Work in progress

I love how, in Paris, they (building constructors) hide their work in progress behind huge canvases. It's primarily an ad, of course (for a dating site for women), but look at the way they reproduced the windows and even the café awnings and the passage entrance. For a moment you could think they're real. Very clever.

Painted ad

I love it that in Paris, in some places, you can still see old painted ads like this one for "Bouillon Kub", a dehydrated broth formed into a small cube (hence the name Kub!). I took this photo in the 11th arrondissement, but you find these ads everywhere (I already showed you one, once). 

Soccer mania

In case you don't know (that is if you live in the States or in the Far East!) the soccer world  cup has started a few days ago in Brazil, which means half of the world is revolving around a little round ball. France is a big soccer nation, so you can imagine what importance it has in our daily life at the moment; there is not a single TV program, a single magazine, a single website that does not deal with soccer! But it's probably advertising that makes the most extensive use of this cup! Hence these little Smart cars all dressed up for the occasion, that promote betting on sports. I found them on the Grands Boulevards and thought they were pretty cute.

Perrier's anniversary

You probably all know Perrier water, the sparkling water that costs the price of a cocktail, but sounds soooo French ;-) to order at a café. Well it's currently celebrating its 150th anniversary and, to celebrate, they are running a huge ad campaign on TV and in the streets. They also have a Warhol limited edition that you can see in the poster that I photographed in the 13th arrondissement. The nice part, for a French at least is that we also get to see again all the fabulous Movie theater and TV ads that they have been running for the last 30 to 40 years. Including this one from 1976, that I remember having seen live before it was banned for being a little too... graphic!

Fake tennis game at La Bourse

I already told you about the old stock market building (La Bourse) which is now only used for special events and exhibitions since all transactions are fully electronic. This week they used it for Fashion shows and it's no suprise that a clothes and perfume brand - namely Lacoste - took this opportunity to attract passers by's attention with this interesting fake tennis game involving two transparent "sculptures". The effect was pretty cool, especially towards the end of the day when I took this photo, while the sun was going down  (see two more photos here). It's been a pretty busy week for me on PDP, I deserve some rest!

Old Cadum advertising

On the Grands Boulevards, at the corner of rue Montmartre and Boulevard Montmartre, if you raise your eyes, you will see this ad for Cadum. Cadum is a very old French brand (they were famous for their soap and even more for the baby character that they used to promote it), that every single French person knows. If this ad looks pretty new to you, it's because it has been totally restored  in 1997 for the shooting of a documentary dedicated to the brand. FYI, since the 26th of June,  Cadum now belongs to... L'Oréal!

My beloved Paris!

Everything comes to an end, especially vacation! After a few days in beautiful Marrakesh, I'm back to my beloved home town (I need to vote on Sunday, remember!). The weather is awful, but I'm sure it won't last... And most important: the 2012 best baguette baker has just been chosen! I have to visit his bakery! FYI, this is an ad I photographed on a taxi; it promotes a new 2 page edition dedicated to Paris in Le Figaro daily paper.

Toyota takes over the Louvre!

Funny scene I came across this morning at rue de l'Amiral de Coligny (the one that leads to the PDP picnic location!) right by the Louvre; no less than 157 little Yaris Toyota exposed to the public. I don't know exactly what they planned to do with them though. Give them away after a giant sweepstakes?! Maybe I should have stayed! PS: this is NOT a sponsored post! There are NO sponsored posts on PDP!

Karl Lagerfeld likes Coke!

Look what I found on the way back from a dinner party at friends' last night: a bunch of diet coke (Coca "light" in France) bottles "trapped" into an ad in a bus stop. They are not just any coke bottles, but ones designed by his highness Karl Lagerfeld, the famous fashion designer of Chanel (among others...). Funny. And probably expensive too, as they are only on sale at specific stores: Bert's, Lafayette Gourmet, La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marché and Colette. Here is a closeup if you're interested ;-)

'Facade lift'!

You may find it hard to recognize this very famous Paris landmark and though, yes, this is La Conciergerie, the same building I photographed here, in 2009. Much less breath taking, don't you think?! Alas, due to the pollution in Paris, buildings need to be cleaned regularly, and there is no other way than hanging a huge scaffolding against them. Now, the big controversy is: should they but this giant ad on it while they're doing the work? Highly controversial of course and political too: the green party wants to ban them, the government does not because it helps contributing to the renovation costs. I personally like them when they are creative, like the one I photographed here. In this particular case I think Dior could have done better!

French billionaires

The French may not be good at high-tech products or industry in general (even though we have a few blue chip companies, like Alstom, the maker of the TGV (bullet train)), there is one area in which we excel: luxury! It was not really surprising therefore to find out today in the 2010 world's billionaire list made by Forbes, that among the 5 richest Frenchmen in the list, 4 owe luxury businesses : Bernard Arnault (LVMH), Liliane Bettencourt (L'Oréal), François Pinault (Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent...) and Alain et Gérard Wertheimer (Chanel). The first one - Bernard Arnault - is even the 4th richest man on earth and the richest one in Europe...

Metro for sale...

It is so cold in Paris at the moment that I gave up using my scooter and... take the metro whenever I have to go somewhere far. That's what I did last night. When the train arrived I saw it was all covered in Christmas decorations. I  had never seen that before. Of course, it's not the RATP (the Paris Public Transport Authorities) that wish to celebrate Christmas with its customers, but a brand willing to attract our attention ;-) What brand? Well I'm sure you know it all. But to find out, click here, you'll have a broader view of the train and you'll see the name of the brand.

Hermès Ad

Don't go thinking this poster is a small image that I photographed closely. In fact it's a huge Hermès ad on a canvas made to hide a facade while they're doing work in the building behind it. When I saw it at rue du Général de Gaulle in Neuilly (a suburb just outside Paris) I could not help but stop and pull my trigger. Frankly, isn't this photo amazing?

Tomate Party

Here is my little tribute to my "oldest" follower (well, I guess) for when I saw this poster, I could not help but thinking of Tomate Farcie (stuffed tomato) who is a regular commenter to PDP! In this particular case Tomate has nothing to do with food, nor gardening, but with "music" and dance. If you're interested - and I'm sure you are! - it'll start at 6 am (yes AM!) on Sunday morning at the Plaza Madeleine at 8 place de la Madeleine. Have fun! (Why on earth do I suddenly feel so old?!)

Who wants to play hopscotch with me?

When I saw this hopscotch (la marelle in French) at first, I thought some kids had drawn it on the sidewalk. But when I looked closer I realized that it was an advertisement! The usual earth/sky is replaced with Paris/Cannes and there is a web address on the side of it. I managed to decipher it (teamdacr.com), but it leads to a dead site, so I'll never know what they advertise for (apparently a team of designers and writers, but it's pretty unclear). Anyway, the idea is good and, as you can see, it rained today in Paris! Have a nice week-end everyone ;-)

Stupid is cool!

It's a weird advertising campaign I came across today at the Palais Royal (well, Place Colette, to be more accurate). It promotes... Stupidity! Well apparently it's a little more subtle than that of course (according to what the messages say, stupid people take more risks than smart ones, which is seen as a positive thing). Intriguing and original. BTW, the clothes brand Diesel is behind all this (check this little video).

A little sunshine in the rain?

It's not exactly the perfect time to be in Paris at the moment... When I went out this morning it was pouring rain like crazy and it's a miracle I managed to take this photo without damaging my camera! According to my favorite Paris weather forecasts site there will be a 70% chance of rain almost every day next week. Should I give up my scooter?! Now about this sign, I first thought it was related to Havaianas, the famous Brazilian sandals brand, but in fact it seems to belong to some obscure French Federation of Havaianing that promotes doing sports in sandals?! It's either very stupid or very clever.

Kill advertising!

See this poster? Do you notice anything unusual? That's it, a graffiti... It says "Stop the logorrhea"... Referring in this case to excessive advertising in public places. It was made live, in front of me, yesterday evening (Friday) by Le collectif des déboulonneurs de Paris, a pressure group demanding that advertising space be reduced to the minimum. Every month they organise happenings like this to attract Parisians' attention. Let's be realistic, the city needs advertisers' money so bad at the moment, that there is absolutely no chance they win... See more photos here.

Le Parisien

Despite a good experience that some of you may have had with Parisians, we still have the reputation of often being short, rude, self absorbed... (don't say no, you heard it too!). And this, not only among the foreigners, but also among the French from the provinces and even among Parisians themselves! Up to a point that Le Parisien, the only local paper, uses this fact it in its advertisement. The one going on at the moment (that I photographed yesterday) says something like: "Le Parisien, the only Parisian you can count on this summer!" A few years ago, they also aired several commercials illustrating in a funny way the slogan: "Le Parisien, it's better to have him as a newspaper - (than for real)!" Watch this, you'll understand...

The multiple faces of the French police

When you think of the police, aren't you more likely to picture the guy who just gave you a parking ticket than the one who watches over your neighborhood? Why? Because they have an image problem! How do you fix this? With better communications. Like, for instance, this new years best wishes video message, or with this huge plastic canvas hanging on the front of La Préfecture de Police (the main Paris police building) on the Ile de la Cité. It shows all the faces of police(wo)men, from the one that dives into the Seine to rescue people who fell into it, to the one who clears mines, without forgetting the civil servant that issues your passport.