spots:

As I learned when I wrote this Talent Zoo column about cursing, clearly there’s something about cursing, or the hint of it, that gets attention and publicity.

But are these spots taking the easy way out by playing to the cursing? And are puns okay if they’re used in place of curse words?