A while ago we had a fairly lively discussion over a Helzberg ad, and some of the comments it inspired on the web.  (Even the ad’s star joined in, apparently.)

Along those lines, I am starting to see a backlash against the familiar tropes of diamond advertising. Check out these posts (and before clicking, I warn you these posts have VERY explicit language) here and here.

As we all know, this industry is based on the idea that diamonds equal love, and by implication sex. But is this being spelled out too explicitly?

For example, check out the ad below from the De Beers retail chain, referenced in (and marked up by) one of the posts:

 

 

And then there is this online ad – which is noteworthy because it got the jeweler sued. 

There aren’t many ads that require a parental discretion notice but well, you’ll see:
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All right, I’ll admit, that ad is pretty amusing, but we may be starting to skate on some pretty thin ice here. What do you think?

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