The Tourism Board of Paris has come up with an ad campaign to attract Londoners to the cross-channel city of romance. One of the ads in the campaign features rugby players in a scrum kissing and groping one another. Says their Web site:
"The second ad uses offbeat wit and the Rugby World Cup to show the world that Paris is also the capital of humour. The Paris region will be hosting several World Cup matches, including the final at the Stade de France."
Maybe it's lost on me because I'm gay, but I found the ad more erotic and sexy than funny. Maybe they're looking to attract a straight crowd, going after the Chuck & Larry crowd, too. But given that the French Dieux du Stade puts out hours of video and pages of photos of naked athletes caressing themselves and one another every year, it's hard to find this shot somehow ironic.
