Gawker: morbid things

Would You Like to Listen to the Michael Jackson 911 Call?

Gabriel Snyder — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:09:49 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Of course you would! It's been two hours since TMZ got ahold of the call to 911 reporting Michael Jackson's heart attack and we haven't posted it. Dereliction of duty! Anyway, the link is here.

In the call, a very flustered, obsequious man asks for an ambulance to be sent for a man who has collapsed and is no longer breathing. The only thing sensational about it is that it is now out there. How are people framing their decision to serve up something they know will fascinate you?

Jason Calacanis sees a conspiracy where there clearly is none.
The Awl hopes you won't notice their link.
In a rare instance demonstration of common sense, Perez Hilton kept his mouth shut and posted it without comment.
And Gawker's editor decided to go for a meta take rather than the only honest one: present something like this for its sheer voyeuristic value.

What Sort Of Monster Could Ignore A Child's Corpse?

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:12:50 EDT

Poor children in Asia: they're eating trash. Sad, poor street children, with only trash for food. Sad. Helping them to at least get some Kool-Aid is surely a worthy cause. Does that mean that you must use trash bags shaped as ghoulish little child bodies in an ad campaign to raise (sad) awareness? Yes. Yes it does. (Obviously not in New York City, where we put in children in trash bags for fun). Click through for another pic of how to save sad poor children via bodybags:

[Commercial Archive via Adrants]

Five Morbid But Effective Ad Campaigns

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:32:05 EDT

Most of the time people say an ad campaign is "good," they just mean that it's funny. Less often, it could be poignant, or provocative, or straight-out informative. But there's always the "incredibly morbid" tactic, too. It works! Making your audience shudder means they remember what you said. Or are permanently scarred by it. Same difference. After the jump, five ads that get their point across by evoking death, disfigurement, or sex crimes:

Clue leaves blood on your hands, literally

Amnesty International's "Hangman Cookie."

Look, now you can identify with Vietnamese children afflicted with harelip.

Pedophilia: think about it!

This "Gunshot sticker" sends the message: I want to stop gunshots.

[Abduzeedo via Coudal]